Designing for a Changing World
Fisher & Paykel’s Global Speaker Series invited leading architects, designers and creative thinkers to discuss how design can respond to a rapidly changing world.
Hosted at Fisher & Paykel’s Experience Centres in Australasia, North America and the United Kingdom, the series reaffirmed the company’s commitment to global thought leadership and advancing meaningful, sustainable and human-centred design. The inaugural event took place at the Melbourne Experience Centre, designed by Fisher & Paykel’s Design Team in collaboration with Clare Cousins Architects.
Cousins joined Breathe Architecture founding director Jeremy McLeod and Rachel Nolan of Kennedy Nolan to discuss the importance of human connection in an increasingly digital world, evaluating how thoughtful design can foster deeper relationships within the built environment. The speakers also unpacked the emotional impact of space, emphasising that homes, particularly kitchens, must simultaneously nurture relationships and serve a purpose.
Sydney’s event focused on technology, with architects Shaun Carter of Carter Williamson and Luigi Rosselli of the eponymous practice, interior designer Sarah-Jane Pyke of Arent & Pyke and Simone Stephens, Fisher & Paykel’s head of global D&A partnerships, exploring how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping daily life. The question, “Are We Driving Technology or Is It Driving Us?” proved to be a timely and complex point of discussion, with Stephens highlighting the need for a measured approach. “AI doesn’t replace the human need for craft and connection, so finding that balance is something we all strive to do,” she said.
“We’ve all got to act with radical responsibility now to ensure that we’re building for a better future.”
Sustainability emerged as a defining global theme. In Auckland, Raphaela Rose, director of multidisciplinary practice ahha, Richard Naish, founder and director of RTA Studio, Anahera Rawirim, principal of Jasmax, and Tristan Nicholls, design leader at Fisher & Paykel Home Solutions, outlined new approaches to timber construction, operational emissions and circularity. Their message – that sustainability is no longer a trend but the movement of our time, requiring designers and manufacturers alike to take meaningful action – was clear.
“My plea is: don’t wait for legislative change,” said Nicholls. “It’s not coming fast enough, so our role as educators, designers and engineers is to inform the public and guide them.” Rose echoed this sense of urgency, saying, “We’ve all got to act with radical responsibility now to ensure that we’re building for a better future.”
The sustainability-focused conversation continued in New York, where the stellar line-up included Sean A. Gallagher, principal and director of sustainable design at Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Kai-Uwe Bergmann of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), interior designer Sandra Nunnerley, Pascale Sablan, CEO at Adjaye Associates, and Fisher & Paykel CEO Daniel Witten-Hannah.
Communication with clients and communities was seen as a crucial element in sustainably-led projects. For Sablan, language was also key. “It’s one thing for us to talk to a community, but it’s another thing to empower them with the vernacular so that they can engage in the conversation about the built environment in terms they can relate to.” She also stressed the importance of experiencing sustainability in a tangible way, where people can “walk into a space and understand and breathe and feel the difference between what it is to build in a way that heals rather than harms”.
At the Costa Mesa Experience Centre in California, the discussion between Simone Stephens, architect Noah Walker of Walker Workshop and interior designers Erika Montes from Woods + Dangaran and Jamie Bush of Jamie Bush + Co. centred on wellness-driven luxury, particularly how materiality, light and thoughtful spatial planning can elevate wellbeing in high-end residential design.
And in London, attention turned to the pressures cities currently face, from density to affordability, and how adaptive reuse and socially responsible design can offer new models for the future. Led by Jo leGleud, co-founder of Maddux Creative, and architects Alison Brooks of Alison Brooks Architects and Morris+Company’s Joe Morris, the panel examined how evolving social and economic values are reshaping the meaning of luxury in architecture and design.
Similarly, at the Toronto Experience Centre, the conversation between interior designers Ashley Rumsey of Mason Studio and Studio Munge’s Alessandro Munge, architect Omar Gandhi and Fisher & Paykel’s Noush Irani reflected on urbanisation, shifting lifestyle patterns and the growing need for flexible, responsive environments that reflect how people truly want to live. Gandhi, who designed the centre in collaboration with Fisher & Paykel, pondered how architects can create a sense of place that is meaningful and inspiring.
Across all markets, the speakers’ contributions culminated in a shared belief that the spaces we create and inhabit must evolve with the cultural, environmental and technological shifts shaping daily life. Further, the ability to ignite change as it relates to the built environment rests not only on the individual; rather, it is a responsibility shared by many. “The series also highlights the generosity of the panellists in sharing their insights, their commitment to topics the industry cares about, and the importance of coming together to discuss the changes and challenges facing the sector,” says Fisher & Paykel’s Simone Stephens.
