Reading Design Talks at Grymsdyke Farm

As part of the Reading Design summer school, Grymsdyke Farm hosted a series of talks exploring diverse approaches to design, architecture, and creative practice. Each event brought together leading voices to reflect on this year’s theme, Falling, and the ways in which chance, context, and material shape the act of creation.

Vicky Richardson discussed the intersections between design, culture, and public engagement, drawing from her experience as a curator and writer focused on how design reflects and influences contemporary life.

Laura Houseley, founder of Modern Design Review, explored the evolving language of design publishing and the role of editorial practice in shaping design discourse.

Yeoryia Manolopoulou, architect and co-founder of AY Architects, shared insights into her practice’s work between architecture, landscape, and art — emphasising process, collaboration, and social context.

Rujana Rebernjak, design historian and lecturer, examined the politics of design labour and making, reflecting on material culture, gender, and production.

Finally, Leonard Koren, artist-architect and author of the seminal Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers, presented The Accidental Nature of Creation — a meditation on how imperfection and unexpected opportunity inform the creative process.

Each talk invited guests to engage with the farm’s environment, view students’ and tutors’ work-in-progress, and share a moment of reflection within the unique setting of Grymsdyke Farm.