DESIGNS INDIA NATIONAL ARCHITECTURE CONFERENCE by WADE ASIA started in the year 2016 in New Delhi India. The first speaker was Dr. Kiran Bedi, First Woman IPS officer of India and former Lt. Governor of Puducherry, who shared how under her, the new design of the Tihar Jail was conceptualized, and her experiences with Architect Laurie Bekar while designing her house.
Dr Bedi told the founders of WADE ASIA “I had come here for the respect of what you stand for!”
WADE ASIA’s Conference and National Competition are established and sought-after events counted among the most premium architecture & design affairs in India.
WADE ASIA Architecture Competition is only for women while the WADE Conference, Workshops and other activities are open to all.
DESIGNS INDIA conference by WADE ASIA is known for the quality of content and speakers. Some of the prominent past speakers were:
- Rajiv Talwar from DLF, also Chairman, NAREDCO (National Real Estate Development Council)
- Ar Raj Rewal the legendary architect
- Padma Bhushan Rajeev Sethi, the curator behind Mumbai’s T3 Art transformation
- Didi Contractor, the then 88-year-old woman who was building with mud & natural materials in the foothills of Himalayas
- Ar Christopher Charles Benninger
- Ar Shirish Beri
- Najma Heptulla, Former Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha and Governor of Manipur
- Ar Jaisim Krishnarao
WADE ASIA DESIGNS INDIA CONFERENCE is frequented by personalities from the Design, Architecture, Government, Hospitality, Real Estate, Fashion, and Bollywood domains. Sussanne Khan and her mother Zarine Khan, Actress Bhagyashree, Singer Hema Sardesai, Celeb Anchors Hussain Kuwajerwala, Mandira Bedi, and many have actively participated at WADE. Likewise, great contribution and knowledge sharing was received from the stalwarts in design like Sonali Rastogi, Bobby Mukherjee, Sanjay Puri, Kohelika Kohli, Pallavi Dean, Yatin Patel, Anupama Kundoo, Shabnam Gupta, Raman Sikka, Nilabh Nagar, Fahed Majid, Sonali Bhagwati, Sachin Bandukwala, Sumessh Menon, Sheila Sri Prakash, Dipen Gada, Alfaz Miller, Manjeet Bhullar, Annkur Khosla, Sita Nanda, Sunita Kohli and more.
WADE ASIA Conference and Architecture Event attracted delegates an speakers from Dubai, Bangladesh, Singapore, Indonesia, London, Nepal, Bhutan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and more.
Economic Times, India Today, Outlook, Hindustan Times, ET Now, ZEE Business, Dainik Jagran, and NDTV are some of the many media houses that has covered WADE ASIA architecture events.
The conference happens concurrently with WADE ASIA Architecture Competition for women in architecture & design and MATECIA Exhibition, giving more power to each and generating more participation and visibility.
WADE ASIA Architecture Competition is only for women while the WADE Conference, Workshops and other activities are open to all.
WADE ASIA is supported by various associations like IIID (Institute of Indian Interior Designers), IIA (Indian Institute of Architects), SONA (Society of Nepalese Architects), BIA (Bhutan Institute of Architects), WISE INDIA (Women in Science & Engineering), Council of Architecture, CAPIXIL, Builders Association of India, and more.
Knowledge Partners of the conference are SURFACES REPORTER® and FDT Magazine.
Sponsorship: +91-9867333972, madhu@wadeasia.com
Speaker Opportunities: hello@wadeasia.com
Connect with WADE ASIA:
Showcasing some of the glimpses of Design India Architecture Conference.
The keynote session at WADE ASIA saw an overwhelming session by Ar Shimul Javeri Kadri and her partners, i.e., Vaishali Shankar, Sarika Shetty and Roshni Kshirsagar. The session began with the notable architect talking about the workings of SJK Architects and some of their key projects. The presentation threw light on various aspects of the practice, their collaborations etc. Later on, the stage got open for questions where Shimul and her partners responded on breaking the myth of being the individual master architect. They spoke about being a collective as well as nurturing the individual qualities of each team member.
The special guest session marked a historic milestone with WADE ASIA as the Terrific Trio meets the fraternity together at the same forum, same stage for the first time ever in DSP Design’s 34 years strong business history! The session was a dream of Vertica Dvivedi, eversince they were featured in the cover story of SURFACES REPORTER®. Together, the trio set the stage on fire with their experiences of bringing out technological advancements in the field of design when everyone was still slogging with the drawing boards. Sharing an incident, they spoke how they took their computers to one of their client meetings in order to showcase him their first-ever presentation and the rest is history. This and many more such incidences were shared during the course of forty mintues post which, the session went open for audience who also raised some pertinent questions about using the technological tools in the business of design.
