What Design Can Do Live New Delhi centres radical collaboration for climate action

Audiences gathered for the festival engaged in dialogue with 30 speakers from the Netherlands, UK, USA, Mexico and India in sessions that toed the line between the urgency for climate action and a buoyant optimism engendered by what is being done to combat a world in crisis. The participants spoke about the need for circular systems of design and the role art and activism can play in accessibility towards climate education. A hopeful undertone that design acts as a ‘solution’ to the various issues today’s world faces permeated the conversations.

This attitude of solution-based thinking seemed to become a red thread running through the event. During a pre-event dinner, co-founder and creative director of WDCD, Richard van der Laken, asked guests to define design, presenting three options: as a luxury good, a commodity that pollutes the planet or as a solution. Elaborating on this idea in the official release, he stated, “Design can be a powerful tool for disruption, as we learned from the innovators at WDCD Live Delhi 2025—all of whom are paving the path ahead.”

Ayush Chauhan, co-founder of Unbox Cultural Futures and Quicksand, further emphasised the energy at the festival, stating in the release, “WDCD Live Delhi 2025 made it amply evident that change will come only when we challenge the dominant ways of working and thinking. There was a restless creative energy in the room that comes when a new vision is discovered and new alliances are formed and WDCD Live Delhi gave us both." While it is tempting to think of design as a ‘solution’ for resource depletion or the energy crisis, it is far more crucial to think of it as a ‘matter of concern’, as Bruno Latour might put it. To think of design as implicit within the systems that it ‘disrupts’ offers a far more inclusive view towards how design might contribute to repairing the world. It was this inter-dialogic perspective that the speakers attempted to prompt in their sessions.

The multidisciplinary sessions were moderated by Van Der Laken, along with theatre director, actor and writer Sheena Khalid, with the first talk of the day presented by Sandeep Virmani, co-founder of Hunnarshala. An India-based NGO that was established after devastating earthquakes in the Kutch region in 2001, the organisation has been working to upskill Indigenous communities to build their own habitats and, in this process, uphold and preserve vernacular building technology and local knowledge systems now widely considered sustainable practices. In his talk, Virmani emphasised the relevance of social housing for the country, showcasing work the organisation has been carrying out for over two decades in providing affordable housing and employment opportunities for displaced people. Advocating for a grassroots approach to architecture, the Indian architect said, "When you look at the entire value chain, you realise that it's the top few people who are exploiting the entire value chain. And your design calibre is much more required by those at the bottom of the value chain than the rich.”

Deepali Khanna, head of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Asia Regional Office, similarly stressed the relevance of community building and indigenous knowledge systems in combating the climate crisis. Speaking about the foundation’s work with organisations such as SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association), she emphasised the need to consider Indigenous perspectives in critical policymaking decisions. Bridging the perspectives of designers and patrons is a worthy reminder that resilience work is not solitary. It requires kinships across disciplines, races, genders and even species. It requires us to have critical dialogues to build solidarities.

Emphasising the need for conversations around the climate in accessible formats, various speakers spotlighted practices that actively work with communities to educate them. For instance, Mexican artists Pedro Reyes and María Conejo spoke about how they use design activism in their work to disseminate information. Reyes’ talk centred on his use of art and design to advocate for disarmament among Mexico’s youth and the rhizomatic network of artists he collaborates with to push for a complete nuclear ban, called ARTISTS AGAINST THE BOMB. Conejo spoke about her project, Pussypedia, a platform that provides accessible information regarding the female body on the internet. Depanshu Gola, one of the past winners of WDCD’s Redesign Everything Challenge, presented his studio, Architecture for Dialogue’s project, BreatheEasy, which similarly advocated for awareness around the issues of air pollution among communities that are underrepresented in these conversations.

Apart from processes that increase awareness and inspire action, speakers also touched on the ‘solution-oriented’ nature of design and technology in addressing climate anxiety. Dutch architect Thomas Rau emphasised the need to completely transform our existing system through a reuse-oriented approach, spotlighting initiatives such as Madaster, an online material library and platform for circular real estate. “Whatever you do, it's temporary. So you have to ask yourself, can you take this responsibility? What does ‘temporary’ mean for nature, for people, for everybody?” Rau underscored. Along similar lines, fashion designer Carla Fernandez emphatically argued, "Another fashion system is possible,” presenting her collaboration with indigenous communities and artists. She stressed the relevance of craftsmanship and local knowledge for contemporary design.

Throughout the day, sessions by these established designers were interspersed with presentations by past WDCD challenge winners, including Monish Siripurapu, who showcased his project CoolAnt to advocate for the convergence of vernacular and contemporary design, and Namita Bhatnagar, whose BioSoothe explores photosynthetic materials as an alternative to conventional skincare. Several other grassroots-oriented initiatives that harness different aspects of design, from socially oriented projects to alternative materials to clean energy technologies, were on display in the Project Showcase, supported by Godrej Design Lab.

To extend conversations beyond the stage and panel format, the event also hosted breakout sessions in the afternoon. These interactive workshops aimed to engage audiences, urging them to actively think with the material. The day began with a coffee brewing workshop that raised awareness about the importance of local farming cultures for a less carbon-intensive lifestyle and to enhance biodiversity. Workshops in the afternoon ranged from exploring the potential of data visualisation as a tool to better deal with climate anxiety, moderated by Gurman Bhatia of Revisual Labs; a workshop prompting thinking around circular design and collective action organised by CEEW; a focused panel on regenerative practices in design organised by Het Nieuwe Instituut; a maker’s workshop that transformed waste textile into art facilitated by textile artist Femke van Gemert and a community mapping platform organised by Dr. Kit Braybrooke.

Dr Braybrooke’s session, in particular, reiterated the underlying theme of the event, the vast distribution and various scales at which climate-responsive practices and thinking operate, and the connections between these. After all, the event was a coming together of the community towards action, as co-founder of The Design Village and partner of WDCD Live New Delhi, Sourabh Gupta, underscored. In the official release, Gupta stated, “At The Design Village, we believe that community is everything, and at WDCD Live Delhi 2025, we truly saw that in action.”