China International Building & Interior Design Forum
Introduction
The Awakening of Design: Intelligent Healing & Symbiosis—Design-Driven Human Habitats of the Future
The 2026 IDF Forum, themed “The Awakening of Design,” delves into the profound transformation of design in contemporary society. Centered on the concept of “Intelligent Healing & Symbiosis,” the forum explores how design can drive the creation of human habitats that integrate sustainability, wellness, and emotional value, fostering dynamic symbiosis among people, architecture, and the environment.
Three Key Dimensions:
Human-Centric Healing (spaces prioritizing wellness, cultural narratives, and emotional connection);
Intelligent Creation (AI, digital twins, and immersive tech reshaping design boundaries);
Symbiotic Sustainability (circular materials, zero-carbon strategies, and regenerative design).
The forum also introduces the “Era of Sceneomics,” applying these principles to hospitality, retail, and branding to craft exceptional experiences, positioning design as the core force shaping the future of human habitats.
2026 Speakers
Chris Godfrey
Clobal CEO
HBA
Cedric Jaccard
Founder & Principal
Design Director
Avalon Collective
Wong chiu Man
Co-Founder
WOW Archetects
Debra Parkington
Design Director and Head of Hong Kong Branch
LW Design
Previous Speakers
Joris Angevaare
Artner
HBA
Mai Chongchaiyo
Chief Creative Officer
Steve Leung Hospitality Ltd. (SLH)
Mark Eacott
Founder and Designer
Ennismore Global VP of Design
Eirc W.Tsay
Founder
Studio STAY
X Hong
Founder
Holiday East International Design Institution
Qi Shanshan
Founder and Host Architect
Studio QI
Xie Ke
CO-FOUNDER
SIGNYAN DESIGN
2024 IDF:
Rob Wagemans
Founder and Design Director
Concrete
Tristan Auer
Founder
IZEU
Carl Almeida
Executive Partner
P49 Deesign
Beiyun Fan
Design Director
InterContinental Greater China
Luxury and lifestyle brand
Alison Chi
Founder and Creative Director
Ch＆Company
Ruby JIN
Head of Greater China and Sales Director
RELAIS &CHATEAUX
lsabel Pintado
Founder
13Cobijos
Kristina Zanic
Founder and CEO
Kristina Zanic Consultant
Charlie Hearn
Director
Inspiral Architecture
Peter Duncan
Regional Operations Manager
SOM
Qiwei Wang
Deputy Director of Shanghai Office
SOM
Bin Cao
Principal
HKS Greater China
Kelvin Ip
Deputy Director
Horwath HTL CN
Leon Sun
Creative Director
SHANGXIA
Cathy Wang
President and Founder
Montaigne Design
Guy Dittrich
Internationally renowned media professionals
2023 IDF:
Review
Forum in 2023, with the theme of “Reboot and Rejuvenation,” has invited influential architects, designers, representatives of real estate development groups, and hotel management companies from both domestic and international sources to gather in Shanghai. In just one day’s schedule, ten distinguished guests took turns taking the stage to share the latest cases and design concepts of commercial complexes, hotels and other engineering projects, deepening industry exchanges and cooperation through interdisciplinary dialogue.
Ed Ng
Co-founder and Chief Designer
AB Concept
The Change in Design Philosophy
Dr. Mei Ping
Chief Representative
China Capella Hotel Group Asia
Opportunities for Urban Renewal
Jeff Kaeonil
Design Principal
HOK
HOK Hotel Design
Stephen Yas
Senior International Design Director
DLR Group
LIFESTYLE
Ruiqi Li
Project Director
Gensler
Keeping Up with the Times – Elements of Sustainable Design Transformation in Hotels
Freddie T T Hai
Director
Rocco Design Architects
Care for Users Hospitality, Retail & Cultural Architecture
Catherine Siu
Principal
B+H Architects，CHIL Interior Design
The Road to Zero-Carbon Hotel Design
Kang Lei
Partner and Senior Project Director
Junson Design
Integrating into the Scenery and Enjoying the Environment
Jerry Wu
Founder/ Principal
InterScape
Integrating Economy and Aesthetics, Creating Sustainable Hotel Design
Vincent de Graaf
Co-founder and Design Director
AIM Architecture
Emotional Architecture
2022 IDF:
Review
The 2022″Design · Future” International Building & Interior Design Forum was successfully held on August 25th at the Nanjing International Expo Center. The event was extremely popular. Guests focused on the topic of “Design and Future” to propose contemporary design hotspots, thus to better cope with, create the future, and constantly explore, discover beauty, as well as provide suggestions for innovation in hotel and commercial space design.
