The Mint Museum is pleased to present the return of its Contemporary Architecture + Design (CAD) Series. First launched in 2012, the CAD Series series brings together an innovative group of globally recognized designers who push the boundaries of contemporary practice across disciplines, location, and cultural landscapes.
The 2026 CAD Series, presented by Wells Fargo, features conversations with UNC Charlotte professor Kyle Spence, Parsons School of Design professor Kim Mupangilaï, internationally renowned industrial designer Ini Archibong, and founders of the creative studio dach&zephir Florian Dach and Dimitri Zephir.
Hailing from Switzerland, Paris, New York, and North Carolina, the featured speakers are recognized as leaders at the forefront of contemporary architecture and design. Through engaging talks and conversations, they will share the ideas, processes, and practices behind their most compelling work.
The series begins March 19 at Mint Museum Randolph with talk by Kyle Spence. Each program is followed by a post-program reception, and the opportunity to tour the exhibition Designing Dynamism: Kuba Textiles from the DR Congo, The Wesley Mancini Collection. All talks are free and will take place at Mint Museum Randolph, 2730 Randolph Road, Charlotte.
2026 CAD Series Speaker Schedule
Kyle Spence
March 19, 6 PM
Mint Museum Randolph
Kyle Spence is an architect, educator, and researcher dedicated to integrating cultural sustainability and resilient design principles into his work. He is the founding principal of The BAKLab, a concept-driven architectural design practice based in New York City. An assistant professor of architecture at UNC Charlotte and a 2025 Gambrell Faculty Fellow, Spence’s interdisciplinary practice explores the “Place-Moment” connection, bridging jazz, improvisation, archaeoastronomy, and participatory community design to create socially responsive architecture. His recent work includes the prize-winning Mitchelville Heritage Trail proposal, the EarthArcs series, and the EcoDome urban farming prototypes.
Kim Mupangilaï
April 9, 6 PM
Mint Museum Randolph
Kim Mupangilaï is an interior architect, sculptural furniture designer, and educator based in New York, where she teaches at Parsons School of Design. The Belgian-Congolese designer’s practice examines cross-cultural identity, heritage, and the sociopolitical conditions embedded in art history and design through material-driven research and form. Her work has been exhibited internationally and acquired by institutions including the Vitra Design Museum, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Denver Art Museum.
Ini Archibong
May 7, 6 PM
Mint Museum Randolph
Industrial designer Ini Archibong, based in Switzerland, works with a myriad materials. From luminous glass and stone to finely crafted wood, his pieces move fluidly between sculptural expression and functional design. Archibong bridges tradition and futurism, drawing inspiration from architecture, philosophy, product design, religion, and mathematics. The result is a body of work that is refined, conceptually rigorous, and internationally resonant. He has received numerous top design industry awards, incuding his design for a Pavilion of the African Diaspora (PoAD) that won the Best Design Medal at the London Design Biennale in 2021. His work has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Galerie Triode in Paris; the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi in Milan; the Dallas Museum of Art; the High Museum in Atlanta; LACMA; and the Vitra Museum.
dach&zephir
July 9, 6 PM
Mint Museum Randolph
Graduates of the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris, Florian Dach and Dimitri Zephir are the founders of the creative studio dach&zephir based between Paris and Guadeloupe. Conceived as an open and experimental platform, the design studio draws on the founders’ shared experiences and investigates questions of history, culture, and identity through design. Their practice weaves together research and material exploration, creating work that reflects layered narratives and cross-cultural dialogue. The upcoming CAD Series presentation will be dach&zephir’s first lecture in the United States!