Building Better: The Bartlett Podcast

In this episode of Building Better, we spoke to two people within and outside of The Bartlett  about ‘queering space’: how we can build spaces that suit community needs and what queerness means in the context of design. Our guests were: Xan Xacobo Goetzee-Barral, third year student on the new MSci Architecture programme and an Urban Design Tutor at The Bartlett School of Planning Holly Buckle, London-based Artist and the LGBTIQ+ Outreach Lead at The Outside Project  ‘Queering space’ is a theme that we touched on in our first ever episode of Building Better, when we spoke to Lo Marshall about their research into LGBTQ+ nightlife. Through this discussion we continued that conversation by asking what makes a space safe for LGBTQ+ people and interrogating what it means to bring queerness into a space. For more information and to access the transcript, visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/building-better-bartlett-podcast

This November, the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties of UNFCCC, or COP27, was hosted in Egypt.Throughout the conference, heads of state, ministers, climate activists and academics met to discuss and reach agreements on how to mitigate and prevent the impact of climate change.In this episode of Building Better, we spoke to two Bartlett faculty members about their experience of attending the conference and what it means for the built environment sector around the world:Lilia Caiado Coelho Beltrao Couto, PhD Candidate at the Institute for Sustainable Resources and Chapter Scientist and Research assistant for the IPCC AR6 Mitigation report Dr Efrosyni Konstantinou, Senior Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction   Through their research and expertise, we'll explore the current global attitude towards climate change, and solutions to build better before the clock runs out. For more information and to access the transcript, visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/building-better-bartlett-podcast

In this episode, we explore the role of racism and colonialism in the construction of the built environment and how we can improve.  In October 2022 we have been marking Black History Month at The Bartlett through talks, workshops and our series Black Perspectives in the Built Environment which explores architects, researchers and activists who have shaped – and are shaping – our field.   In this episode of Building Better, we are joined by two guests to discuss the ways that racism and colonialism have influenced people who study, design, create and live in built environments: Omoleye Ojuri, Honorary lecturer at The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, Senior Lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University and World Bank Scholar Kudzai Matsvai, architectural activist and founder of the BLAC Collective at the University of Liverpool and the Wedzera Network Through this discussion, we explore the legacy of racism and colonialism in the built environment, conversations about anti-racism, and how we can improve.Content warning: in this episode we are going to discuss racism and colonialism within the built environment and the systemic violence that this has caused toward Black communities around the world.Access transcript