International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers - IFI

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IFI is the global voice and authority for professional Interior Architects/Designers.

Founded in 1963, The International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers is the global voice and authority for professional Interior Architects/Designers. The sole international federating body for Interior Architecture/Design organizations, IFI is the global forum for the exchange and development of knowledge and experience, in worldwide education, research and practice. IFI connects the international community in order to further the impact, influence and application of the design of interiors, promote global social responsibility, and raise the status of the profession worldwide. IFI is a member of the International Design Alliance (IDA), a strategic venture between three leading international design organizations. The triumvirate includes The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) and The International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA). This alliance focuses on opportunities to further the design discipline based on multidisciplinary collaboration.

02/20/2026

Change does not always ask for speed. Sometimes it asks for clarity.

As Interior Architecture and Design evolve within a connected world, professional communities are invited to pause, reflect, and reconsider what truly sustains value.

The International Federation of Interior Architects Designers (IFI) continues to reflect with care and intention.

The conversations ahead matter.

01/23/2026

We are proud to share that has again this year been invited to serve as a juror for the 2026 .

Shashi is a FoIFI (Fellow of the IFI), Past-President and a current member of the IFI Executive Committee.

We look forward to seeing the work submitted this year!

12/12/2025

ANArKH Part II: Bar, 2023 | Studio Eccentric ().

Victor Hugo once was passing through the walls of Notre Dame and came across the word ‘ANArKH’. As he found this scribble which has meant ‘fate’ in ancient Greek, he felt the existence as of a small human being in an irresistible fateful situation in life. This was how his masterpiece ‘Notre Dame de Paris’ has all started, which he mentioned this in his preface as well. This project also started like a fate, which the site had a unique situation of residing right in the middle of a restricted development area. It has been critical for the team of Eccentric Design Lab of Hanyang University and Studio Eccentric to take this situation as an advantage point in the space to allow people to experience nature in various ways.

The bar offers as a place for specialty coffee at day time and as an alcoholic drink bar during the night. Small spaces have been considered allowing for intimate conversations. Circular pods, each allowing for four to six people, have been scattered throughout the hall, filling the rest of the empty spaces in between as greenery garden. Even though each divided circular pod has been primarily planned for group privacy, the louvers of the pods allow the customers to feel less constrained and act as a device to allow to enjoy adjacent garden by each area.

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Photography: © Mingu Kang. Courtesy of Studio Eccentric.

12/10/2025

Eccentric as a Way of Thinking: A conversation with Seuk Hoon Kim () , from Studio Eccentric ().

Following our IFI Interviews series on the IFI profile, in partnership with DDN Magazine (), where we engage with luminaries shaping the world of Architecture, Interiors, and Design. We had an amazing conversation with Seuk Hoon Kim, about eccentricity as design’s new center, blending cultural nuance, experimentation and community to shape a more human practice.

Read more in our newsletter, subscribing on ifiworld.org, and DDN Magazine Issue 305

For the architect, interior designer and educator Seuk Hoon Kim, being unconventional is not about difference for its own sake. It is about curiosity, questioning assumptions and finding vitality in places just beyond expectation. “When you step o9 center,” he says, “design comes alive.”

As founder of Studio Eccentric and Assistant Professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, Kim approaches design as a living dialogue, balancing logic and emotion, order and disruption. His practice turns eccentricity into both method and philosophy, an intentional departure from the predictable to reveal unexpected harmony. “I am drawn to the moment when contradiction becomes beauty,” he explains. “That is where innovation begins.”

Educated at Columbia University’s GSAPP and deeply rooted in Korean aesthetics, Kim bridges global perspective with cultural precision. He describes the Korean attitude in design not as style but as mindset, a rhythm of improvisation and adaptability that values process as much as outcome. His interiors, layered, dynamic and emotionally responsive, propose experience as design’s true material.

For Kim, design is never isolated from culture or community. “Design is a cultural act,” he insists, “one that shapes how we live and connect.” That conviction extends beyond his studio. He volunteers with the Korean Society of Interior Architects and Designers (KOSID) and the Asia Pacific Space Designers Association (APSDA), championing collaboration and shared learning. “Design grows when shared,” he says.

