Jonathan Levien and Nipa Doshi were invited by the British Council to participate alongside a selection of British-based designers in the 2005 edition of EXD, a biennale hosted in Lisbon. The commission was shaped by the project’s theme “My World”, which sought works that expressed the individual perspective and approach of each designer. Doshi Levien responded by creating a collection of objects that articulated the studio’s design values, with a focus on cultural fluidity and exchange, exploring new typologies informed by observations in India. Central to the concept was the metaphor of an open-fronted shop, where visitors would remove their shoes and be welcomed by the craftsperson working there. Within this imagined setting, sensual objects in marble, terracotta and fine embroidered silk were presented as part of a cohesive environment, expressing Doshi Levien’s ideas about material intelligence and culturally-layered design.