Sydney might have turned on the rain, but that didn’t dampen spirits at the launch of this year’s 30UNDER30 program. Hosted by one of the gold sponsors Interface at their deluxe Surry Hills home, the ‘Designing for Interconnection’ event featured an engaging presentation by Jenny Li from WGSN about future design trends and a Q&A with two of last year’s cohort.

Opening the event, Interface design activations manager Tetchie Tregent said she felt Interface was the perfect setting and the ideal partner for the program.

“Interface is thrilled to continue its journey as a proud gold sponsor for Australian Design Review’s 30UNDER30 program for a second year running as a global leader in modular flooring,” Tregent said.

“Interface is deeply committed to supporting emerging architects and designers in the built environment. We believe in laying pathways for the future of our industry by fostering innovations, challenging norms and creating a sustainable, socially responsible design landscape.”

This socially responsible approach was at the heart of Li’s presentation, which tackled the changing needs and expectations people would have of public and private spaces in the next two years.

Li manages the trend specialist team across the Asia-Pacific region at WGSN, a global authority on consumer insight and product design trends. She described the forecasting work she does as being like a “magic 8 ball” – although one whose prognostications about “future consumers” are based on carefully curated data and 25 years of experience. Her presentation focused on life-stage design, which considers the changing needs and expectations of a growing population.

“We’re talking about co-design, which satisfies people’s democratic right to influence what affects them and results in designs that better fit those needs,” Li said. “Where we’re really heading now is a space where everything is more curated, more personalised, and we have the data to really help influence that too.”

Li said our post-lockdown world is driving an interest in wellness and holistic health.

“Homes, buildings and public facilities that are proactively designed and built to support the holistic health of their residents have been the fastest growing market in the global wellness economy. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry since December 2023.”

At the same time, soaring cost of living pressures have made housing inaccessible to many, leading to a rise in multi-generational households. Future home design will need to include flexible and adaptable spaces serving multiple needs and reduce possible tension between, say, young kids and grandparents.

“It has to be separate but together at the same time,” Li said. “The ability to zone for acoustics, for example, and offer a sensitive solution to those with hearing loss, leading to a balance of communal and private spaces.”

Housing design will also have to account for the desire of an ageing population to age in place, with spaces that minimise the stigma of old age and provide safety, while avoiding a clinical aesthetic. More broadly, Li expects a change in the way we conceive street design, as the typical household moves away from the nuclear family. She spoke about the rise of DINKWADs – double income, no kids, with a dog – and “mommunes”, which are neighbourhoods created by groups of friends who want to live in close proximity.

“That’s where we’re heading as a society, Australia, Korea and Japan,” Li said. “We’re ageing nations, so not everyone’s going to have kids. Companies and brands will need to create products and spaces tailored to those specific needs and take new approaches to intergenerational design to meet people at the full spectrum of life stages.”

One of those life stages is currently defined by the emerging Generation Alpha, whose design needs are shaped by the attitude of their Millennial parents to wellbeing. This means spaces that encourage curiosity and play in an increasingly urbanised environment, with a mind towards combating the obesity and mental health crises, as well as the impact of climate change.

“We’re thinking about the pressure parents put on local governments and authorities to create unrefined landscapes that spark interest in the natural world and environmental awareness. Again, it’s highlighting that wellness is becoming a key aspect to embed within our design components.”

The evening was rounded off by a panel discussion with two of the participants in last year’s 30UNDER30 program, Amanda Beck from Billard Leece Partnership and Eilish Barry from Hayball. Both talked about the profound impact of getting together with people from the same industry and age group – something that otherwise rarely happens.

“It’s been beyond my expectations, meeting so many people who are like-minded, but also so good at what they do, and you can’t help being inspired by all of the work they’re doing,” Barry said.

“It’s been so great making a network and meeting people you’re going to keep up with for years to come.”

Beck, who said she almost didn’t apply because of “impostor syndrome”, also praised the mentorship the program provides.

“The great part of that is you’re able to choose a mentor, so it’s someone that you can relate to and have a personal relationship with. I found someone who had done a lot of things that I would love to do. It’s been an amazing experience.”

ADR‘s 30UNDER30 is a recognition program for young talents within the built world. The initiative is designed to support and nurture emerging designers aged 30 or under. Entries are now open for interior designers and product designers.

Submit your entry today. The Final 30 will be invited to join the 2025 Creative Retreat in Bali.

Photography by Narrative Post.