Terry Interior Designs at World Architectour Africa 2023, Padua, Italy

In the autumn of 2023, Terry Interior Designs received an invitation to attend the World Architectour Africa forum, held at the prestigious Padova Hall in Padua, Italy. It was a significant moment for the studio — and for the wider East African design community — to be represented on a global stage alongside some of the continent's most respected practices.

Mike Waweru travelled to Padua on behalf of Terry Interior Designs, representing the studio across the forum's programme of presentations, panel discussions, and supplier showcases.

A Platform Built for Africa's Design Future

World Architectour Africa brings together architects, interior designers, developers, and material suppliers from across the African continent and its international partners. The Padua edition drew an exceptional range of participants — from European manufacturers seeking inroads into the African market, to African practices looking to expand their sourcing networks and share work with a global audience.

For a studio like ours — one that has spent over 25 years building relationships with suppliers across multiple regions — the event offered a rare opportunity to deepen existing connections and establish new ones, all in a single setting.

New Supplier Relationships, European Reach

One of the most valuable outcomes of the Padua forum was the direct access it provided to European manufacturers and material specialists. Italy, already one of the world's foremost centres for furniture, lighting, and luxury finishes, provided an ideal backdrop for conversations that would have otherwise taken months of correspondence to initiate.

Over the course of the event, Mike held meetings with suppliers specialising in high-specification cabinetry, decorative hardware, bespoke lighting, and contract-grade upholstery — many of whom have since become part of the studio's sourcing network for residential and hospitality commissions requiring European-quality finishes.

The forum also opened a dialogue with distribution partners operating across Southern and Eastern Europe, expanding our ability to source and ship materials from the continent with greater efficiency and reliability.

Representing East Africa's Design Identity

Beyond the sourcing conversations, the event was an opportunity to put East African design — its sensibility, its craftsmanship, its distinctive relationship with light and landscape — in front of an international audience. Mike presented the studio's portfolio of residential and hospitality work, and the response was a reminder that the design language we've developed in Nairobi over two decades translates powerfully beyond its home context.

For Terry Interior Designs, Padua 2023 was more than a trade event. It was a step in a longer project: building the kind of international supplier relationships and global visibility that allow us to bring the very best of what the world has to offer into the homes and spaces we design here.