Irish Design Week, Day One: Jayden Ali & RESOLVE

Jayden Ali (JA Projects) and Akil Scafe-Smith and Seth Scafe-Smith (RESOLVE)

Design Diplomacy featuring Laurent Ungerer and Noelle Cooper

This year, in response to the theme of Irish Design Week, the Irish Architecture Foundation in collaboration with Design & Crafts Council Ireland is proud to present a conversation between leading designers, architects and thinkers, Jayden Ali (JA Projects) and Akil Scafe-Smith and Seth Scafe-Smith (RESOLVE).

Based in London, but with significant reputations for their ethos and work building on the world stage, all share a fundamental belief in the social and cultural value of design. In their practices, in how they are structured, organise and operate, and in the work they evolve and deliver with a range of communities and clients, they are committed to collaborative and community based creativity as a driver of real and sustainable change. In the conversation, each will explain and explore the collaborative aspects of their work to date.

This conversation presents a unique opportunity to explore an understanding of what it means to truly be collaborative across a range of projects and with a range of clients. It serves to remind us that collaboration is not only a buzz word but a practice, something that needs to be consciously constructed and protected in the ups and downs of architecture and design today.

Jayden Ali is the Founding Director of the JA Projects and oversees all projects. As an Architect, artist and educator, he has been recognised as a key voice in shaping the future of our cities by the Design Museum, Vogue and Wallpaper Magazine, whilst also being included on the Architects’ Journal’s prestigious ‘40 Under 40’ list. He is a Mayor’s Design Advocate, sits on various quality review panels and is a Dean’s Visit Professor at Columbia University, NYC and Politecnico di Milano, Milan. In 2023, Jayden co-curated the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, with the exhibition 'Dancing Before the Moon' being awarded a prestigious special mention.

Akil Scafe-Smith, Seth Scafe-Smith, and Melissa Haniff are directors of RESOLVE. Based in London, RESOLVE is an interdisciplinary design collective that combines architecture, engineering, technology and art to address social challenges. They have delivered numerous projects, workshops, publications, and talks in the UK and across the world, all of which look toward realising just and equitable visions of change in our built environment. RESOLVE's project portfolio ranges from architecture/urban design projects to community support work, from artist installations to research publications. They have worked critically with numerous art institutions including S1 Gallery (Sheffield), the Mosaic Rooms (London), Het Nieuwe Instituut (Rotterdam), Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt & SAAVY Contemporary (Berlin), Kunstverein Braunschweig (Braunschweig), Wellcome Collection, V&A Museum, Tate Modern & Mosaic Rooms (London) and Palais de Tokyo (Paris); and, a variety of public sector clients such as the London boroughs of Croydon, Ealing, and Greenwich; and other fellow community-focused organisations such as SADACCA (Sheffield), Skin Deep (London), MAIA (Birmingham), and Mansions of the Future (Lincoln).

Design Diplomacy. 6:15pm-7:15pm
Design Diplomacy is a concept developed by Helsinki Design Week, and produces unique, intimate conversations between two creative minds. During the event the international design professional meets an Irish designer over a card game of questions. Visitors will have an opportunity to experience carefully curated and unique conversations as in each situation the participants meet for the first time.

French Designer: Laurent Ungerer, c-album

Born in 1962, he studied at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, then at the Glasgow School of Art and the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan. In 1985 he joined the Jean Widmer visual design agency in Paris. For ten years, he worked as a graphic designer creating visual identities in the cultural field. He founded the design agency c-album in 1996 and shares his work platform with the scenography agency NC Nathalie Crinière with whom he collaborates on numerous museography projects, notably for the signage of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. He regularly collaborates with the RATP for the creation of ephemeral events in the Parisian subway stations.

He won the consultation for the visual identity of the House of European History at the European Parliament in Brussels. Under the direction of Anne Baldassari, he worked on the new graphic line of the Picasso Museum which opened in October 2014. In 2015 he won the consultation for the redesign of the visual identity of the ICOM and the Comédie Française under the direction of Eric Ruf. For the Fondation Louis Vuitton, he signed the graphic design of the "Shchukin collection" exhibition and the MoMA retrospective exhibition which will open in October 2017.

In 2018, the National Museum of Natural History entrusted him with a consulting mission on the evolution of its visual identity and brand architecture. He has been teaching at EnsAD since 1992.

Irish Designer: Noelle Cooper, Unthink

Creative builder, collaborative thinker. Noelle Cooper leads Unthink, a design studio where play meets purpose. Unthink make effective brands and digital experiences for an ever-changing world. Over the last decade, she has led branding and digital projects for organisations across arts, culture, tech, and hospitality — from the Design & Crafts Council Ireland and Butler Gallery to Dublin City University, Creative Futures Academy, the HSE and Creative Boardroom. She is a regular design judge and mentor with ICAD, the 100 Archive, and Kinsale Sharks, and has represented Ireland on the Art Directors Club of Europe jury in Barcelona. She also lectures in visual communications and UX design at IADT, NCAD, and Gengdan Academy in Beijing.Cooper cares about the impact of design and believes in making thoughtful, honest work — designed with, not just for, the people it serves.

Join us at the Royal Irish Academy of Music for an evening filled with inspiring discussions, innovative ideas, and creative collaborations.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Royal Irish Academy of Music, 36-38 Westland Row, Dublin 2, Ireland

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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