RDEF24
WHEN
27 September 2024
WHERE
PEARL, London, UK
WHO
Ramboll with LRL Space + UCL
The Design Excellence Forum 2024 took place on 27 September 2024 at UCL PEARL in London. Organised by Ramboll in collaboration with LRL Space and UCL (University College London), this second edition of the biennial forum explored design innovation and sustainability through four sessions: Learning, Environment, Technology and Leadership.
As co-curators, we focused on promoting synergies and collaboration between the design process and science.
©Pearl
The Forum was held at PEARL (Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory), UCL’s research facility in Dagenham, East London, built to study how people interact with their environment. Around 4,000 m² in size and 10 m high, it can recreate real-sized environments and control light, sound and smell, so that researchers can test how these conditions shape the way we experience a place.
Together with leading practitioners, researchers and design thinkers, the Forum explored the interconnected themes of design, research and innovation across four sessions:
DESIGN
Session A
LEARNING
DESIGN
Session B
ENVIRONMENT
DESIGN
Session C
TECHNOLOGY
DESIGN
Session D
LEADERSHIP
Session A: Learning
Session A explored design at the crossroads of education and learning. Introduced and hosted by Lai Wan Sing, Senior Environmental Engineer at Ramboll, it brought together Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria; Jose Torero Cullen, Professor of Civil Engineering and Head of the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering at UCL; Farshid Moussavi, founder of Farshid Moussavi Architecture and Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design; and Raffaele Ardito, Associate Professor of Structural Mechanics in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. The panel discussion was moderated by Shira de Bourbon Parme, urbanist and social anthropologist at Ramboll.
Session B: Environment
Session B explored the intersection of design, ecology and the environment. Hosted by Rikke Bjerregaard Orry, Sustainability Director at Ramboll Buildings, it opened with a performance by sound designer and musician Chiara Luzzana, who took the audience into the sonic landscape of Venice. Paul Astle, a leader in decarbonisation at Ramboll Buildings, then shared a question from his five-year-old daughter: “Look at all this stuff. Where does it come from?” His talk called on designers to consider the environmental impact of every material and decision, from the smallest components to whole systems. In the closing panel, moderated by Olly Wildman, Design Director at Ramboll Buildings, Ana Mijic, Professor of Water Systems Integration at Imperial College London, and our founder, Stanislava Boskovic, joined the speakers to discuss regenerative design and how industry leaders and governance can help reconcile the natural and built environments.
Session C: Technology
Session C explored the intersection of design, technology and innovation, bringing together voices from architecture, engineering and design. Hosted and introduced by Lars Ostenfeld Riemann of Ramboll, it began with a question from Patricia Viel, CEO of Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel Architects: how can we adopt AI and digital tools ethically in the design process? Her presentation focused on the datasets and frameworks behind these tools. Sara Sheikh Akbari of Zaha Hadid Architects followed with advanced applications that are already reshaping the spaces of tomorrow. The panel, moderated by Darren Gibson of Ramboll, brought the presenters together with Mikela Chatzimichailidou, Professor of Design for Mobility, Health, People and Society at UCL; Emily Scoones, Head of Digital and Innovation at Ramboll Buildings; and Emiliano Capasso, Head of BIM at ACPV Architects, to discuss how technology can drive ethical, regenerative progress in the built environment.
Session D: Leadership
Session D explored how leadership and foresight can spark innovative design processes and help future leaders navigate the complex challenges of the built and natural environments. Hosted by Annina Peisa of Ramboll, it began with Ivan Harbour of RSHP, who reflected on the importance of being a conductor and facilitator of change. Will Arnold of The Institution of Structural Engineers followed with a call to action on leadership in the face of climate change, with ethical responsibility as the key to thriving in uncertain times. The closing panel, moderated by Hossein Rezai of Ramboll, brought the speakers together with Lora Brill and Elina Kalliala of Ramboll to discuss the skills and roles needed to shape the future dialogue between the natural and built environments.
Curators
RDEF_24 was curated by Søren Brøndum, Hossein Rezai and Lai Wan Sing of Ramboll, Mikela Chatzimichailidou of UCL and our founder, Stanislava Boskovic.
Behind the scenes
Preparing the hall at UCL PEARL just before the Design Excellence Forum opened its doors.
The RDEF book
The Forum’s proceedings were published in the Ramboll Design Excellence 2024–2025 book, launched in Milan, London, Stockholm, Dubai and Singapore. At the Forum, we also unveiled our own debut book, LRL Excellence Dialogues 2024.
Session recordings and more videos from the Forum are available on Ramboll’s YouTube channel. For the full programme and speakers, visit the Forum website.
Photos by Andrea Butti