They Have Watches but We Have Time: Iskander Guetta and Quang Vinh Nguyen in conversation with WAI Think Tank

What if time were the true material of design? Conceived by designers Iskander Guetta and Quang Vinh Nguyen, the exhibition They Have Watches but We Have Time takes over the waiting room of the Swiss Consulate with an installation revolving around notions of design, time, and power. The installation considers time as a material of design through one of its main instruments: the clock. They Have Watches but We Have Time is on view October 2026–January 2027. Cruz Garcia and Nathalie Frankowski (WAI Architecture Think Tank) join the curators to expand on the questions the exhibition raises around design, time, and power. What would it mean to treat time — rather than space, land, or property — as the primary resource of a design process? How can we engage with a design project in its entire timeline, and not exclusively at the moment of production and innovation? Event Schedule 6 pm: Doors open6:30 pm: Conversation and Q&A7:30 pm: Reception Notice of Access, Filming, and Photography Van Alen is committed to ensuring that all of our events are inclusive and accessible for all participants. Van Alen Institute is on the ground floor and ADA-accessible. If you require accommodations or have any questions about access needs, please email [email protected] and we will do our best to support your participation. When you attend this event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording may occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to such recording media and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction.