Programme: Design Mumbai Exchange

It’s no lightbulb moment: we all know lighting can make or break a project, be it a hotel, restaurant, home or office. But how far can architects and designers push the boundaries of great lighting? Our speakers will share their illuminating experiences and explore the fact that there is more to the psychology of lighting design than meets the eye.

Technology is all around us, and so is craft – especially in India. While smart tech and generative AI are seen as an antithesis of timeless traditions and hand-made products, could it be possible to infuse state-of-the-art digital or mechanical approaches with traditional ways of making, reinvigorating crafts using modern technology?

In this 360 discussion, our panellists will unpack why circular design is crucial for the future of production. How do we ensure the design industry is sustainable and able to create beautiful objects, fit for purpose? How can designers collaborate with other makers and materials innovators to reach these goals?

What are the latest insights from contemporary colour psychology and how can product and interior designers harness the power of colour? How do we ensure our colour is sustainable while anticipating the latest trends? How is the changing use of colour visible in design in India and globally?

Longevity should be the aim of all professionals, but how do designers and hospitality experts ensure that their designs are more than just a pretty, passing Instagram backdrop? Can you design for comfort, well-being, and sustainability as well as an unforgettable viral post?

‘Designed in India, Made for the World: How to engage a global audience’ explores the work of leading Indian designers across architecture, interiors and design both locally and globally. The panellists will talk about what makes Indian design distinctive and relevant to people around the world, and their experience gaining greater global influence. In collaboration with Dezeen.

Join the Dezeen team and esteemed panellists from the ‘Designed in India, Made for the World: How to engage a global audience’ discussion in the Soho House X Design Mumbai lounge for a drink to celebrate the Dezeen Awards.

Mumbai is a growing megacity, with the usual growing pains. Rising rents, unequal housing and high densities are just some of the issues facing both established Mumbaikars and newcomers alike. Hear about the latest efforts to provide mass affordable housing, regenerate slums, and create mixed-use commercial hubs throughout the city. In collaboration with Eztablish.

When the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, formerly known as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Bombay, launched an international competition for a 120,000 sqft expansion in 2014, it received over 100 submissions from most major global architectural practices. The museum’s director, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, will present the project’s design imperatives, the judging process, and the reason for choosing the winning design by Steven Holl Architects from among the eight finalists. She will discuss her vision for the future of Mumbai’s oldest museum and how good design can bring the past, present and future into harmony. She will link this to contemporary issues that influence the country’s designers today, especially the importance of including traditional practices in contemporary design thinking and the role of museums in fostering craftsmanship and innovation, prioritising sustainability and community engagement.

MONOLOGUE Filmmaker Avijit Mukul Kishore and architect and filmmaker Rohan Shivkumar stage a performative encounter between disciplines, through their films Nostalgia for the Future (2017) and Lovely Villa (2019). Their ‘monologues’ meet in intersecting and dialogical readings, considering the relationship between architecture, modernity, design, and contemporary realities.

DIALOGUE – DEBATE Architecture of Levitation: The tug of war between design drive and bleak realities. Do we still need architects? In a rapidly changing design world that adapts to AI, Augmented Reality, Serious Gaming, what can architects bring to the table? How do they reckon with shifting notions of materiality, community and increased inequality? What were their journeys so far and drives them today and what lies ahead for the #GenerationNext? This livewire debate between architect Mona Doctor-Pingel and architect Shabbir Unwala, moderated by Prof. Anne Feenstra, explores quintessential dilemmas that define the future of architectural design practices. In collaboration with STIR.

~Multilogue: Contamination vs. Collaboration Are changemakers essentially contaminators? Contaminate comes from the Latin root contaminare, or ‘made impure’. When changemakers blur boundaries as they establish new frontiers, how does that change the future of their disciplines? How does creative dissonance shape what’s NEXT? Our panelists take risks and embrace challenges in pursuit of the “impure” and impeccable, reconfiguring what art, craft, design, fashion and architecture are constituted of as they go along. The panel, in an interactive “ask me anything” exchange, responds to a live crowdsourced cloud of prompts offered by the audience. The panellists, in an interactive exchange, will respond to a live crowdsourced cloud of prompts offered by the audience.

Indian architect and urbanist Charles Correa had a huge impact on the world, not least on the architects and designers who came within his sphere during his lifetime. This session will unpack the legacy of Charles Correa through the experiences of those who worked with him and were inspired by his mission to enable architects to be ‘agents of change’. Using the theme ‘Form follows Climate,’ the focus of the Charles Correa Gold Medal for 2024, speakers will explore both the impact of the work of Charles Correa on their evolution as practitioners as well as his adage, ‘to build in India is to respond to climate.’ More relevant than ever, the impact of climate change and the urgency to adopt sustainable solutions are at the forefront of the Charles Correa Foundation’s focus for the Gold Medal this year.

Join our Design Mumbai Selects Jury to announce the winning 2024 exhibitor in the Design Mumbai Exchange theatre.

STIR previews the upcoming ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN FILM FESTIVAL with a special screening of the film This is Not a House only for Design Mumbai guests and participants. This will be the South Asian premiere of the film by American filmmaker Morgan Neville whose ’20 Feet from Stardom’ won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2014 as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. “This Is Not A House” details the construction of one of the most unique homes in the world. This delightful structure designed by Robin Donaldson of Donaldson+Partners is born of the combined power of art, technology, and a celebration of play. Art collectors Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman embarked on an ambitious project to build their dream house. Working hand-in-hand with architect Robin Donaldson over a period of six years resulted in an impressive, if slightly unconventional house, which seems to exist in tandem with the couple’s fascination for installations and sculptures playing with optical illusions and technical wizardry. Organised in two levels, in a circular layout punctuated by internal courtyards and openings that offer stunning views, the architecture is as much about working together with the topography of the site as it is about creating a spectacular object. Be seated on time to be amused and inspired, and to witness a client-architect relationship worthy of your envy.

How do you make sure new technologies connect with their users? How can you deploy emotion and memory to design timeless objects and how do you make people excited about high-tech materials?

“Beyond a certain scale, architecture acquires properties of Bigness,” wrote architect and theorist Rem Koolhaas in the 1990s, “…where architecture becomes both most and least architectural.” Our panellists are architects working on some of the largest buildings in the world, including the forthcoming One Undershaft, a 73-storey tower incorporating civic functions planned for London’s financial district, and the completed Surat Diamond Bourse in Gujarat, the world’s largest office building – almost a city in itself.

In a city where movement is as much about survival as it is about connectivity, Mumbai’s urban landscape constantly redefines how people experience space and infrastructure. Architects and urban planners play a crucial role in shaping this movement, envisioning large-scale projects that respond to the demands of a megacity. Our panellists—each bringing unique perspectives on the city’s growth—will discuss how infrastructure can shape accessibility, inclusivity, and quality of life as Mumbai builds its future. In collaboration with Eztablish.

The world is full of people playing games in private. It is also a world in which innovation in design for public play, both in the home and in the public realm, is a thriving antidote to our digital discontent and post-COVID isolation. Working across a range of disciplines to create human interactions, physical activity, excitement and joy, our panellists will discuss playfulness in their own work and how it allows them to create better environments and products.