World Architecture Festival Podcast

Buildings and the built environment are designed and constructed according to measurable, quantifiable and gradable standards, yet a community’s interaction with their environment is not measured, or indeed measurable in this way. From Le Corbusier's 'Ineffable space' to Louis Kahn's 'Unmeasurable' criteria for great buildings, we continue this architectural pursuit to connect the intangible with the most urgent tangibles of contemporary everyday lives. We look to ask if architecture and design can move the needle on the public’s sense of agency, attachment, attraction, connection, freedom and inclusion.Speakers - Ar. Adrian Lai, Council Member, Singapore Institute of ArchitectsIsabella Ong, Artist and Technical BuildAr. Ker How Wong, Council Member, Singapore Institute of ArchitectsChair - Jeremy Melvin, Programme Curator, World Architecture Festival (Speaker introduction)

As an industry we have focussed for decades on reducing operational carbon in our buildings and the tools and methods are well understood. But what does the reduction in CO2 emissions from our power grid mean for our processes and the way we design our buildings and is it a catalyst for a different way of thinking? Do we need to rethink and assess things differently? How do we catalyse a change to a future where we look beyond being less bad and start to think in terms of the regeneration of our environment.Speaker - Patrick Bellew, Founder and Executive Chairman, Atelier TenChair - Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival

A panel discussion on The Drawing PrizeSpeakers -Lily Jencks, Keeper of Vision at The Cosmic House, The Jencks FoundationKen Shuttleworth, Founder, Make ArchitectsEldry John Infante, Registered and Licensed Architect, Illustrator, Mede ArchitectureEugene Tan, Architectural Graduate, Park + AssociatesChair - Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival

There is a clear urgency to redesign cities in the face of fast-growing global urban population, urban sprawl and climate change to prioritise nature conservation, human livability and human progress. In response, the Urban Planning team at NEOM has pioneered Zero Gravity Urbanism - a three-dimensional urban idea underpinning THE LINE - which provides a robust alternative to our currently failing urban models. Zero Gravity Urbanism, developed around the work of globally recognized architects and urban thinkers, demonstrates its capacity for a radically smaller footprint, a substantially stronger social fabric and robust model for human exchange, establishing the foundation of a new livability. Some of the ideas, innovations and technologies behind Zero Gravity Urbanism are a point of departure for rethinking our prevailing ideas of a city or human habitat. THE LINE in NEOM is an example that begins to put in motion these ideas in an environment powered 100% by renewable energy, with zero cars, zero roads and zero carbon emissions.Speaker - Sarah Fayad, Manager in Design, Research, and Innovation, NEOM Urban PlanningChair - Jeremy Melvin, Programme Curator, World Architecture Festival

Housing affordability around the world has reached a crisis point. Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization and an accelerating environmental emergency, we need solutions for city building that are more socially and economically sustainable, as well as multi-family housing that is more equitable and livable. 5468796's new publication explores the missing middle housing in its many forms and ownership models, from refugee and social housing to market-rate condominiums. Provoked by discussions that took place at a symposium they organized while teaching at the IIT in Chicago 2019, this four-volume publication [MIDDLE, MACRO, MICRO, MODELLING] expands on this hands-on research working with challenging economic and environmental circumstances, using the firm’s built works, concept masterplans and community projects as the foundations to present a ‘toolkit’ of strategies for high- quality attainable, accessible and affordable housing. It will be released with Arquine in October 2023.The session will consist of presentation by partners Johanna Hurme and Sasa Radulovic, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Trevor Boddy.Speakers - Johanna Hurme, Partner, Co-Founder, 5468796 Architecture Inc.Sasa Radulovic, Partner, 5468796 Architecture Inc.Chair - Trevor Boddy, Architecture Critic + Curator, Trevor Body Consulting Urban Designer

Mario Cucinella’s forthcoming talk "The Future is a Journey to the Past", will explore past and present notions of sustainability to develop the ecological thinking necessary to bridge the divide between the natural world and human activity – including, of course, architecture. Architectural history, in all its richness, becomes a relevant source of inspiration to educate us about our sustainable past while providing us with tools to become future guardians of the global environment.A selection of projects by Mario Cucinella Architects that contribute to exploring these themes from a contemporary viewpoint and with an eye towards our future challenges will be presented. These include recent works in major cities like Milan but also in much smaller communities in Italian towns and villages demonstrating the positive impact and potential for regeneration and renewal that a single building can have in these settings.Speaker - Mario Cucinella, Founder, MCA Mario Cucinella ArchitectsChair - Jeremy Melvin, Programme Curator, World Architecture Festival