Roshanak Tehrani reflects on two decades of practice, tracing how her studio in Tehran evolved from shaping space to shaping lived experience. In this conversation, she discusses belonging, cultural memory, sustainability, luxury, and the entrepreneurial realities of sustaining a design practice in Iran while staying true to an authentic architectural vision.
Sumaira Abidi, former CNBC-TV18 personal finance journalist and now VP of Investor Connect at SBI Mutual Fund, explains that Indian women have historically been encouraged to save but not to invest. She notes retail investors are uninformed rather than unintelligent, requiring clearer financial education. Saving alone cannot build wealth when inflation outpaces returns from fixed deposits, post office schemes, and physical gold.
Ayesha Puri’s international training and family-rooted practice merge radical form-making with human-centred restraint. From complex digital modelling to hands-on client work, she champions climate-responsive, craft-led architecture that resists homogeny. At Sanjay Puri Architects she protects context-driven uniqueness while pushing for smarter delivery—using tools like AI to accelerate creativity without letting it become the author.
Chef Petros Dimas reflects on the farm-grown roots that shaped his palate, the responsibility of Michelin recognition, and the philosophy guiding Makris across Greece. In this conversation, he speaks about sustainability, authenticity, and the future of Greek gastronomy, offering a thoughtful look at how heritage, produce, and purpose continue to define his work.
Iranian scenographer and light artist Soheil Rad shares his transformative journey from Tehran to Italy and back, exploring how his limited-edition light sculptures bridge Iranian Islamic architecture with contemporary European design. His immersive installations address cultural contrasts, dual identity, and spiritual freedom, inviting audiences to discover inner liberation through multisensory experiences rooted in heritage and innovation.
Alison Jackson, the BAFTA-winning British artist, uses celebrity look-alikes to expose how photography seduces audiences into accepting fabricated images as truth. Her work interrogates our voyeuristic obsession with fame and the media machine that manufactures celebrity. Jackson argues that because we cannot trust the real anymore, the only way forward is to show the fake, challenging viewers to question the artificial world created by media and politicians for power and commercial gain.