MATECIA 2026.
The larger vision is to bring together two worlds that have often operated separately-the world of materials, manufacturing and business, and the world of architecture, design and creativity. MATECIA and THE WADE ASIA are built around the belief that the future of the built environment will be shaped when these worlds work together.
MATECIA has evolved into a national marketplace for the building-material and interiors ecosystem, bringing brands and manufacturers face-to-face with architects, designers, builders, OEMs, dealers, distributors, procurement professionals and other decision-makers. The 2025 national edition brought more than 55,000 business visitors from 600+ Indian towns and cities and 14 countries, demonstrating the scale of this ecosystem.
2026 is particularly significant because we are creating a much larger ecosystem rather than simply an exhibition or an architecture event. MATECIA, THE WADE ASIA, India Furniture Conclave, India Interior Retailing and the Material & Technology Conclave come together at Yashobhoomi, creating multiple points of interaction between products, people, ideas and business.
For me, the real opportunity is this: India is building at an extraordinary scale, and we need platforms that are equally ambitious in connecting the people who are shaping that future.
It is absolutely critical. The building-material industry can no longer function in isolated verticals.
A manufacturer may create an excellent product, but its success depends on whether an architect understands it, whether a designer can specify it, whether a dealer can sell it, whether a distributor can move it efficiently and whether the end user sees value in it. Similarly, architects and designers cannot create meaningful work without understanding the realities of materials, manufacturing, availability, cost, performance and execution.
That is why we have always believed in creating connections rather than just footfall.
MATECIA is designed around this ecosystem-from manufacturers and brands to architects, interior designers, retailers, dealers, distributors, builders, OEMs, consultants and procurement professionals.
The next phase of growth for India will require stronger collaboration between these groups. The industry needs to move from a simple buyer-seller relationship to a knowledge-and-partnership ecosystem where products are developed with greater understanding of market needs and design professionals have greater access to technology and material innovation.
Technology and AI are going to change the industry profoundly-but I don't believe they will replace creativity. They will change how creativity is developed, tested, communicated and executed.
AI can accelerate ideation, visualisation, documentation, research, specification and even aspects of project management. Technology is also transforming manufacturing through automation, precision machinery, digital fabrication, smart systems and increasingly data-driven production.
But there is an important distinction: technology can generate possibilities; human beings still have to decide which possibilities are meaningful.
For architects and designers, the real advantage will come from combining design thinking with technological literacy. For manufacturers, innovation will increasingly mean more than introducing a new finish or product-it will mean improving performance, sustainability, customisation, manufacturing efficiency and the overall user experience.
This is exactly why platforms such as MATECIA's Material & Technology Conclave are becoming important. The conversation needs to move beyond "What is the new product?" to "What is changing in the way we design, manufacture, build and live?"
For me, material intelligence means understanding a material beyond how it looks.
A beautiful material is only one part of the story. The next generation of architects and designers needs to understand where a material comes from, how it is manufactured, how it performs, how it behaves over time, its environmental impact, its fire and safety characteristics, its maintenance requirements, its lifecycle cost and how realistically it can be executed.
I have been observing this shift through THE WADE ASIA, SURFACES REPORTER and now MATECIA for more than 15 years. Clients are asking increasingly sophisticated questions-about sustainability, lifecycle cost, speed of execution, fire safety, maintenance, productivity and wellness.
So when I say material intelligence, I mean the ability to connect:
Architecture + Materials + Technology + Execution + Business.
Design will always matter. But beautiful design that cannot be executed, maintained, scaled or justified economically is not enough anymore.
The architects and designers who understand materials deeply will be able to make better design decisions-and, importantly, will be able to have more meaningful conversations with manufacturers and clients.
When we started WADE in 2016, the primary intention was very clear-to create a platform where women in architecture, interior design, art and the larger built environment could be seen, recognised, heard and connected.
What started as a purposeful initiative has grown into a national platform for recognition, knowledge exchange, collaboration and business discovery. Over the last decade, WADE has recognised more than 1,000 women, hosted over 100 talks and design dialogues, and built a pan-India community of architects and designers.
But the next decade cannot simply be about doing a bigger version of what we did in the first decade.
The first decade was about creating visibility. The next decade is about creating greater impact.
WADE 2026 is therefore broader in its ambition. It continues to celebrate women and design excellence, but it also creates stronger intersections with materials, technology, business, emerging talent and the larger built environment.
The inclusion of SHEDESIGNS, for instance, reflects our desire to actively discover and encourage the next generation rather than waiting for talent to become established before recognising it.
Our vision for the next decade is to make WADE an even stronger bridge between creativity and opportunity, design and business, recognition and real-world impact.
I hope they leave with something more valuable than inspiration-I hope they leave with possibility.
When you are young, it is easy to believe that the established names in the industry have always been established. Events like WADE allow students and emerging designers to see the people behind those names-their journeys, failures, experiments, doubts and persistence.
I want young designers to understand that there is no single definition of success in this industry. You can be an architect, designer, entrepreneur, researcher, material innovator, artist, technologist or create your own path somewhere in between.
But I also want them to understand that the industry is changing. Design skills alone will not be enough. They will need material intelligence, technology awareness, execution understanding, business thinking and the ability to collaborate across disciplines.
Most importantly, I want them to find their own voice.
WADE was created because we believed that talent deserves a platform. Ten years later, that belief remains unchanged-but today, our responsibility is also to help the next generation find the courage, knowledge and connections to build what comes next.