12/05/2025

Islamic Arts Biennale, 2023 | Scenography by OMA (.eu); Artistically directed by Sumayya Vally ().

Held in the Western Hajj Terminal in Jeddah, the Islamic Arts Biennale 2023 reimagined one of Saudi Arabia’s most symbolic gateways as a landscape of reflection, movement, and belonging. Beneath the sweeping canopy of this modernist structure, the Biennale invited visitors to explore the spiritual and cultural dimensions of Islamic art in a contemporary context.

Under the artistic direction of Sumayya Vally and her studio Counterspace, the Biennale unfolded around the theme Awwal Bait, meaning “First House.” This concept evoked ideas of home, origin, and migration, bridging sacred narratives with the lived experiences of communities across the Islamic world. Vally’s curatorial vision extended beyond the display of artefacts, shaping an environment where architecture and storytelling became inseparable.

The scenography by OMA translated these ideas into a spatial and sensory experience. Through a series of purpose-built galleries and open courtyards, the design guided visitors on a symbolic journey from darkness to light, from introspection to gathering. Each space was defined by texture, sound, and material, reflecting the diverse geographies and rituals that unite Islamic cultures.

In dialogue with the existing terminal’s monumental structure, the new insertions created a delicate balance between permanence and ephemerality. The project demonstrated how design can serve as both vessel and voice, offering a framework for collective memory and a renewed understanding of identity. For the IFI community, the Biennale stands as a profound exploration of how interior architecture can mediate between heritage and the present, transforming cultural expression into spatial experience.

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Photography: © . Courtesy of OMA.

12/04/2025

Serpentine Pavilion (), 2021 | Counterspace ().

Situated within London’s Kensington Gardens, the Serpentine Pavilion 2021 by Counterspace, led by Sumayya Vally, reimagines architecture as an act of listening and remembrance. Conceived as a constellation of forms drawn from places of gathering across London (markets, cultural institutions, mosques, cafés, and bookshops) the pavilion embodies the layered identities of the city’s diasporic communities.

Constructed from reclaimed steel, cork, and timber, and finished with micro-cement in shifting pink and brown tones, its structure reflects the evolving hues of the urban fabric. The design honours spaces that have fostered social connection, while acknowledging those lost to change and redevelopment.

Beyond Kensington Gardens, fragments of the pavilion were installed in community sites across London, extending the project’s reach and meaning. This decentralised approach reflects Counterspace’s belief that architecture exists not only in buildings, but in networks of memory, dialogue, and shared experience. Through this work, architecture becomes both archive and anticipation, a living gesture towards inclusivity, presence, and belonging.

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Photography: © . Courtesy of Counterspace.

12/01/2025

Designing stories: On cultural memory and emotional spaces,
A conversation with Sumayya Vally (), from Counterspace ().

Following our IFI Interviews series on the IFI profile, in partnership with DDN Magazine (), where we engage with luminaries shaping the world of Architecture, Interiors, and Design. We had an insightful conversation with Sumayya Vally, about designing worlds of memory and belonging.

Read more in our newsletter, subscribing on ifiworld.org, and DDN Magazine Issue 304

Sumayya Vally, recognised as one of today’s most distinguished emerging leaders in architecture and design, is the Founder and Principal of Counterspace. Named to the TIME100 Next list and selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, she has reshaped conversations on cultural memory, belonging, and design futures. She was the youngest architect commissioned to design London’s Serpentine Pavilion and served as Artistic Director of the inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, both celebrated as landmark contributions.

For Vally, architecture is not simply about building structures. It is about constructing meaning. Through Counterspace, she dissolves borders between architecture, art, ritual, and research, listening deeply to overlooked narratives and hybrid identities. Born and raised in Johannesburg, she considers the city her greatest teacher: a place of contradictions and layered histories where memory and imagination collide, compelling architecture to be porous, responsive, and rooted in multiplicity.

The Serpentine Pavilion exemplified her ethos, dispersing “fragments” across London to honor migrant histories and activate community spaces. The Islamic Arts Biennale invited audiences to reflect on ritual, memory, and belonging across diverse voices.

