In this episode, Alexander Groves of Studio Swine and writer-curator Yoko Choy join Hanna Harris at Paimio Sanatorium to reflect on design as exploration, storytelling, and community. Groves shares how Studio Swine’s “adventure design” approach emerges from place, materials, and collaboration, while Cho highlights the studio’s shift from context-driven research to creating new collective experiences. Together they discuss narrative in design, the welcoming spirit of Paimio, and the idea of “creative health” as a way to reimagine how architecture can foster care and connection.

Studio Swine (Super Wide Interdisciplinary New Explorers), founded by Alexander Groves and Azusa Murakami, works across art, design, and film to explore the future of resources, craft, and sustainability. Their projects have been shown at leading cultural venues worldwide.

Yoko Choy, China editor at Wallpaper*magazine, is a design journalist and curator who has worked with institutions such as Art Basel, Beijing Design Week, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as brands including Hermès and Louis Vuitton.

This conversation was recorded at the 2024 Spirit of Paimio Conference, hosted in the iconic Paimio Sanatorium — Alvar and Aino Aalto’s modernist masterpiece from the 1930s. Discover more at www.paimiosanatorium.com.