Bruce Kuwabara, one of Canada’s leading architects, makes stories — stories full of characters and rich with themes. Today he joins me to discuss how he crafts multi-layered stories and enables dialogue through his built spaces. That dialogue begins in the earliest stages of designing a new building. It continues through cultivating connections with the past while serving, sometimes showcasing, the current occupants of a building. Yet, perhaps more than other kinds of conversation, architectural themes resonate far into the future, as long as the structures endure, literally shaping how we will relate to each other. Though his work at KPMB Architects is aesthetically and formally stunning, I learn that Bruce’s commitment to architecture stems from a consideration of the people who will animate it, inside and out. Our discussion circles around his passionate belief in pluralism, openness, health, and sustainability, values that reflect the best of Canadian society. He cares to create buildings that respond to and improve the multiple realities of our Canadian life: from First Nations to recent arrivals in Canada, from workersphysical health needs to professional dancers, from those with mental health struggles to others at the forefront of scientific research. Bruces personal background as a Japanese-Canadian whose family was held in internment camps during the Second World War has contributed to his rejection of buildings that block us off from one another and fueled his desire for openness. As a side note, he had previously revealed to me how much he hates the opaque facades of pot shops and banks for this very reason! Bruce is one of the rare artists who has a fine ear for listening to others and is deeply attuned to what is going on in our society. He channels his voice and those of others through wood, concrete and triple-glazed windows to build meeting places that house our ideals, invigorate our public life, and invite us, all of us, in. Bruce Kuwabara is founding partner of KPMB Architects and the Chair of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. Among other awards, he has been recognized with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal and the Officer of the Order of Canada for shaping “our built landscape in lasting ways.” You may find Bruces works, including the ones we discuss – the National Ballet of Canada, Boston University, Manitoba Hydro, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Global Centre for Pluralism – at kpmb.comBruce recommends... Hanya Yanagiharas novel A Little Life and her articles in the New York Times on friendships and dinners, for example, “The Wayward Joy of the Dinner Party” from Dec. 2, 2022. And for visiting, he recommends The Darling Foundry, a visual arts centre in Montreal, and Peter Zumthor`s Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sheila-das/message