Design at Dusk: March

We are excited for you to join us for the first instalment of our 2026 Design at Dusk series. We are thrilled to host presentations from Professor Martijn de Waal, Mr Dylan Cheng and Dr Anastasia Globa.

This event series offers a unique opportunity to engage with diverse design perspectives and explore the most pressing challenges in contemporary design. Join us for thought-provoking discussions, insightful dialogues, and an enriching experience that will deepen your understanding of the evolving design landscape.

Speakers

Martijn de Waal – Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences

Martijn de Waal is a professor at the Civic Interaction Design Research Group at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. His main research interest concerns the making of public and civic spaces in a digital and networked society. He is a (co-) author of books such as The Platform Society. Public Values in a Connective World. The Hackable City. Digital Media and Collaborative City-Making in the Network Society, and The City as Interface. How Digital Media Are Changing the City. He is currently an honorary professor at UTS. In 2021 he was the general chair for the Media Architecture Biennale.

Mr Dylan Cheng – PhD Candidate at ADP

Dylan Xin Cheng is a final-year PhD candidate at the Design Lab of the University of Sydney, with his research focusing on public interactive artifacts, digital placemaking, and multicultural communities. Combining ethnographic studies and field deployments of technology artifacts, he investigates how social interactions mediated by situated technology interventions can move beyond momentary engagement to foster shared meaning, community connection, and social cohesion in everyday public life.

Dr Anastasia Globa – Senior Lecturer in Computational Design at ADP

Dr Anastasia Globa is Associate Head of Research Education and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning. Her research bridges computational design, multisensory XR simulations, and biosensing, with a strong focus on interdisciplinary innovation. Dr Globa earned her PhD from Victoria University of Wellington in 2015 and has over 15 years of international academic experience across Germany, New Zealand, and Australia. Since 2019, she has led research initiatives exploring XR design, iterative prototyping, smell-haptics-thermal-audio XR simulations and interactive systems. Her work incorporates immersive technologies such as Virtual and Augmented Reality to enhance design exploration, data visualisation, and spatial simulation.