Is Your Town Funky?

A list of the world's top design hot spots.

1 minute read

October 27, 2003, 2:00 PM PST

By David Gest


Which city combines "cool Finnish clarity with Slavic shock value"? Where can you find the "Total Lifestyle Store"? "Who wouldn't want to dance at a Vibe party, staged in one of [one city's] vast deserted factories?" Here is a list of the hippest, chic-est cities in the world, from some old favorites (London and Paris), to some recent upstarts - like Tallinn, Estonia and Ho Chi Minh City. One common theme is adaptive reuse. Many of these cities now live or throw parties in old industrial buildings, from lofts in "a '50s-era weapons factory" in Beijing to a bar in a former electricity showroom in London.

Thanks to David Gest

Monday, October 27, 2003 in Newsweek

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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