THE GRIMSHAW PODCAST

In the first of two episodes on social and affordable housing , Tim Williams sits down with Mark Washer the CEO of Sovereign Network Group/SNG, one of the biggest providers in the UK, with an asset base of 85,000 homes, to talk about managing a massive business with a big social purpose: to provide good, affordable homes that are the foundation for a better life – with the aim of sustaining thriving communities, over generations. Joining them in the conversation is architect and master planner Kirsten Lees, Grimshaw’s Managing Partner in Paris and Sara Waller, SNG’s Head of Place, a role showing the significant emphasis SNG puts on supporting sustainable communities. In episode One we talk about the demands of running a big social housing provider and developer of affordable homes, under a new Government with housing as a priority. A specific focus is the role social housing providers can play in delivering the 1.5 million homes the UK Government wants to see built over the next 5 years, some of them in the exciting New Towns program. Episode two, has Sara and Kirsten further developing the focus on ‘housing in place’ and the need to design and deliver not just great housing but also great communities.

In the latest Grimshaw Cities podcast, Dr Tim Williams interviews Syrian architect and best-selling author Marwa al Sabouni. Unable to practice her profession in her battle-ravaged city of Homs, as the buildings and the lives around her and across Syria were reduced to rubble, Marwa Al Sabouni turned her fierce intelligence to chronicling how her city and country were undone through decades of architectural mismanagement and mistakes. The result was The Battle for Home in 2016 and Building for Hope:Towards an Architecture of Belonging(2021). We talk about these important books, her architectural advocacy and the values Marwa believes that architecture needs to embody so as to promote greater civic harmony, humanity and yes beauty in a divided and often ugly world. A really important and challenging conversation about why, what and how we build with someone with a unique voice and standpoint not heard enough in the international discussions about the future of our cities: exactly what the Grimshaw cities podcasts were created to do. Joining Tim and Marwa on this occasion is Grimshaw architect and urbanist, Awkar Ruel, with his own special experience and contribution as an Iraqi-born Sydneysider.

Tim talks with international housing expert Professor Josh Ryan-Collins of UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.

Tim Williams talks with Austin Williams, director of Future Cities and author of China’s Urban Revolution: Understanding Chinese Eco-Cities. What can we learn, as environmentalists, planners and architects, from the eco-city initiative and overall from the Chinese process of urbanisation?

Dr Aruna Sathanapally, CEO of Australia’s leading urban thinktank, the Grattan Institute, talks about the key policy priorities to make a more productive and inclusive nation.

Joel Kotkin, a fellow in urban studies at Chapman University in California, is the author of the best-selling book The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class. He is widely recognised as a leading international commentator on the future of cities and suburbs.In this episode, Joel joins Tim Williams for a passionate and insightful conversation about key urban trends. They explore Joel’s concern that declining home ownership and growing inequality are leading to a concentration of wealth and power reminiscent of pre-modern Europe. An important and thought-provoking discussion.

Today's episode features Dr. Caroline Butler-Bowden, State Librarian for the State Library of New South Wales, alongside Dr. Tim Williams and Grimshaw Principal, Eduard Ross. Together, they explore the role of libraries and museums in shaping cities and their significance as dynamic public spaces.

On today's episode, Dr. Tim Williams examines how America's largest city has grappled with the tensions between cars and public transit since the 1960s, with Nicole Gelinas, author of 'Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car' and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. As a key part of this conversation, we also have Grimshaw Deputy Chairman and Partner, Vincent Chang sharing his insights.