• Kortrijk

    19. Apr 2018

Facts and Figures

 

about
Kortrijk, Belgium


Inhabitants

75.000 in the City of Kortrijk
300.000 in the agglomeration of Kortrijk
2 million in the dynamic Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai

Area

80,02 km²

Educational Institutions

University Colleges Howest and VIVES
KU Leuven, campus Kortrijk
Ghent University, campus Kortrijk
in total more than 11.000 students


29 of the top 100 manufacturing companies in Belgium are located in and around the city of Kortrijk

Design & design thinking have become part of the region’s DNA.

The Kortrijk region boasts world market leaders in textiles, plastics, wood, lighting and multimedia.

Quadruple helix cooperation is deeply embedded in the region.

The 4 academic institutes and several Flemish and Belgian competence & research centers with focus on design and the creative manufacturing industry have an operational base in Kortrijk.

Due to its border location, Kortrijk has a long-standing tradition of international business. As far back as the Middle Ages the textiles industry yielded one of Flanders’ most important export products, ‘Courtrai flax’. Thanks to flax processing the city gained a reputation of craftsmanship, high quality design and entrepreneurship. However, due to wars, economic crises etcetera, the textiles industry had to reinvent itself. This necessary transformation made the Kortrijk region into what it is today: highly creative and resilient; traits to be found in all aspects of contemporary Kortrijk:

Industry

The textile traders of the Middle Ages have been exchanged for leading companies in the creative manufacturing industry, expert at implementing design & design thinking: machine builders (Van de Wiele), specialized textile manufacturers (Verilin), imaging technology (Barco) or steel wire applications (Bekaert).

Education

For every 7 citizens, Kortrijk has 1 student in higher education. The 2 Universities of Applied Sciences, Howest and VIVES, and the campuses of the top 2 Belgian Universities, Ghent and Louvain, are at the forefront of cutting edge developments, creating the very entrepreneurs and innovators of tomorrow.

Urban development

The City and region continuously invest in large scale and daring urban development projects. International designers and architects such as Bernardo Secchi & Paola Vigano, Bob Van Reeth and Jacques Wirtz have been part of this ‘makeover’ of Kortrijk.

Arts & design

Every 2 years Kortrijk hosts the Biennale Interieur, internationally renowned for showcasing the latest design trends and avant-garde furniture. In between the City can boast on a vibrant culture scene, flirting with the boundaries between arts, design, industry and the city.

So, creativity is in the regions DNA. The companies and organizations of Kortrijk are not afraid of experimenting and innovating and working together to achieve this. They are flexible and are known for their problem-solving, creative thinking. Design-thinking as we say, creating added value and facilitating innovation.

We continue to invest in creativity to transform the city and region. An important actor in this is the quadruple helix organization Designregio Kortrijk, which was founded in 2005. This organization links companies, public organizations and students with creatives and designers. The resulting results bring new growth and prosperity.

We want to give ourselves in this network. In the past years we have developed various co-creation programs between companies and designers, between government and designers, each time with very concrete results. We want to share that with you. So, speak to us, let us connect. Let us valorize the power of the network.

Discover Kortrijk

Open Call // Designers in Residence Kortrijk 2023

DESIGNREGIO Kortrijk and ELDERS collective are joining forces and invite you to apply for Designers in Residence Kortrijk 2023, on the topic of “ P…

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Call // WONDER Creativity Festival

From 19 October to 5 November, WONDER Creativity Festival will once again take over Kortrijk’s city centre for 3 weeks of wondrous exhibitions, installations and…

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Call // Can you share our wondering stories in your network?

DesignRegio Kortrijk has a ❤️ for creative entrepreneurial talent. In everything we do, we bring talent together to imagine, design and make a better future.…

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Visit to Bilbao, UNESCO Creative City of Design

Bilbao, a city with a lot of potential, an eye for beauty, enthusiastic inhabitants with a great will to cooperate and a lot of ‘rebellious’…

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Visit to Covilhã, UNESCO Creative City of Design

Covilhã, UNESCO Creative City of Design. Do you know this city? In my network, people looked at me questioningly when I told them that that…

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WONDER – Kortrijk Creativity Festival

From 20 October to 6 November, the third edition of the free creative city festival WONDER will take place in the centre of Kortrijk. The…

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50 years E17 – Open Call for Proposals of Artists, Designers & Makers

In 1973, the Belgian part of the E3 motorway, now E17, was completed. Intermunicipal organisation Leiedal, the regional developer for South West Flanders, wishes to single…

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Regional delegation tastes the design city of Saint-Etienne

Regional delegation tastes the design city of Saint-Etienne Last week, a large city delegation visited the design biennale of colleague UNESCO Creative City of Design…

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