Andrew Grant joins Design Entanglement session at World Design Congress
This month, Andrew Grant, founder of Grant Associates and a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI), took part in a Design Entanglement session at the World Design Congress, held in the Barbican Conservatory, London.
The event, organised by the Royal Designers for Industry as part of the Design Council’s “Design for Planet” programme, was an interactive workshop, led by Jo Gibbons RDI, exploring what it means to design not just for the planet, but with it. Rather than a conventional talk, the session brought together designers across multiple disciplines for a shared exchange of ideas, reflections, and provocations on the interconnectedness of people, practice, and the living world – all set within the leafy surroundings of the Barbican Conservatory.
As part of the discussion, Andrew was one of several RDIs who contributed personal reflections, drawing inspiration from the artist Anthony Gormley and biologist Scott F. Gilbert:
“We are all Bloody Animals… it’s really weird that with all our technology, with all our instruments, with all our intelligence, still we are really basic.”
“We are all Lichens Now.”
For Andrew, these observations resonate with his lifelong commitment to designing landscapes that celebrate and nurture biodiversity. Speaking at the event, he reflected:
“My body supports a huge diversity of microorganisms. I am biodiverse. I am part of biodiversity. I am an animal and my habitat is the city of Bath. From here I imagine plans and designs for pockets of land across the world but always have in mind my connection to the species that exist there or could exist there. Biodiversity is the foundation and inspiration for all my work. Celebrate Biodiversity – Create Biodiversity – Conserve Biodiversity. Be an animal!”
The session highlighted how embracing our entanglement with the natural world can reshape design practice and strengthen our instinctive connection to the planet.
For Grant Associates, this philosophy continues to underpin projects worldwide: designing landscapes that restore habitats, reconnect people with nature, and place biodiversity at the heart of urban life.
Photo credits: The Association of Royal Designers for Industry/Philip Vile.