The third episode of the Room For Dreams podcast confronts one of the most pressing dilemmas in modern urban planning: how to breathe in new life into old structures without erasing their history. Recorded live at Milan Design Week 2026 in cooperation with INDX|GLOBAL, this dynamic session gathers a panel of architects — Kiran Gala, Vivek Gupta, and Carl Bhesania — to unpack the complex realities of adaptive reuse.

 

Quickly cutting through standard historical preservation cliches, the architects reveal a complex, structural excavation process, walking us through the high-stakes decisions behind what to physically preserve, what to update, and exactly when a feature must be replaced for modern safety and utility. Designing a modern building as an entirely ‘bare shell’ emerges as the ultimate strategy for navigating unpredictable technological and societal shifts. The panel reimagines the urban landscape through hyper-flexible structures capable of mutating over time, stripping away the need for future demolition when changing demands inevitably alter how infrastructure is used.

 

What surfaces from this debate is a radical shift away from heavy construction toward a lighter architectural footprint, proving that true sustainability means building as little as possible.

 

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Vivek Gupta of Arvind Vivek and Associates
Vivek Gupta of Arvind Vivek and Associates
Kiran Gala of KGA Design
Kiran Gala of KGA Design
Carl Bhesania of Talati and Partners
Carl Bhesania of Talati and Partners

project info:

 

podcast: Room For Dreams
episode: 03
theme: Adaptive Legacies
host: Claire Brodka
guests: Kiran Gala of KGA Design | @kirangala_and_associates, Vivek Gupta of Arvind Vivek and Associates | @arvindvivekassociates, and Carl Bhesania of Talati and Partners | @talatiandpartners

collaborator: INDX|GLOBAL | @indx.global