Renny Ramakers, co-founder and creative director of Amsterdam-based design company Droog, will give a talk titled “Rethink Everything: From Screw to City” on her ideas about how design could help us capture new opportunities to change the world.

Educated as an art historian at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, Ramakers initiates projects, curates exhibitions and gives lectures worldwide. Her aim is to deliver cutting-edge content and unexpected perspectives in an interdisciplinary and down-to-earth way.

In 1993, Ramakers and Gijs Bakker started Droog to oppose the high fashion and form-based world of design. In contrast, Droog proposed a highly conceptual approach, one captured by the Dutch word “Droog,” meaning “dry.”

As a critic, Ramakers has contributed to international magazines, books and catalogs, and has authored several books. Her latest book is “Here, There, Everywhere” (2014) which speculates about how people in daily situations worldwide can inspire new directions for design.

Ramakers is a judging panelist on various boards and has advised on governmental advisory boards among others as a member of the Dutch Council of Culture (1995-2001). She was also a member and chairman of the board of THNK, an Amsterdam school for creative leadership (2012-2014). In 2012 Newsweek named her one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World.”

In 2014, Ramakers initiated Design+Desires. Dedicated to exploring how the dreams, passion and needs of city dwellers can shape cities of the 21st century, the program envisions user-centered urban planning on a human scale. Through a range of design projects, educational projects, academic research, exhibitions, citizen surveys, debates and expert meetings, the program aims to tackle existing problems in the city and create new opportunities, both in theory and practice, with the ultimate goal of creating an alternative model for urban planning.

Time: 7-8:30 p.m., March 7

Venue: Learning Space, 2/F, Design Society|Sea World Culture and Arts Center, 1187 Wanghai Road, Shekou, Nanshan District (南山区蛇口望海路1187号设计互联|海上世界文化艺术中心二楼公共教育中心)

Metro: Line 2, Sea World Station (海上世界站), Exit A

(SD News)

Dubbed “the most beautiful park in Shenzhen” and an “urban green lung,” Xiangmi Park will give a free guided tour to women March 8 to celebrate International Women’s Day.

The park provides an ideal place for citizens to take walks and participate in entertaining activities, in addition to an array of new features including overhead plank walkways.

Xiangmi Park is undoubtedly the “oxygen bar” of the city. It is located in the heart of Futian and covers an area of 424,000 square meters, among which greenery covers about 330,000 square meter accounting for 81.2 percent of the total area.

The layout of Xiangmi Park is divided into four functional areas, including a recreational and sports area, orchards, an ecological water system and flower area. Two artificial lakes named Huami Lake and Huaxiang Lake can be found in the north and south of the park. A 1,233-meter-long stream runs from north to south.

The three overhead landscape plank walkways are another highlight of the park, totaling 1,145 meters in length. On the suspended walkways, citizens can overlook the beauty of a litchi orchard and Futian’s central business district. Various lighting facilities also ensure park-goers can have a good time at night.

Diverse plant species can be found in the park, as it hosts 80 kinds of trees and 60 types of bushes, with park builders having paid great attention to the design, selection, appearance, topography and tree survival habits.

A total of 32 professional teams specializing in various fields such as steel structures, bridges, indoor and outdoor decorations, garden construction, afforestation, soil conservation, water supply and drainage, and iron and wood arts participated in the construction.

With 112 parks in the district, Futian attaches great importance to urban environmental protection and aims to provide a comfortable environment for citizens who live, invest and start a business in the area.

Time: 9 a.m.-12 p.m., March 8

Venue: Xiangmi Park, 30 Nonglin Road, Futian District (福田区农林路30号香蜜公园)

Metro: Line 7, Nonglin Station (农林站), Exit C(SD News)