Quick Fire Fridays was a weekly interview series hosted on Instagram that spotlighted emerging and often overlooked voices working across the built environment. From designers and researchers to campaigners, curators and founders, each post introduced a new guest through a quick question and answer format, offering fresh perspectives on design, culture, and practice.
The aim was to open up the conversation around who gets to shape our cities and how. Each guest answered three short questions, touching on themes like activism, accessibility, collaboration and personal motivation. The format was informal and accessible, designed to connect directly with young practitioners and students navigating their own pathways through the industry.
Guests included:
- Yiorgos Papayiorgis of Urban Transcripts, on bridging disciplinary gaps in urban thinking and city-making.
- Morag Ofili, founder of Kiltered, on building inclusive workplace cultures and the importance of discomfort in creating change.
- Dr Helen Thomas, editor of Women Writing Architecture, on creating a platform that celebrates the written contributions of women to architectural culture.
- Tom Guy, founder of Architecture LGBT+, on advocacy, visibility and creating space for LGBTQ+ people in the profession.
- Adina Forsberg, founder of The Disabled Architect, on lived experience, invisible disability and the realities of accessible design.
- Ali Dehghani, creator of Arch Radio, on using media to question dominant architectural narratives and promote design as a tool for social change.
- Catherine Woolley, researcher at the University of Oxford, on the Sensory Street project and designing for neurodiverse experiences in public space.
- Anna Godefroy, Managing Director of Urban Growth London, on urban greening, community wellbeing and reimagining city space through planting.
The series ran alongside the Young Trustees’ wider programming as a way to build visibility for practitioners who are changing the terms of architectural engagement. It showed that meaningful practice takes many forms and reminded us that often, the most vital work happens outside of traditional structures.