Focus Frankfurt: Open – Design Week trans- forms the city into a platform for design and exchange
Few cities combine global economic strength with a dynamic creative and cultural scene as successfully as Frankfurt. This foundation is rooted in a rich legacy: in the 1920s, the New Frankfurt movement under Ernst May set international benchmarks for modern housing and functional design – a heritage that continues to shape the city’s identity today. As part of World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026, Frankfurt now becomes a meeting point for forward-looking design. On 9 June 2026, the city’s Focus Day within Open – Design Week will centre on urban spaces, brands and emerging technologies.
“With Open – Design Week, Frankfurt RheinMain becomes a stage for creative ideas, international exchange and social innovation. The breadth of the program demons- trates the potential that lies in the close relationship between culture, design, science and business,” says Mike Josef, Mayor of Frankfurt and patron of World Design Capital Frankfurt RheinMain 2026.
Spaces – the thematic hubs of Open
During June, Frankfurt hosts four centrally located Spaces as part of Open – Design Week. At the Next Generation Space in Museum Angewandte Kunst, the focus is on the next generation of designers. The Shared Resources Space at Danzig am Platz (entrance: Henschelstraße 18) provides a platform for the design community and interested visitors to discuss new models of urban coexistence and more conscious approaches to resource use.
At the Creative Value Space in Neue Kaiser (Kaiserstraße 30), Open – Design Week explores the role of design as an economic driver. The venue also hosts the exhibition Award-Winning – Design Value Made in Hessen, a signature event of the State of Hesse showcasing outstanding design achievements by Hessian companies. Meanwhile, Massif E at Hauptwache is home to the Worldwide Creative Space, where networking and international exchange within the global design community take centre stage.
Open highlights in Frankfurt
The official opening of Open – Design Week will take place on Friday, 5 June, with the 9th Creative Industries Day at Neue Kaiser (Kaiserstraße 30). Another highlight is the presentation of the WDC x Brompton Special Edition at Massif Central from 5 to 11 June. The project emerged from an open call inviting designers and emerging talents to reinterpret Brompton’s lightweight P Line folding bicycle through their own colours, graphics and design concepts. The limited-edition bicycle will subsequently be raffled as part of a public prize draw.
On Saturday, 6 June, the Shared Resources Space at Danzig am Platz will officially open its doors. In collaboration with rent.group, the Space explores themes including circular economy, sharing models and sustainable consumption. Emerging designers such as Studio Tobias Hirt and RAFT Collective meet established practitioners including Jain&Kriz and DigitaLicht, alongside representatives from architecture and business. The exhibition Constructive Alps presents award-winning architectural projects from across the Alpine region that combine sustainable building practices with regional construction traditions.
A major future-oriented urban development project will take centre stage during Rooftop Day Frankfurt on 6 June. Hosted on the terrace of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt, the event focuses on the planned Cultural Mile along the city’s historic green belt. In cooperation with WDC 2026, representatives from the city administration will present current plans from 6 pm onwards.
Under the title Horsing Around – zügelt Euch nicht, the return of several objects that were “abducted” and transformed during Vienna Design Week will be celebrated on 6 June at the pub Gute Stute, featuring works by Kai Linke.
Film and design enthusiasts are also in for a treat at Massif E on Saturday evening. Following the world premiere of Gary Hustwit’s documentary What Are People For: Design Philosophy by Patrick Whitney (7.30 pm, free admission), a discussion with director Gary Hustwit, producer Ashley Lukasik and Patrick Whitney will explore design as a social practice. On Sunday, 7 June, Massif E will screen Rams, Gary Hustwit’s acclaimed documentary portrait of Dieter Rams, whose work—particularly for Braun—has had a lasting impact on modern product design worldwide.
From 5 to 7 June, Museum Angewandte Kunst will showcase emerging projects and current work from the Hessen Design Competition within its Next Generation Space. From 9 to 11 June, the focus shifts to gender design. The international Gender Design Network e. V. (iGDN) will host exhibitions, workshops and discussions exploring how gender design can rethink participation, digital development and interdisciplinary exchange.
On Tuesday, 9 June, Frankfurt’s Focus Day within Open – Design Week, a range of leading organisations will open their doors to the public. The day begins with a Breakfast Talk hosted by design agency hauser lacour, featuring trend researcher Raphael Gielgen on the topic New Democratic Work. Publisher form will join artist Sandra Spoo at the Colour Research Studio to explore the social and political potential of colour. The day concludes with the Brand Experience Night hosted by brand agency Jazzunique.
Visitors wishing to explore the Focus Day through a curated program can join a va- riety of guided tours. Whether on foot through the Design Trails, via the Design Shuttle (in partnership with mobility partner MAZDA) or by bicycle on the Design Rides, participants will visit locations including NSYNK, JOP Architekten, Studio Sasch, Trickfilmland & Playlist4You, e15, Moogoo and the exhibition New Neues Frankfurt at the historic mayhaus. A dedicated Design Shuttle will also connect design destinations across Frankfurt, Offenbach and Darmstadt. The day concludes with drinks at the Shared Resources Space at Danzig am Platz.
On Wednesday, 10 June, World Industrial Design Day FRM (6 pm–10 pm) at the Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt will explore how design can contribute to values-based transformation through a series of open dialogue formats.
On Friday, 12 June, the urban dance performance BEAT BY BITS will engage with the social and political dimensions of techno culture in the heart of Frankfurt. Developed by Company Haptic Hide under the direction of Paula Rosolen, the project brings together ten dancers and artists from the region. Following performances at 5 pm and 7 pm (approximately 35 minutes each) on Goetheplatz, audiences will be invited to join in and dance themselves.
Towards the end of the week, international attention will converge on Massif E, where the renowned Forward Festival takes place on 11 and 12 June, offering fresh perspectives on digital culture and communication. At the same time, the global design community’s emerging talents will be celebrated at the iF DESIGN STUDENT AWARD 2026 on 11 June at Westhafen Pier 1.
From 12 to 14 June, the project OFF THE WALL will transform Frankfurt’s green belt into a living laboratory for encounter, biodiversity and climate-friendly mobility through temporary installations and interventions. What began as a vision during the WDC 2026 Open Call in October 2024 now reaches its most ambitious expression in a three-day interactive urban intervention.
To close Open – Design Week, visitors are invited to the brand eins event Echt jetzt. An Evening for the Analogue at Massif E on Saturday, 13 June (7.30 pm), a compelling case for genuine human encounters in an increasingly digital world.
Copyright Ben Kuhlmann