Advocates of change: revisiting creatively charged, STIRring events of 2023
by Jincy IypeDec 31, 2023
•make your fridays matter with a well-read weekend
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.
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.
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.
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. .
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
by Anushka Sharma Sep 17, 2025
The Prague-based studio reimagines an old guardhouse with vaulted ceilings and painted beams into a modern, livable space with a medieval soul.
by Bansari Paghdar Sep 16, 2025
Amidst a lingering industrial past, this workspace — featuring pink lime plaster walls and playful gargoyles — is a living tribute to IKSOI's co-founder, late architect Dhawal Mistry.
by Mrinmayee Bhoot Sep 12, 2025
For Intelligens, participations by Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao explore how infrastructure and development prerogatives in Asian megacities are (re)produced for global perceptions.
by Bansari Paghdar Sep 11, 2025
With London at the heart of architectural enquiry again, the shortlist aims to tackle Britain's most pressing urban issues, but has a concerning geographic and functional concentration.
make your fridays matter
SUBSCRIBEEnter your details to sign in
Don’t have an account?
Sign upOr you can sign in with
a single account for all
STIR platforms
All your bookmarks will be available across all your devices.
Stay STIRred
Already have an account?
Sign inOr you can sign up with
Tap on things that interests you.
Select the Conversation Category you would like to watch
Please enter your details and click submit.
Enter the 6-digit code sent at
Verification link sent to check your inbox or spam folder to complete sign up process
by Zohra Khan | Published on : Dec 21, 2023
What do you think?