World Architecture Festival Podcast: Recent Episodes
World Architecture Festival
World Architecture Festival is where the world's architecture community meets to learn, exchange and be inspired. Influential architects and commentators discuss the latest challenges and innovations.
Talk Architecture is a Podcast and video series brought to you by World Architecture Festival.
Hear from WAF's Programme Director and Curators Paul Finch and Jeremy Melvin as they discuss building visits, architectural commentary and book and exhibition reviews.
World Architecture Festival 2023 will take place in Singapore from the 29 November - 1 December.
WAF23 #Inside23
LECTURE
Resilient Architecture in Sub-Saharan Africa
Issa Diabaté, Partner, Koffi & Diabaté Architects
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual2020.
Business Stream - Delivery Part Two
Exploring and understanding the business of architecture
Tadahiko Murao, Executive Officer, Nikken Sekkei
Jan Henckens, Senior Manager, Global Business Development Management Department, Nikken Sekkei Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual 2020.
Hospitals: An Evolving Typology
With the COVID 19 pandemic raging around the world, health design is at the forefront of many people's minds, whether or not they are in the health field. While we've seen paradigm shifts and pivots in healthcare in the past, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is so significant - we believe we will see a true global transformation of health design as a result. Hospitals will evolve their operations due to the pandemic and other changing global conditions and so, a typological evolution must continue to occur in hospital design. Jean Mah and Ralph Johnson will discuss the historical evolution of the modern hospital, the current state of the art of hospital design with case studies from their current work, and how the hospital typology might continue to evolve in the future.
Ralph Johnson, Global Design Director, Perkins + Will
Jean Mah, Principal - Health, Perkins + Will
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual2020.
Business Stream - Nurturing and Developing Talent:
Exploring and understanding the business of architecture
Kim Herforth Nielsen, Co-Founder & Principal, 3XN Architects
James von Klemperer, President & Design Principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Tracy Meller, Partner, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual2020.
Post Covid Shopping: Retail Reloaded
Laurie Chetwood will be looking at how the current challenges facing the High Street are an opportunity for designers to participate in repurposing redundant town and city centres. He will discuss how not only high street buildings, but also urban infrastructure systems are being repurposed. Logistics is no longer just a big box on the side of the motorway keeping the rain off stored goods but is evolving into urban logistics: an integral part of a repurposed urban supply chain, and the driving force behind the new social and community-focused experiential retail.
Laurie Chetwood, Chairman, Chetwoods Architects
Chair: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual2020.
Thinkspace
Design, the Environment & Public Health
Professor Nick Tyler, Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering |Director, UCL Centre for Transport Studies
Professor Allyson Pollock, Director, Newcastle University Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science
Sandy Nairne, Writer & Curator
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual 2020.
WAF Keynote: Prototypes for the Future
We live in extraordinary times and, in many ways, the challenges facing cities, cultures and the planet have never been greater. Some have speculated that the global COVID pandemic is merely first tremors of a vast shockwave brought on by environmental decline, failed socio-economic policy and cynical political manipulation. Perhaps more than ever before, the need for reconsidering the fundamental values, agendas and possibilities of architecture and urbanism is clear. We must begin to imagine fundamentally new questions and trajectories that go beyond the lifeless, recycled formalisms, neoDarwinian ethics and vacant marketing-speech—we must begin to answer the question of how can we, as architects, work towards a living future for our spaces, societies and species? In this talk, Ole Scheeren, Principal of international architectural practice Buro Ole Scheeren, will explore the role of this question in the work of the office and how the search for an answer has informed the development of several of the office's unprecedented and city-defining structures.
Ole Scheeren, Principal, Büro Ole Scheeren
Business Stream - Delivery Part One
The Business of Architecture: Project Managing Art
The business of architecture is often a struggle between the designers who want to design and the managers who want to manage. Astute project delivery planning can turn this clash into a workable dynamic, centered on common goals of quality, responsibility, and service to the client—a way to manage expectations but produce something meaningful. Honing project management to find a balance between artistic achievement and prudent oversight will help businesses make money and strive for excellence.
Dean Kaardal, Vice President, Regional Business Leader - Buildings, Canada West, Stantec
Robin Nicholson, Partner, Cullinan Studio
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded live at WAFVirtual 2020.
Post Covid Schools: How the Pandemic can Lead to Better Schools
Following on from alma-nac's publication 'Simple Solutions for Safer Schools' Chris will be talking about some of the ways schools in England are being innovative in dealing with Covid restrictions. He will also reflect on how positive lessons learnt from the pandemic can influence school design in the future.
Chris Bryant, Director, alma-nac
Melanie Mortimer, Head of Design Technology, Dulwich Prep London
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
Business Stream - Winning Work
The ability to win work in our hypercompetitive, post-Covid world is a skill architects need now more than ever. This session will focus on the criteria that clients, in all sectors, consider most significant, and ways you can make your firm stand out.
