DesignMarch live talks will focus on the role of design in shaping the future

DesignTalks graphic branding

Dezeen has teamed up with Iceland’s largest design fair DesignMarch to livestream a programme of talks by creative leaders exploring the role of design and architecture in effecting change and shaping alternative futures. Watch live from 9:00am Reykjavik time on 4 May.

To kickstart the festival, a programme of talks will take place throughout the day, which will be livestreamed from the Henning Larsen Architects-designed Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Called DesignTalks, the event will be split into three themed sessions moderated by Dezeen’s founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.

Portrait of Marcus Fairs
Dezeen’s founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs will be moderating panel discussions throughout the day

The first session, which runs between 9:00am and 12:15pm, will explore resilient approaches to design, circular thinking, regeneration and how designers can reconnect with traditional and indigenous craftsmanship.

Amongst the featured speakers are biomimetic and regenerative architect Michael Pawlyn, sustainability pioneer and co-founder of Lendager Group Anders Lendager, and Mexican designer Gabriela Sánchez y Sánchez de la Barquera.

Portrait of Gabriela Sánchez y Sánchez de la Barquera
Mexican designer Gabriela Sánchez y Sánchez de la Barquera will be among the panellists

Starting at 1:00pm, the second session focuses on environmental restoration and the notion of rewilding, as well as the design of data, information and digital spaces.

Featured speakers include architectural researcher Stefán Laxness, Pentagram partner and information designer Giorgia Lupi and DOGA managing director Tor Inge Hjemdal, among others.

Portrait of Giorgia Lupi
Pentagram partner Giorgia Lupi will discuss the design of data, information and digital spaces

The third and final session, which will begin at 3:15pm, continues the discussion of the digital realm and will expand on how designers are expanding realities into the digital realm, as well as exploring how speculation on the future can be used as a form of creative and critical reflection.

The talks will feature contributions from digital fashion designer and founder of The Fabricant Susanne Vos, Arnhildur Pálmadóttir, founder of architecture practice SAP, and speculative architect and filmmaker Liam Young.

Portrait of speculative architect Liam Young
Liam Young is a speculative architect and will be on a panel discussing the digital realm

The day will finish with the official opening ceremony of the DesignMarch festival, which will bring together panel discussions as well as individual, group and student design shows.

Now in its 14th year, DesignMarch is Iceland’s largest design fair. Curated by Hlin Helga Guðlaugsdóttir, the event covers architecture, fashion, interiors and graphic design.

The five-day fair highlights innovation in Icelandic design and architecture and focuses on themes such as sustainability, the future, regeneration, research and senses.

The full lineup of talks and more information about the festival can be found here. Tickets to the design fair can be purchased via this link.

DesignMarch takes place from 4-8 May 2022 in Reykjavík, Iceland. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Partnership content

This article was written as part of a partnership with DesignMarch. Find out more about our partnership content here.

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