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Five conversations that shaped how we thought about design in 2025

From city-making to craft, design heritage to material innovation, these standout interviews offered rare insight into the people steering architecture and design forward.

Five conversations that shaped how we thought about design in 2025

Ivan Harbour on Barangaroo and the long view of city-making

Interview by Timothy Alouani-Roby. Photography by Brett Boardman.

Ten years after the first phase of Barangaroo South was completed, Ivan Harbour returned to Sydney to reflect on the project’s evolution and its contested place in the city. The conversation ranged from RSHP’s philosophies of polycentric urbanism to the political realities of megaprojects, and the enduring ambition to create public spaces that feel alive at street level. It remains one of our most substantive looks at how architects grapple with the scale, timeframes and scrutiny of reshaping a city.

Eames Demetrios on continuity, innovation and the evolving legacy of Eames Office

Interview by Timothy Alouani-Roby. Photography by Peter Clarke.

Speaking during Living Edge’s 25-year celebrations, Eames Demetrios offered a rare window into the philosophy behind one of design’s most influential families. His reflections on the Shell Chair’s constant reinvention, the idea of design as ongoing refinement rather than nostalgia, and the tension between heritage and future-thinking made this interview a standout. It reframed design icons not as static artefacts but as ever-evolving works shaped by new materials, environmental imperatives and shifting cultural contexts.

Abramo Manfrotto on Venetian light, craftsmanship and contemporary reinvention

Interview by Timothy Alouani-Roby. Photography by Dedece / supplied.

During his visit with dedece, Abramo Manfrotto traced a line from childhood memories of photographic lighting to his leadership of LEUCOS. The conversation revealed a rare blend of technical mastery, entrepreneurial instinct and devotion to Venetian craft. Manfrotto spoke candidly about marrying electronics with traditional glasswork, collaborating with global designers, and revitalising a storied brand without losing its soul. It captured the delicate dance between technology and artistry that defines contemporary lighting.

Adam Markowitz on making, architecture and building a craft ecosystem

Interview by Jan Henderson. Photography by Bhavya Pansari.

Few practitioners move between architecture and furniture-making with as much fluency as Adam Markowitz. This interview illuminated his dual practice, his advocacy for Australia’s makers and his reflections on how craft can be sustained in an industry where it is often undervalued. From the INDE.Awards-winning A Cabinet of Curiosities to collaborations with glass artists and international workshops, Markowitz’s career offers a compelling model for a holistic, craft-centred design practice.

Ed Lippmann on 40 years of architecture and the ideas that shaped a career

Interview by Timothy Alouani-Roby. Photography by Brett Boardman.

Marking the launch of his monograph 40 Years of Architecture, Ed Lippmann revisited a career that spans New York modernism, seminal Sydney works and the evolution of a practice through boom, crisis and renewal. The discussion traced the influence of Marcel Breuer, the significance of 8 Chifley Square, and the enduring clarity of vision that has guided his approach. It was both a history lesson and a forward-looking meditation on what architects owe to their cities, their clients and themselves.

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