Masterclass with Mentors is the flagship session of WADE ASIA as it entails mentoring, handholding, advising and guiding the young architects and designers about working in the field. This year, the session became even more crucial as post COVID, the situation has drastically altered. This year mentors Ar Kohelika Kohli, K2India; Ar Pallavi Dean, Roar, Dubai; Supriya Thyagarajan, Executive Director, Perkins Eastman & Shabnam Gupta, The Orange Lane, along with Moderator Vertica Dvivedi, Founder, WADE ASIA, answered to 10 important questions received from young & aspiring designers of India.
Designers are known for being creative yet not business minded which many times hinder their growth as they start to scale up their business. This session proved to be an important one in this respect as architects and designers who have already scaled up their practice and turned into the design busiess shared the stage to discuss the models that need to be followed in order to move up. The session also focussed on how to pivot your attention on the management aspect of the practice while not compromising on the quality. Creating hierarchys and more aspects were also discussed during the session.
WADE ASIA is a forum known for being the voice of women in architecture, design and connected fields. For the first time in WADE, Real Estate was put forward and the role being played by notable women in Indian realty scenario was discussed. The panelists spoke about lack of women participation in real estate and the hurdles they face in a men-oriented field as they need to work twice harder to earn the respect of the fellow colleagues and keep their teams together. This and more were discussed during the panel discussion.
The session focussed on the nuances of social media and how various platforms, i.e., Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest etc., can be used not only to secure new clients and contacts but knowledge sharing platform as well. The young panellists including Utsav, Simran and Apoorva spoke about how they use social media to connect with clients and their respective failures, Hiren Patel, being an old schooler provide real time project pictures instead of playing with technology or provide any 3D. He focusses on how to never bluff on social media as everything is documented. This and many other points were discussed during the panel.
Changemakers focussed on the women who are bringing change in the architecture and design world with their contribution. Ar Sapna, First Woman Vice President of Council of Architecture & Chief Architect, Dept of Architecture, Punjab spoke about her journey and experience of being in the govt institutions and their working. This was followed by Rhea Mehta, Principal, Rhea Mehta Design who threw light on the status of women artisans in the design industry and her initiatives for their upliftments.
Design Journeys is a panel where notable architects share their journey in the architecture and design world and the learnings they got after facing varied challenges. During the course of the panel, Dimple Mittal spoke about her fear of becoming an architect and how she overcame it. Ar Renu Khanna spoke about her the journey and her first project. Ar Monica Khosla Bhargava spoke about the lack of women in leadership roles in design business.
This was a very interesting topic as it dealt with two polar opposite yet fully connected subjects, i.e., food as well as design as both requires creativity at their part. The panelists of this session were no mere architects; they are food lovers and very wellconnected with the business of food. Neilesh is a food blogger with the name of @papacooks having followership from all around the world, Jashan Sippy is an architect as well as food designer who design gourmet experiences, Abhishek Rustagi owns a home-grown bakery Deliquest while being a full-time architects and Manu Goel is an Urban farmer and Green food ambassador. During the discussion, they spoke about their passion for food and its similarities with the design world.
The panel is a recurring topic for WADE where notable architects and designer couples talk about being couple as well as working partners particularly when now there is a culture of Work from Home so where to set the boundaries and how to get the priorities right. Also, the panel focussed on the respect in relationships and supporting in working with each other.
One of the most enigmatic subjects of present times, Metaverse surely catches everyone’s attention. Ar Pallavi Dean, a prolific name from the UAE designer community comes to WADE ASIA and spoke about the opportunities for architecture and designer community in the Metaverse arena. Pallavi Dean, born in India and raised in Dubai, spent years working in London. Today, her portfolio includes a string of high profile projects in the Middle East, North and East Africa and the UK, across the hospitality, commercial and residential sector. A sustainability specialist, she is an active member of the UAE design community. She writes for industry publications and has also been an assistant professor at the American University of Sharjah.
Sponsorship: +91-9867333972, madhu@wadeasia.com
Speaker Opportunities: hello@wadeasia.com
Connect with WADE ASIA:
