The Aesthetic City

Léon Krier, a renowned Luxembourgish architect and key figure in Traditional Urbanism, critiques modernist architecture and advocates for human-scale urban design. He shares insights from notable projects like Poundbury and Ciudad Cayalá, emphasizing the importance of walkable neighborhoods. The conversation delves into the bureaucratic obstacles to creativity, the decline of architectural standards affecting mental health, and the need for community-driven solutions. Krier calls for a return to craftsmanship in architectural education to inspire future urban planners.

Maria Sánchez and Pedro Godoy are two architects from Guatemala in South America. The couple graduated at Notre Dame School for Architecture in South Bend, Indiana, after which they returned to Guatemala to set up their firm Estudio Urbano. In Guatemala, they have worked on one of the most special and successful masterplans in the world of traditional architecture and urbanism: Cayalá. Together with Léon Krier, Marc Landers and Richard Economakis, they designed what would be a completely new town, with friendly, beautiful spaces that foster community and that encourages human interactions Find the website of Estudio Urbano here: https://estudiourbano.com.gt/ Estudio Urbano on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estudiourbanoguatemala/ See the video about Cayalá here: https://youtu.be/wrnAsMSwGbg?si=cUC5xx8BTVpfRMIH ---- For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Love what we do? Become a patron! With your help we can grow this platform even further, make more content and hopefully achieve real, lasting impact for more beautiful cities worldwide. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/the_aesthetic_city?fan_landing=true Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city  Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/ Get access to the Aesthetic City Knowledge Base: https://theaestheticcity.lemonsqueezy.com/checkout/buy/18809486-2532-4d91-90fd-f5c62775adec

Michael Diamant is founder of New Traditional Architecture & Urbanism and is a very vocal critic of Modernist architecture and planning. He has fought a long battle against the ugliness that results from Modernism in Sweden, but he is also getting more recognition abroad, with guest talks in various podcasts, getting articles in various magazines and even at the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, Canada. This episode was recorded at the second edition of the Utrecht Summer School for Traditional Architecture and Urbanism, 'Let's Build a Beautiful City', which happened from July 17 to August 3, where Michael appeared as one of the lecturers. Find his website here: https://newtrad.org/ ---- For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Love what we do? Become a patron! With your help we can grow this platform even further, make more content and hopefully achieve real, lasting impact for more beautiful cities worldwide. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/the_aesthetic_city?fan_landing=true Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city  Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Alejandro García Hermida to the podcast today. He is an architect with a PhD and a Master's degree in Conservation and Restoration of Architectural Heritage, as well as an Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural Composition at the School of Architecture of the UPM in Madrid. His professional expertise lies in traditional architecture and building methods, as well as the restoration and examination of various historic buildings and archaeological sites with diverse types and chronologies, primarily in Spain and Morocco. Dr. García Hermida serves as the Executive Director of the Richard H. Driehaus Initiatives in Spain and Portugal, a Board Member of the Terrachidia NGO, and the Vice Chair of INTBAU Spain. Find more information here: Driehaus prize: https://driehausprize.nd.edu  INTBAU Spain: https://intbauspain.com/en/  Terrachidia: https://www.terrachidia.es/en/inicio-english/  Premio Rafael Manzano: https://intbauspain.com/seccion/premio-rafael-manzano/ 

We're thrilled to have none other than Professor Nikos Salingaros as our guest on this episode. He is a distinguished Greek-American mathematician and urban theorist who has made substantial contributions to the realms of architecture and urban design. He has authored numerous influential books and articles, promoting traditional and human-scale architecture while critiquing modernist and post-modernist methodologies. As a specialist in applying complexity theory and information theory to built environments, our guest works alongside architects and urban planners globally to advocate for scientifically based, sustainable, and people-focused design. Importantly, he has collaborated closely with the esteemed architect and urban planner Christopher Alexander, creating inventive concepts and strategies for urban planning that highlight human-centered, adaptable, and robust design. https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Architecture-Nikos-Salingaros/dp/9463863990/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WFDB0N3TQXAA&keywords=a+theory+of+architecture&qid=1681838324&sprefix=a+theory+of+architecture%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1 Six interesting articles by prof. Salingaros: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44223-023-00026-z https://thecritic.co.uk/architectures-abysmal-ignorance/ https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/13/2/56 https://patterns.architexturez.net/doc/az-cf-226021 https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/6/1/3 https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/12/2/28 ---- For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Love what we do? Become a patron! With your help we can grow this platform even further, make more content and hopefully achieve real, lasting impact for more beautiful cities worldwide. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/the_aesthetic_city?fan_landing=true Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/