Peter Wang
Vice President
Banyan Tree Group
Discussion on the Development of Resort Hotels
Zhi Fu
Partner and Design Director
Cheng Chung Design
Exploring the Dimensions of Space and Art
XiaoYan Liu
GM of Business Planning Department Greenland Hotel and Tourism Group
Innovative Trends in Hotel Design from an Operational Perspective
ZhaoRuiQi Li
Project Director
Gensler
Changes and Development Trends of Hotel Design in Post Epidemic Era
Yun Xia
President
Kangyi Culture
Art Empowers a Better Life
Yun Du
Director and Chief Architect
BLVD
Constructing Artistic Space with Poetic Aesthetics
Vincent Zhang
Founder and Project Leader
Stylus Studio Design Firm
DNA of Design
Johnny Lin
CEO
DLR Group
Undefined Hotels
Jaco Pan
Founder
Minggu Design
Narrative Space
2021 IDF：
Ken Wei
Global Design Director of Aedas, Honorary Chairman of RIBA China Branch, and Member of RIBA Council – Asia and Australasia Region
Joe Lau
Design Director
HBAarchitecture
Philip Handford
Retail Design Director
Gensler
Andy Hall & Yijie Xu
Founder Partner
MQ Studio
Benjamin Hu
Chief Design and Engineering Director
InterContinental Hotels Group in Greater China
Hao Li
Vice President and Chief Designer
JERDE
Wolf Loebel
Co founder and President
Rheinland Design Group in Germany
Dr. Mei Ping
Chief Representative
Capella Hotel Group in Asia and China
2020 IDF：
Bangsheng Yang Founder&President YANG Design Group
Peter Mackey
Director of Chapman Taylor
Yun Du
Director and Chief Architect of Biluode Architectural Consulting Company
White Wang
Design Director for Greater China at HKS International Architectural Design Company
Angela He
Design and Project Director, Technical Services Department, Hilton Hotel Management Group
Ray Chou
Founder of Zhu Zhou Space Design and Creative Director of Interior Design
Evan Gu
Technical Director of Gensler Shanghai Office
Shain Lim
Chief Design Director of Yizhen
Ben Wu
the creator of WS World’s Ultimate Design
James Lee
Founder and CEO of Adventure United Hotel Consulting Co., Ltd
2019 IDF：
Roberto Baciocchi
Founder of Italian firm Baciocchi
Julia Monk
Senior Vice President of HOK, Director of Hotel Design
Alan Kueh
Founder of AK+Design Firm
Vachirapong Danny
Design Director of PIA Design Firm in Thailand
Yi Jiang
Director of Chapman Taylor Architectural Design Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd
Yunong Lai
Design Director of Shiyu Lighting Design Co., Ltd
Quanqian Li
Vice President of CallisonRTKL
LiangLv
Design Director of Wanda Hotel Design and Research Institute
Hongbin Pan
Founder of Hong Kong Fanna Design Group
Tianwen Sun
Chief Designer of Shanghai Black Bubble Architectural Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd
Xinyan Wang
President of Interior Design at Mengtai
Ming Xu
founder of Minghe Wenji
Zhenglin Yan
Technical Director of Gensler Hotel
Shi Yu
the founder of gpdesign
Dongxian Zheng
President of PLA ASIA
Zhuang Ziyu
Partner and Lead Architect of RSAA Design Group in Germany
2018 IDF：
Piero Lissoni
Founder of Lissoni Associati
Ed Ng
Founder of AB Concept
Colin Seah
Founder of MOD
Nathan Hutchins
Founder of Muza Lab
Dejian Chen
Founder of Dejian Design
Patricia Ho
Founder of White Jack
Jilian Huang
Vice President of Design, Planning, and Architecture at Wyndham Hotel Group
Qi Sun
Deputy General Manager of the R&D and Design Center of Zhongnan Real Estate
Xinyan Wang
President of Interior Design at Mengtai
Yibo Xu
Chinese Partner of Boeri Architectural Design Firm
Guy Ditrich
Sleeper freelance writer
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