open-ended

/ Dr. Jessica Wade is a fantastic physicist with multiple scientific awards under the belt of her lab coat. By day she works on her post-doc on chiral organic light-emitting diodes at Imperial College London and by night she is a whizz on Wikipedia.

Amongst many other professional projects, Jess is aiming to diversify the science world through her work and voice. She has now written over 1150 Wikipedia profiles on women and underrepresented communities since she started to tackle the power dynamics of information online. The aim is to tackle an overwhelming bias in the history of science on the world's largest online public encyclopedia. And she’s part of a group of awesome scientists and activists pushing back on what they call “pseudoscience” in its many forms at a global scale

Jess is leading the charge to reclaim this space…

Leila Meroue is the founding director of the NGO Let’s Build My School and her own architectural practice LM Architecture. Focused on sustainability and humanitarian work, Leila speaks to us about her research and design methodology; and her work and interests in the natural world, sustainable materials, and community empowerment.

Let’s Build My School is an initiative which uses locally sourced materials to construct schools in remote areas in developing countries. Skilling up both global volunteers from around the world and the local communities in Senegal, where the schools are built, the building techniques learnt can then be replicated in the future.

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Let’s Build My School is on Instagram, Facebook, and their website. If you would like to support them in building more schools you can Donate, spread the word or apply to volunteer. As Leila said at the end of the call “It’s really not about me at all, I was very hesitant in the beginning to join your interview because I am not a big fan of going and throwing in my own story, but I thought it would be a great thing to do it for the kids and build for others all the time."

/ Priya Khanchandani has been a bright light in the world of design for most of her career across continents. A writer, curator and commentator (and trained solicitor!), she’s just stepping into her new role as the Head of Curatorial and Interpretation at the Design Museum in London.

Once a curator at the V&A in London Priya kicked off their seminal contemporary design acquisitions program — basically allowing them to augment their illustrious collection with (usually fascinating, sometimes odd!) objects from the contemporary world. This habit has stuck, she's been thinking a lot about pandemic objects the last few weeks and months!

In this Open/Ended chat, she speaks with us about her interdisciplinary world: growing up with a hard-to-pronounce name (some of us can relate!), the importance of female mentorship and acquiring Katy Perry’s eyelashes for the V&A collection…

/ Jayden Ali’s practice sits at the intersection of architecture, urban strategy, art and performance. He is the Founding Director of interdisciplinary practice JA Projects and (not your typical professor) he's a unit leader and lecturer in the incredible MA Architecture program at Central Saint Martins.

At once a teacher, writer, filmmaker, designer, creator and activist, Jayden is constantly thinking far out beyond the borders of design and architecture, and redefining this for himself and his students as he goes along.

It is clear Jayden’s building blocks are not solely made of concrete. From Kim Kardashian to stories of mosques in London to Le Corbusier, listen to our full conversation to connect with Jayden’s serious and eloquent voice...

/ Soft-spoken and always thoughtful, tech-star Tilek Mamutov recently left Google X to found his own venture, Outtalent; a career accelerator that helps engineers from emerging markets get jobs at top tech companies abroad. 

Tilek grew up in in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, studied computer science and has stayed close to home throughout his career journey in more ways than one. In an expansive chat, he speaks with Suhair about the importance of immigration, language, critical thinking, diversity in teams, and the future of AI...

/ What is your purpose? Our conversation with Liza kept us up at night with her words "This is actually going deep and asking yourself - what are my preferences? What are the things that drive and motivate me? Where do I find purpose?" playing over in our minds, forcing us to pause if even for a minute, to check in with ourselves.

Divya Thakur has led the creation of a contemporary Indian design identity. Based in Mumbai with a life and home in Colaba which reflect her textured Indian worldview, she is feisty, funny, bold and always thoughtful to speak with. She is a powerhouse of design thinking, product and practice and has had exhibitions and projects spanning the world of contemporary design./ Divya speaks with us about future dreams in forging a stronger professional voice and space outside of India; but also about her life's work in creating a contemporary Indian visual language, technology and design, continually adapting in design across the cerebral and the practical, India's connection to the Bauhaus and uncovering the forgotten history behind India's Chairs.

/ "I think my cultural crusade has been to use my skill sets as a designer to create a modern Indian visual vocabulary. This may sound simple but it hasn't been an easy journey - as we've all tended to look to the west.” /

Open/Ended is a platform for activist designers and thinkers around the world. Together, we will explore the spaces where creativity, culture and design intersect with technology, science, and engineering; with a lens on positive change.

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Melodie Leung is a Senior Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects. Her practice has evolved over the last 15 years in lateral ways - extending into architectural, interior, product and furniture design - all of which would have done her mentor and friend Zaha very proud. She speaks with us about learning from Zaha, deep time, the future of technology and architecture, building and strengthening communities, design in the public realm, and her dreams for the future. 

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"If the present is not just today or this year, but the present includes everybody from 100 years before and 100 years ahead of us, that fundamentally changes the responsibility we feel in any of the actions that we do.” - Melodie Leung, Open/Ended #2

Open/Ended is a platform for activist designers and thinkers around the world. Together, we will explore the spaces where creativity, culture and design intersect with technology, science, and engineering; with a lens on positive change.

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Azu Nwagbogu is a cultural force in Africa, leading for change through experimentation, intellect and intuition. Azu began his career in science, obtaining a Masters in Public Health from The University of Cambridge. In the course of his career with journalism he realised the power of the visual image. He ended up founding the African Artists Foundation and the groundbreaking Lagos Photo Festival - both of which he continues to direct.

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“We are living through incredible change; it's not normal that you experience so much change and transition in a lifetime. It's never happened before. It's incredible. Each generation must find and discover its own reason for its existence, and so it really is demanding of us. Our hands are full.” - Azu Nwagbogu, Open/Ended #1