2026

Preserving the Past, Designing the Future

Vishaan is the FAIA, Founder, Practice for Architecture and Urbanism. New York City is a living archive, where buildings reflect our past and shape our future. As the need for housing, community space, and sustainable design grows, designers face a powerful challenge: honoring what exists while reimagining what’s possible.

Adaptive reuse is more than a strategy — it’s a philosophy. It transforms forgotten spaces into purposeful environments, balancing history with innovation, function with beauty, and preservation with progress.

2024

Untold Parallels in Design: An intimate Conversation between Cheryl & Cindy

Cheryl Durst | President and CEO IIDA. An exceptional communicator, innovator, and visionary leader, Cheryl S. Durst has spurred progress, driven change, and encouraged the expansion of the interior design industry.

Cindy Allen | Editor in Chief at Interior Design. Cindy is widely lauded as one of the most influential advocates for the interior design profession. With almost two decades as editor-in-chief of Interior Design, she champions the industry, promoting both the giants of design and its rising stars.

2024

What Makes Suzanne Tick “Tick”?

Suzanne Tick maintains a distinguished career as a CEO, textile designer, weaver and Vedic Meditation teacher in New York City. She is currently the Creative Director at Luum and Design Partner with Skyline Design. Tick was inducted into the ASID College of Honorary Fellows in 2022 and Interior Design Magazine’s Hall of Fame in 2023.

She is known for her intelligent and enthusiastic approach to design in evolving markets, as well as her conviction to provide innovative solutions with a nod towards sustainability and wellness.

2023

Explore the Intersection of Hip Hop, Culture, and Design

Hip Hop is beyond beats and rhymes. Architecture is more than bricks and mortar. What happens when the advanced study of these two worlds collide? Back in person, the IIDA NY Pioneering Design® Series is a dynamic two-part event, showcasing the power of collaboration in design which seeks to expand perceptions, open discussion and bring innovative ideas to our community. For our first event, Michael will share his current endeavors in the cross-venture of Hip-Hop, Architecture, Culture and Design. This juxtaposition brings creative arts together in brand new ways! Join us for a night with 250 of your industry peers and connect with like-minded attendees as we learn new ways to share, collaborate and pivot in design!

2022

Re-imagining communal spaces for a post-pandemic world.

Pioneering Design is focused on finding inspiration in the city where we are fortunate enough to live and practice design. Societal change and events can inspire great design. Looking at how urban planning, public art, and even building codes are affected by pivotal moments in our rich city history, what are aspects of current events, urban renewal, and activism that have affected our behaviors and how we interact with space?

We are building on the ideas and preserving the history of this moment and how attitudes towards culture, dining, and entertainment have shifted and as a result, transformed space.

2019

“We’re on a mission to unite people around the communal table and add diversity to the food community.” Deepti Sharma, CEO of FoodToEat

A lifelong entrepreneur, Deepti Sharma is the CEO and Founder of FoodtoEat, a community- minded catering concierge service. She started FoodtoEat as a platform to connect immigrant, women and minority-owned food vendors with opportunities for growth – ultimately helping them strengthen their own business skills. FoodtoEat helps businesses feed employees great food and build stronger & more diverse work cultures.

Deepti is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, a Forbes 30 Under30 alumnae, and a wife and mother to two young boys.

2019

“No action is too small.”
Abrima Erwiah with Studio 189

Abrima Erwiah is the co-founder of Studio One Eighty Nine, a globally renowned artisan-based fashion and lifestyle brand that produces African and African-inspired clothing and content. Working alongside her friend and partner, Rosario Dawson, Studio One Eighty Nine is at its core a full-fledged movement focused on creating jobs, supporting education, promoting sustainability and partnering with organizations such as the United Nations ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and NYU Stern School of Business. Studio One Eighty Nine is the culmination of Erwiah’s extensive career in social justice, luxury fashion, and brand building.

2018

WEISS/MANFREDI is known for clarity of vision, bold forms, cinematic movement and material innovation. Their projects transcend the limits of the singular architectural object and look instead for opportunities to create connections and invent new territories for public life.

Join us as they share their most recent projects from across the globe, including a new NYC building, The Bridge at Cornell Tech.

Speakers:
Marion Weiss, Co-Founder, WEISS/MANFREDI
Michael Manfredi, Co-Founder, WEISS/MANFREDI

2018

Presenting their recent exhibition at the Queens Museum, New York City as it might have been: with over 200 years of visionary architectural concepts for unbuilt subways, bridges, parks, airports, stadiums, streets, train stations, and of course, skyscrapers.

Marie Clapot & Valerie Fletcher

2025

Tactile Studio x Institute for Human Centered Design

Inclusive design is not just a trend—it’s a fundamental approach to creating spaces, products, and experiences that work for everyone, regardless of their disabilities, age, or background.

This panel will dive deep into the essence of inclusive design, exploring what it is, why it matters, and how it can transform your practice and bring value to your clients.