**Continues in comments.

11/05/2025

Fondation Cartier Pour L’Art Contemporain (fondationcartier), 2025 | Ateliers Jean Nouvel ().

n the heart of Paris, facing the Louvre from Place du Palais-Royal, the Fondation Cartier unveils a new architectural chapter crafted by Jean Nouvel. This re-imagined home occupies a historic 19th-century Haussmannian building whose facade is preserved and now re-animates its urban context.

Within this venerable shell, Nouvel deploys a bold structural concept: five mobile platforms, each ranging in size and height, that can be lowered or raised to create entirely new spatial configurations. These platforms enable exhibition volumes to shift, float and evolve, allowing the architecture itself to become a dynamic curator. Generously glazed shop-window facades open the institution to the city: interiors and exteriors engage in continuous visual exchange, dissolving the boundary between urban life and cultural space. The architecture is thus not only a vessel for art but a gesture of urban inclusion.

For the IFI community of interior architects and designers, this project offers three salient lessons:

Spatial adaptability as identity: The mobile platforms frame a new logic of interior architecture, one that anticipates change, supports multiple disciplines and resists fixed forms.

Heritage as foundation for innovation: By honouring the 19th-century façade and urban continuity, the design navigates a sensitive heritage context while deploying cutting-edge structural mechanics.

Transparency and urban dialogue: The large bay windows and open-to-street orientation invite the public realm into the museum, emphasising how interior architecture can participate in the life of the city.

In this landmark, the Fondation Cartier does not simply relocate, it reinvents the museum typology through architecture that is as performative as it is present.

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Photography: © Martin Argyroglo, Cyril Marcilhacy, Marc Domage. Courtesy of Cartier.

10/21/2025

Acne Studios Paris Headquarters (), 2025 | Halleroed ().

In the heart of Paris’s 10ᵗʰ arrondissement, Acne Studios unveils its new headquarters: a remarkable synthesis of history, material honesty and design precision.

Designed by the Swedish studio Halleroed (led by Christian & Ruxandra Halleröd) worked in close collaboration with Acne’s Creative Director, Jonny  Johansson, to orchestrate a sensitive adaptation, one that honours the building’s history rather than erasing it. The project transforms a former early 20th-century hôtel particulier and its 1930s laboratory extension into a dynamic creative hub for the brand. The architects chose to reveal, rather than conceal, the building’s layered history: ornate parquet floors and decorative mouldings coexist with glass-tile vaults, raw concrete and steel.

This interplay between heritage and minimalism defines the project’s strength. Each intervention is subtle, framing the building’s original features while introducing new elements that support its contemporary use, from the sculptural courtyard by Daniel Silver to Max Lamb’s custom furnishings that echo Acne’s refined yet experimental spirit.

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Photography: © . Courtesy of Acne Studios.

10/15/2025

Rooftop bar STARS at Four Seasons Hangzhou (), 2025 | Kokai Studios ().

Crowning the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at Hangzhou Centre, STARS is a rooftop lounge bar inspired by the cosmos, where astral phenomena are reimagined through spatial narratives and material expression. Designed by Kokaistudios, the venue brings the universe closer to guests through finely crafted details, shaping an experience that unfolds across both indoor and outdoor settings.

At the heart of the design lies the figure of the astronomer, gazing skyward in search of patterns and meaning among the constellations. This poetic lens guided a palette of warm gold recalling astronomical instruments, balanced with accents of deep night blues and silvery moonlight. This narrative threads gently across the project, from the prominence of an observatory bar to the quietude of an astronomer’s living room and the expansive celestial gardens, guiding guests on a journey that reveals itself space by space.

Framed by sweeping views of the mountains and city, the lounge bar is envisioned as an observatory at the heart of the venue. At its center, the circular bar counter and vaulted ceiling installation form a contemporary echo of the observatory’s dome: by day, the surface rests quietly within the space, while by night it opens to reveal a glowing Milky Way, inviting guests to look upward as if peering into the cosmos. Extending this spirit of discovery, an illuminated display wall recalls the idea of the astronomer’s library. As the vibrant core of STARS, the lounge bar also anchors the flow between the surrounding gardens, seamlessly connecting them.

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Photography: © Kokai Studios.

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