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The Jerusalem Center for Design is giving this ancient city a facelift, working to invigorate Jerusalem's design scene and to attract more and more young designers to the city.

The center works to promote design in Jerusalem by offering a litany of contests, parties, workshops, conferences, exhibits, internships and more. In late 2010, the center spearheaded Jerusalem Design Week. These ten days of non-stop events featured an "Extreme" Design Conference about the changing face of Israeli design; Zman 02, a Jerusalem-inspired design exhibit for young designers; and Design in the Streets of Jerusalem, a design and crafts exhibit and fair.

Highlighting the week was the Reference Installation Design Contest, which unveiled the winners of the center's city square redesign contest - an open competition in which contestants drew up prototype plans for three downtown squares - Tzahal (IDF) Square, Generali Square and Safra Square - in an attempt to breathe new life into downtown Jerusalem. The week ended with a blow-out party with design workshops, live music, dancing and many pumped-up designers.

Boaz Bar-Hillel, project manager for the organization, tells GoJerusalem.com that the center is "one of the initiatives put forth to keep youth in the city." He's pleased with the progress so far. "We already have created a number of initiatives ourselves - pursuing business opportunities for young designers, finding support for artistic projects," he says. "Right now we are working on a project at Bezalel 7, near the Nocturno café, where we are creating a space for designers - graphic artists, urban designers, etc., where they can rent studio space and work in downtown Jerusalem, developing their business in Jerusalem."

Other recent initiatives include the inauguration of Urbanica - an artistic incubator that gives free studio stalls to artists in downtown Jerusalem's Shukenyon - and the Defrost Jerusalem Festival held last January. Both events have been noted with interest by Jerusalem's aspiring artists and designers as the community and free rent offered by Urbanica, and the focus on alternative and fringe art provided by Defrost Jerusalem, are key to keeping up-and-coming creative interested in Jerusalem.

According to Bar-Hillel, before the Jerusalem Center of Design got started in 2009, "Jerusalem was a hard place for young artists and designers because there was no infrastructure - or at least not much infrastructure - for them to work with; they didn't have the support system here that they have in other places. But Jerusalem has a large alternative scene and many art schools, and there were people that wanted to stay if they had a place to work or a structure to work in."

As befits an institute catering to the young and hip, the Jerusalem Center of Design is paying special focus to Jerusalem's urban center. As Bar Hillel tells GoJerusalem.com, "We are working with the Jerusalem municipality and architects on a bigger project to develop the area from Tzahal Square to the Central Bus Station and, similar to the contest held in November, we're constantly seeking out design solutions to reinvigorate the city's public squares."

Indeed, the city square redesign contest has piqued interest not only in Jerusalem but throughout the world. Prior to the public contest, the Jerusalem Design Center - working with the city government, the Israeli Architects' Association and the Jerusalem Development Authority - commissioned 12 international designers to create art installations for the city's main squares as part of their focus on reviving downtown Jerusalem.

Photos of City Square Design winners with sculpted trees,seating pods and a Safra Square bird's nest courtesy of the Jerusalem Center of Design. Photos of the Design Week Awards Ceremony, the Design Week party at the Jerusalem Center of Design and the "redesign" gadgets and instruments courtesy of Perry Bendelboim for the Jerusalem Center of Design.