Twenty architects, designers and filmmakers from 14 cities around the globe will take part in The World Around's 2021 summit, a day of virtual talks that will be live-streamed on Dezeen on 30 January.
David Adjaye, Ryue Nishizawa and Counterspace's Sumayya Vally are named among the speakers participating in the symposium.
The World Around is an online non-profit organisation that hosts critical conversations with international experts on architecture, design and culture.
The inaugural summit took place in January 2020 and The World Around participated in Dezeen's Virtual Design Festival with a program of talks dedicated to Earth Day.
Curated by Beatrice Galilee, this year's iteration marks the launch of The World Around's residency at the Guggenheim museum.
The day of talks will be divided into three sessions, which will be available to watch on Dezeen and on Guggenheim museum's Youtube channel.
Read on for the full line-up and register for more information.
Session One: Pollinators of the World Around
10:00am New York time (3:00pm London time)
The first segment of the day will comprise a series of talks and screenings by interdisciplinary practitioners, who use storytelling and fiction to explore current global issues.
Burkinabe architect Francis Kéré will premiere his latest project, the National Assembly building in Benin, and discuss how west African history and stories influenced his design.
Award-winning Mexican director Fernando FrÃas will discuss his film Ya No Estoy Aquà (I'm No Longer Here). The film, which was Mexico's submission to the 2021 Oscars, follows a gang of Monterrey teenagers who create a countercultural movement around cumbia music.
Speculative architect Liam Young, design critic and author Alice Rawsthorn, online resource Feral Atlas, curator Alia Farid and animators El Futuro Imposible will also showcase their most recent work.
Session Two: Keepers of the World Around
1:00pm New York time (6:00pm London time)
Part two of the summit will focus on land and its physical, political and spiritual agency. Speakers will present on such topics as rural landscapes, the history of occupied territories and indigenous building techniques.
Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa will talk about his design for a single-family home on the coast of Chile.
Sumayya Vally, founding principal of Johannesburg-based design studio Counterspace, will invite the audience to join an immersive experience exploring the role of soil and land in her home community.
The session will also feature talks by Spanish architecture office Ensamble, Dubai-based research studio Waiwai and Nairobi design studio Cave Bureau.
Mexican architecture practice Comunal will join photographer Onnis Luque in conversation, and Stockholm-based museum ArkDes will speak with Sámi architect-artist Joar Nango.
Session Three: Builders of the World Around
4:00pm New York time (9:00pm London time)
An array of designers, artists, activists and thinkers will take part in the third session, which will focus on the pandemic and racial justice in America.
David Adjaye will offer exclusive insight into the building process of City of Winter Park Public Library, which is currently under construction in Florida.
Artist-led organisation For Freedoms will discuss its initiative, The Wide Awakes, which campaigns to improve civic justice and raise awareness of voting rights in the USA and beyond.
Presenting its manifesto for a more equitable future will be BlackSpace, an interdisciplinary collective of architects, urban planners and designers that works to support marginalised communities and Black spatial practitioners.
The session will also feature a conversation between design and architecture studio SO-IL and UCCA, and presentations from activist-architect Deanna Van Buren, architect Deborah Berke and NXTHVN's Jason Price.