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Lessons in humility, joy, and care: The most STIRring conversations from 2023

STIRred 2023: From discovering the enigmatic world of Ferrari to exploring the craft of collecting and the value of architectural joy, we take a look at our best conversations.

by Zohra KhanPublished on : Dec 21, 2023

From exploring practices that operate with the marginalised communities, which includes dialogues with Yasmeen Lari, Francis Kere, Mariam Kamara, to peeping into the curious worlds of creatives such as Flavio Manzoni, George Yabu and Glen Pushelberg, Ma Yansong, Refik Anadol, and Ila Colombo, the takeaways have been plenty this year. Lessons in humility, joy, care, healing, articulation, freedom, multiplicity, problem-solving, virtuality, education, and ecology erupt from the many dialogues and discourses STIR engaged in this year. We looked through the fears and fascinations, processes and priorities, and impact and influences that drive those at the helm of architecture, design, and arts: from sitting down with Jan Gehl, Bjarke Ingels, Jeanne Gang, and Chris Downey (to name a few) at the UIA conference in Copenhagen, interviewing Lina Ghotmeh at the Serpentine Pavilion in London, to unpacking curious conversations around pedagogy and cultural commentary with Anupama Kundoo and Aric Chen respectively, at the STIR Gallery in New Delhi, it has been quite a ride. Equally fascinating have been conversations around photography, game design, metaverse, performance design, type design, films and AI-generated art.

Here's a recce of dialogues that stirred our hearts, people who inspired us, and learnings we hope to carry into the next year.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

1. Ferrari’s Flavio Manzoni on finding the route between dream and reality

The Chief Design Officer of the luxury car brand opens up about his reverence for drawings, the value of his architectural education, and how it impacts his role.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

2. Yabu Pushelberg on collecting and crafted inspiration

Quintessential storytellers—Canadian designers George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg—offer us a peek into their little-known love of collecting.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

3. Architects delineate what constitutes ‘all’ and ‘everyone’ at UIA 2023

Francis Kere, Jan Gehl, Yasmeen Lari, and Chris Downey were among those STIR interacted with to discuss the impact they are creating with their respective practices as well as UIA’s overarching theme, ‘Leave No One Behind’.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

4. MAD Architects’ Ma Yansong on buildings as constructed nature

The Chinese architect elaborates on architecture being a profession of possibilities and lets us in on a practice of creating buildings of freedom that rethink our fellowship with nature.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

5. Aric Chen unpacks the meaning of cultural commentary at the STIR Gallery

The general and artistic director of Het Nieuwe Instituut shared thoughts on culture, design, economies, and ecosystems, in the presence of artists and designers across disciplines.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

6. Architecture as Language. Language as Pedagogy. Pedagogy as Practice

Experts from the Indian community of architectural practitioners and academicians including Anupama Kundoo, Madhav Raman, Vishal K. Dar, and Prof KT Ravindran and more congregated at the STIR Gallery in New Delhi to re-examine the chassis, semantics, and state of architectural education and vocation.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

7. Mariam Kamara of atelier masōmī on discarding the single story

Nigerian architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara talks about extracting a 'paradise' through the rejection of Eurocentric metanarratives of the architectural canon.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

8. Tosin Oshinowo on the influence of identity and culture in her designs

Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo discusses her new role as a curator, rebuilding Ngarannam, and the influence of African culture in her designs.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

9. Jim Stephenson on the value of ‘use and mess’ in architectural photography

The UK-based photographer elaborates on the meaning of ‘architectural joy’ and ‘people watching’, referencing his installation, The Architect has Left the Building, which is currently on view at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

10. Curator Damian Fopp on the impact of game design in our lives

Speaking with STIR, Fopp discusses the evolution of gaming and its increasing influence on contemporary culture and modes of expression. The dialogue pivots around the Museum für Gestaltung Zürich’s exhibition titled Game Design Today.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

11. Design thinker and AI proponent Ila Colombo on her design practice

Connecting with STIR in her AI avatar, the London-based design thinker discusses her biomimicry design practice and its materiality, and adds nuance to the conversation around artificial intelligence. .

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

12. Soheila Sokhanvari on giving voice to the lost stars of Iran

The British-Iranian artist elaborates on the feminist delirium being a key emotion of her show, Rebel Rebel, a show commemorating feminist icons from pre-revolution Iran at the Barbican Art Gallery.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

13. Patrick Schumacher speaks with STIR on the virtuality of place

In the first Metaverse Architecture Biennale, Zaha Hadid Architects' principal Patrik Schumacher, curator Sergey Nadtochiy, and STIR Founder and Editor-in-Chief Amit Gupta ruminate upon the “presence of the future”.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

14. Melissa Mongiat on transforming public spaces with Daily tous les jours

The co-founder of the Montreal-based studio retraces the journey of her art and design practice and its knack for spaces that tell stories.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

15. A conversation on ANTIFurniture—an antithetical reenactment of normative design

Speaking with Fyodor Pavlov-Andreevich and Tim Marlow, STIR unpacks the essential ‘anti-’ in creation through a set of performance design sculptures at the Design Museum.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

16. Samar Maakaroun on embracing the complexity of thinking in two languages

With her work ‘29 words for 29 letters’, the British-Lebanese type designer reveals how she plays with meanings, typographies, and animation techniques to build a unique multi-cultural glossary.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

17. In conversation with Lina Ghotmeh around the 2023 Serpentine Pavilion

The French-Lebanese architect elaborates on the emotion behind the near-cloaked conception of the Serpentine Pavilion titled, À table.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

18. Refik Anadol on his AI-generated installation Glacier Dreams

Turkish-American new media artist, Refik Anadol, speaks with STIR, at Art Dubai, about his AI generated installation Glacier Dreams, commissioned by Julius Baer.

The exhibition Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Brera Design Week 2022  | Again, From The Earth's Foundation at Salone 2022 | STIRworld

19. Jason Kisvarday on ‘Everything Everywhere all at Once’

Winner of the Best Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, EEAAO's production designer Jason Kisvarday speaks with STIR about the magic and mundanity and the conception of a familiar and familial multiverse with the film.

The central installation at Milan Design Week 2022 | Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella | STIRworld

20. Letter(s) to Design for Milan Design Week 2023

Global designers and creative practitioners including Marcel Wanders, Nigel Coates, Suchi Reddy, and Rossana Orlandi, contribute to a collective glossary of design values prior to this year's Milan Design Week.

What is it about engaging in a conversation that makes it meaningful? Is it about seeking answers or finding connections? Does vocalising our thoughts help us better understand our intentions? Or is it the alchemy of minds that cooks new questions, revisits the seen, and rethinks what’s the norm? We hope the above conversations inspire you to reflect on why they matter. Tell us who and what you'd like to see and know more of in 2024...

STIRred 2023 wraps up the year with compilations of the best in architecture, art, and design from STIR. Did your favourites make the list? Tell us in the comments!

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Lessons in humility, joy, and care: The most STIRring conversations from 2023

STIRred 2023: From discovering the enigmatic world of Ferrari to exploring the craft of collecting and the value of architectural joy, we take a look at our best conversations.

by Zohra Khan | Published on : Dec 21, 2023