Negotiating realms of the real and virtual, abstract and figurative, theory and practice, the personal and the collective, architecture often straddles concurrent visions and worlds. The practice of architecture, somewhere between creating actual space and our perception of it, positions itself on the hope of improving conditions of cohabitation while facilitating comfortable, inclusive and accessible spaces. Today, this encompasses not just the human perspective, but also the impact on natural ecosystems and the non-human and a confrontation with the pressing issues of inequalities (socio-economic and racial, to state a few), the climate crisis—altogether the deleterious effects of the Anthropocene. Envisioning these liminal spaces that inhabit the thin margins between speculation and practicality, a tenuous present and a hopeful future, forms the central enquiry for the 28th Sydney Design Week.

From the fantastical worlds envisioned by space architecture, to carving out spaces of belonging, inclusivity and connection that hope to break from the ongoing effects of (post) imperialism, to even the temporaneity of fictional architectures created for film, the week-long programme in Sydney explores concurrent themes in thinking with/alongside/otherwise to build upon a more hopeful future. Presented by Powerhouse, Australia’s largest museum group, with the support of the New South Wales Government, Principal Partners Holdmark Property Group, Foundational University Partners University of Technology Sydney and Western Sydney University, Festival Partners City of Parramatta and digital partners STIR; the showcase considers how design can envision alternative realities that champion inclusivity, sustainability, collective spaces of belonging and the multiplicities of perspectives therein. Compelling conversations that go beyond the realm of mere practice and engage with architecture as storytelling, speculation and bodies of research, have been planned for the week-long design programme. Events will take place across the city from September 13 - 19, 2024, bringing together multiple perspectives from designers pushing the boundaries of practice and their versions of worldbuilding.

Centered on the theme In Between Worlds, the programme for this year’s design week is headed by Keinton Butler, Senior Curator at Powerhouse, along with Amaia Sanchez-Velasco of architectural practice GRANDEZA STUDIO, based between Madrid and Sydney. "Creativity and imagination have become critical tools in helping us to think differently about how we live, as we face an increasingly divided, inequitable future," says Butler who is SDW’s Creative Director, "This year’s design week programme highlights leading designers and architects who are challenging the status quo, to reimagine more resilient, sustainable and inclusive cities." Reflecting on the relevance of critical approaches in how we think about the places we occupy, the list of participants for the design week includes South African architect Sumayya Vally, who heads the architecture and research practice Counterspace, Academy Award-winning production designer Colin Gibson, space architect Melodie Yashar of ICON, a construction technologies company focused on large scale additive manufacturing for the Earth and space; and Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)’s managing partner, architect David Gianotten, among others.

Speaking about this year’s programme, Lisa Havilah, Chief Executive of Powerhouse states, “This year, as we present events across the city, we are putting the spotlight on the Parramatta district of Sydney where we are currently developing our major new museum. Powerhouse will be at the heart of Parramatta’s unmatched growth and the expansion of its cultural core.” Events planned in the Paramatta Town Hall include talks by Yashar, Prof Anna Puigjaner, co-founder of Barcelona-based architecture studio MAIO and Moroccan-British artist Hassan Hajjaj that dwell on the necessity of resilience in design in reimagining how we live and the crucial role acts of care play in building more inclusive spaces.

Where Yashar’s talk focuses on the ethics of space architecture in envisioning an equitable future in outer space, Puigjaner stresses the notion of ‘Collective Care’ in her talk, asking us to consider new models for practice that emphasise collective living. Puigjaner believes that collective life can be understood and utilised as a tool for social transformation. With a particular focus on the resilience of collective knowledge in working towards our sustainable futures and the worlds created through acts of community, the programme also includes two events centred around the sense of belonging and intimacy tied to food cultures: Vally, with ‘Recipes as Archives’ presented along with food creative Karima Hazim, which will feature a Sunday breakfast with traditional Lebanese recipes; and Puigjaner and Chef Xinyi Lim’s Urban Kitchen, where the chef will prepare local ingredients in a temporary kitchen in Parramatta Square; thus bringing the act of cooking to the public domain.

The role that care and its rituals play in fostering spaces of belonging is further stressed in talks at the University of Technology Sydney with Gianotten speaking about OMA’s projects focused on local community involvement and the changing role of the architect in ‘Beyond Architecture’. On the other hand, Vally in conversation with the co-founder of Bankstown Poetry Slam, Sara Mansour on ‘Places of Belonging’ highlights the relevance of culture, ritual and traditions to placemaking practices, especially in the case of migrant or Indigenous communities.

What perhaps bears noting about the thought-provoking programme of talks and events is not only the specificity of each participant’s response to the brief—touching upon the issues of (and potential interventive responses to) several individual, community, urban, international and planetary challenges that face us—but also the various interconnections that emerge between each of the events; a reminder that we are only free when all planetary beings are free. It is also worth noting then that the design fair shifts focus away from the oft-abused notion of design as solution and salvation; instead establishing shared stakeholdership through kinship - invisible as it may be.

The rather concentrated nature of the events, apart from the institutional linearity, stands in stark contrast to the perceivable excess of major design fairs and conclaves around the world, even as the design week looks to elevate Australia’s positioning in the global design scene through the strength of thoughtful programming alone. Each of the events implores one to think beyond the concrete finality of design, beyond the ‘building’ as a product, instead focusing on the act of building; building communities, building resilience, building towards a more inclusive future. An apt summation is lent by the program’s chief headline: “Now is the time for more inclusive cities. How can design push the boundaries of possibility to support sustainable models for living, connection and culture?”