Presented by Dutch Design Center - Pooling together their experiences, Thom Aussems, Stefan de Koning and Laura Taylor discuss transformation in design; the human-centered and interdisciplinary processes that seek to achieve sustainable changes in behavior of individuals, buildings, and cities.


DXBDW Mainstage – Building 4, Dubai Design District (d3)

Presented by Dutch Design Center

Pooling together their experiences, Thom Aussems, Stefan de Koning and Laura Taylor discuss transformation in design; the human-centered and interdisciplinary processes that seek to achieve sustainable changes in behavior of individuals, buildings, and cities.

About Laura Taylor
Laura is a practitioner and thought leader in Design and Innovation, advocating use of design foresighting, concept prototyping and co-creation as part of an integrated innovation approach to bring desirable new lighting experiences to the market.? She is currently heading up Design Exploration at Philips Lighting – and in this role she is supporting the digital transformation of the company.

About Thom Aussems
Thom Aussems is the CEO of Sint Trudo, a housing association in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The main themes in his career are affordable housing, urban development and transformations of old neighborhoods and industrial areas. He has contributed to the urban renewal of the municipality of Rotterdam and played a significant role in the transformation of former Philips' business park Strijp-S.

About Stefan de Koning
Stefan de Koning (Amsterdam 1975) joined MVRDV, one of the most innovative architectural practices in The Netherlands, in 2001 and has realised projects such as the Gyre in Tokyo, the Barcode House, the bridges of Leiria and the Cancer Centre in Amsterdam. With his conceptual talents he has helped to win many international competitions and pitches for MVRDV, including Peruri88 in Jakarta.

Moderated by Dennis de Rond, founder of Skyne Visionaries in Branding and Design and co-founder of the Dutch Design Center. Operating at the intersection of creativity, strategy and commerce, Dennis integrates his experiences in several cultures and countries to understand consumer habits and preferences to build successful brands.

DDC is a member of Dutch Creative Industry (DCI). DCI is a strategic and unique three year partnership of several Dutch creative industry companies with the Dutch government. It was commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Dutch embassies and focuses on the UAE and Lebanon. The Dutch Creative Industry is a platform representing the Netherlands and aims to show their unique and collaborative way of working. By partnering with local companies, DCI aims to respond to new opportunities and challenges. Quality, reliability, stability and creating state-of-the art products and services, are all at the core of the DCI’s activities.