DESIGN REAL. Real talk at Berlin Design Week 2026.
An afternoon where design becomes tangible as a real force — between research and practice, technology and conviction, architecture and society.
Four hours of talks and panels, followed by drinks, fingerfood, and networking.
Friday, 29 May 2026 · 3–8:00 PM, doors open 2:30 PM
Design in Systemic Context | How design operates at scale — across AI, craft, business, and communication.
3:00 pm Prof. Dr. Oliver Nickel (SWELL)—Affectionate Intelligence
3:20 pm Monica Förster (Monica Förster Design Studio)—Form and Adventure
3:40 pm Pablo Bautista (Idonika), Lujan Cambariere, Claudia Coronado (INGUAT)—Weaving the Future: Contemporary Design and Living Mayan Heritage
4:00 pm Thomas Gardner (AEG)—Scaling Taste
4:20 pm Birgit Baier (Bempowered)—From Interfaces to Interaction: Design as a System
4:35 pm Maria Stasevich (OBLIK)—Finding Your Voice: Design Studios in the Digital Space
4:50 pm Snack & coffee break
Architecture & Reality — Design Under Pressure | When architecture must respond to pressure: urban space, heritage, war.
5:05 pm Robert Neuendorf (Neuendorf Arterior)—Urban Signals
5:25 pm Justin Allen (Allen Kaufmann)—From Flat Parts to Furniture—Dado + Dovetail
5:35 pm Marwan Zabanoot (University of Bath | Oman Think Urban)—A Living Heritage District
5:45 pm Snack break
Design in Everyday Life | Design as everyday infrastructure — from democratic form to the typography read by billions.
6:00 pm Prof. Bohdan Tscherkes (Lviv Polytechnic)—Design in Wartime
6:20 pm Prof. Dr. Felix Kosok (German International University Berlin)—Design for Democracy
Special Appearance: Lucas de Groot
7:00 pm–8:00 pm Networking, drinks & fingerfood
Bilingual DE/EN · Live AI translation DE↔EN for all attendees, no download, no login required. Includes drinks & fingerfood.