We are delighted to host Peter Drijver as our guest today. He is a skilled architect from the Netherlands with a fascinating background. While studying architecture in Delft, the Netherlands, he participated in a group that created a 'counter-project,' providing additional and more affordable student rooms on the same land. He completed his studies with a counter-design for The Hague's urban renewal practice, incorporating a neoclassical educational science museum. At the graduation ceremony, his design was dubbed 'patricide.' Since 1982, he has been engaged in developing counter-projects for residents' groups, which ultimately expanded into an architectural firm specializing in restoration and public housing. In 1989, he initiated a collaboration with Mieke Bosse under the banner of SCALA Architects. The website of Scala Architecten: https://www.scala-architecten.nl  SOS Den Haag: https://www.sosdenhaag.nl 

We're excited to have Eric Norin as our guest on this episode. Eric is a classical architect from Sweden who studied at the School of Architecture in Stockholm, but fully discovered his passion for classical architecture at the Engelsberg summer school. Eric has been actively involved in the Swedish Architecture Uprising for several years, watching its growth and impact on the national conversation about architecture. We'll be discussing Eric' insights in the effect the Uprising has had, the power of democratic processes and social media in driving change, the lack of classical architecture education and the role Engelsberg played for him - and much, much more.  Find more information about his firm on their website: https://www.traditionarkitekter.se/ ------- For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Love what we do? Become a patron! With your help we can grow this platform even further, make more content and hopefully achieve real, lasting impact for more beautiful cities worldwide. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/the_aesthetic_city?fan_landing=true Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/

Katherine O'Neil is a placemaking consultant, writer, photographer, and community event planner, specializing in urban design and city planning. Over the last ten years, she has worked for various non-profits and start-ups, such as Habitat for Humanity and the Urban Land Institute. Her goal has been to inspire more sustainable, affordable, accessible live, work, and play places. In 2020, Katherine founded her business Builtfully® to showcase beautifully built environments and to create better places for all. Through consultations, community, and content, she leads creative community engagements and advises on urban planning initiatives. Currently, she is a Design Committee member for the Beverly Main Streets non-profit in Greater Boston. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in Housing Studies, a concentration in Community Development and Policy, and a minor in Communication Studies. She has a Master of Science degree from the University College London's Bartlett School of Planning in Urban Design and City Planning. Katherine was awarded honors for her Master's dissertation, which focused on pop-up housing solutions. Follow Builtfully® on Instagram at @bebuiltfully! ------- For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Love what we do? Become a patron! With your help we can grow this platform even further, make more content and hopefully achieve real, lasting impact for more beautiful cities worldwide. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/the_aesthetic_city?fan_landing=true Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/

Brandon Ro is a professor at Utah Valley University and an experienced Classical architect from the USA. He has over 16 years of experience in both new construction and renovation, and has worked for private sector developers, state universities, governmental agencies, religious institutions and more. At Utah Valley University he has developed a curriculum for new courses. He is active as a researcher and has many publications to his name, many of which about sacred architecture. His firm Tetrad Architecture & Planning focuses on a variety of types of projects. Professor Ro has an excellent YouTube channel with many videos on how to draw the orders, lectures, and more. His website: brandonro.com YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@BrandonRo-architecture Research & Publications: https://uvu.academia.edu/BrandonRo ------- For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Love what we do? Become a patron! With your help we can grow this platform even further, make more content and hopefully achieve real, lasting impact for more beautiful cities worldwide. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/the_aesthetic_city?fan_landing=true Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/

Erik Bootsma is a Catholic architect and author, specialised in classical and sacred architecture. He is instructor of sacred architecture at the Catholic Distance University and has given many lectures at various colleges. Over the years, he has built up extensive knowledge about ecclesiastical and other sacred architecture. He is also involved in the planning of several new urban districts, like St. Aubin Village in Detroit and St. James-on-the-Glebe. In this interview we talk about a very wide range of topics, from building materials to urban challenges in the United stage, and from his Dutch heritage to craftsmanship. His work can be found on https://bootsmadesign.com/  ------- For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Love what we do? Become a patron! With your help we can grow this platform even further, make more content and hopefully achieve real, lasting impact for more beautiful cities worldwide. Visit our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/the_aesthetic_city?fan_landing=true Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/