The Urbanist

Linda Thiel, the Director of White Architecture's London studio, shares her insights on the vital role municipal architects play in shaping urban environments. She discusses how architects cut red tape, foster collaboration, and create community-centric designs. With a focus on transformative projects like the Elizabeth Line and strategies to address the housing crisis, Thiel emphasizes the importance of sustainable design linking health and architecture. Her perspectives showcase innovative approaches to holistic urban planning and visionary leadership across different countries.

Paul Logothetis takes us to an intriguing new building that is just as awe inspiring as the exhibits housed within.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We speak to Thomas Woltz of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, whose new monograph, ‘The Land is Full’, explains why all land comes with deep history and cultural ties. Then we inspire young urbanists with the author of an architecturally themed colouring book and assess how Singapore will combat loneliness in its rapidly ageing population.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Plaisant visits a Soviet-era concert hall that has been disused for the best part of 15 years and is loved and loathed by the city’s residents in equal measure.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We assess all the benefits that public green space brings to a city, visit one of the most German cities in Canada to see how the town glockenspiel brings residents together and investigate the ancient art of letter carving.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gregory Scruggs hops aboard a street car in El Paso to find out how the revival of this transportation option has struck a chord with the locals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We explore some iconic parts of London’s past through ‘London Lost Interiors’, a book revealing the great indoors of the UK capital. Plus: a cylindrical example of brutalist architecture, Space House, which has been preserved for future generations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomás Pinheiro discusses the history of a prestigious street in the capital of Malaysia’s Penang state and assesses some of the new developments taking over the area. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monocle’s Ed Stocker reports from Turin’s annual festival of urbanism, Utopian Hours, where a collection of inspiring speakers discussed everything from meanwhile spaces to climate resilience. Plus: we visit the river Po to see how it interacts with the Piedmontese capital.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Each week we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In the fifth and final episode we sit down with the Japanese architect and founder of his eponymous studio, Sou Fujimoto.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.