Susanna Sirefman, President, Dovetail Design Strategists
Lee Polisano, President, PLP Architecture
Chair: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
Business Stream - Insurance
Professional Indemnity in 2021: Crisis, Cyclical Change or Chance to Reset?
Paul Berg, Partner | Group Director, Professional Risks, Griffiths & Armour
Jonathan Hall, Director, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual 2020.
In Conversation With Sir David Adjaye
Join Paul Finch for a live conversation with celebrated Ghanaian-British architect; Sir David Adjaye who has achieved international acclaim for an exceptional body of work over 25 years of practice
Sir David Adjaye, Founder & Principal, Adjaye Associates
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual 2020.
Post Covid Homes: The Self-Sufficient City for Post-Covid Life
This lecture will present a new generation of housing projects designed to fight both the health and climate crisis we face. Guallart will present the Xiong'an project recently awarded that includes four self-sufficient blocks and will also share details of a project for Biocities in Africa.
Vicente Guallart, Founder, Guallart Architects
Chair: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual 2020.
Inside Keynote Lecture: Insights into Healthy Interiors
In light of the challenges society is facing, UNStudio’s founder Ben van Berkel, will present on the integral and human-centric approach to health, flexibility and technology in their work. Designing healthy interiors requires thinking about the relation between different scales. UNStudio has produced a wide range of work, from public buildings to infrastructure, offices to residential as well as interiors and products to urban master plans. With their focus distinctly placed on the future, in 2018 the practice founded a sister company, UNSense, an arch tech company that aims to create impact by developing technology and innovative solutions that improve quality of life for individuals, communities and the planet.
Ben van Berkel, Founder | Principal Architect, UNStudio & Founder UNSense
Chair: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAFVirtual2020.
Jeanne Gang Keynote Talk
Jeanne Gang, Founding Principal, Studio Gang
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This session was recorded at WAFVirtual 2020.
International Question Time, pt. 2
Discussion session of major WAF past contributors – dealing with the major issues of the day
Maria Warner Wong, Design Director, Warner Wong Design and WOW Architects
Patrick Bellew, Founding Director, Atelier Ten
Christoph Ingenhoven, Principal, Ingenhoven Architects
Jo Noero, Principal, Noero Architects
Simon Allford, Founding Director, AHMM | President Elect, RIBA
Alison Brooks, Principal and Creative Director, Alison Brooks Architects
Benedetta Tagliabue, Co-Founder & CEO Miralles Tagliabue EMBT | Founder & CEO Enric Miralles Foundation
Chairs: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
Post Covid Workplace: Space-Time Office
Andrew Chadwick, Principal, Chadwick International
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
Watch the video version here: https://youtu.be/GPk13QYeiTc
International Question Time
Discussion session dealing with the major issues of the day from an international perspective
Ken Tadashi Oshima, Professor Department of Architecture, University of Washington
Frances Anderton, Host | Producer, DnA: Design and Architecture
Monica von Schmalensee, Senior Partner & Architect, White Arkitekter
Chairs: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/cj0VNoO7ojQ
Panel discussion: The sustainably use of timber in construction. Brought to you by the Forest Stewardship Council
Chair: Hattie Hartman, Sustainability Editor for the Architects’ Journal
Panel members:
Jeremy Harrison, Forest Stewardship Council
Misak Terzibasiyan, UAArchitects
Giacomo Garziano, GGLoop Amsterdam
The episode was recorded at WAF 2019.
This podcast episode is brought to you by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the most trusted and rigorous standard for responsible forest management. FSC Project Certification assures your use of guilt-free materials, knowing they came from well-managed forests. Get your project certified, ensuring a lower carbon footprint, helping to fight climate change.
For more information please visit: www.fsc.org/project-certification
WAF Keynote
Elizabeth Diller, Partner, Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAF 2019.
Massimiliano Fuksas, Co-Founder, Studio Fuksas: WAF Keynote
Massimiliano Fuksas, Co-Founder, Studio Fuksas
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAF 2019.
Open Building: A Future Perspective on Habraken’s Heritage
Marc Koehler’s term as the Architect in Residence at the Architectuur Centrum Amsterdam is drawing to a close in December, concluding a period of three months of studying new initiatives according to the principles of John Habraken’s Open Building.
Architect and academic Habraken composed the first guidelines of Open Building in the sixties: he described ways to compose buildings with a multipurpose structure and flexible infill, to address the different wishes and needs of inhabitants.
As co-initiator of a new online platform featuring current developments in Open Building - developers, architects, and inhabitants - Marc will present an overview of new initiatives and projects. He will elaborate on three themes: Open Architecture, Open Development, and Open Systems, and connect the principles of Open Building to new ways to incorporate circularity, sustainability and the influence of individuals and communities into residential projects.
Marc Koehler, Principal, Marc Koehler Architects
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAF 2019.
Identity: Towards A Reflexive Regionalist Practice of Architecture
Li Xiaodong, Professor, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University.
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
I have no intention here to promote the ‘form’ as a blueprint. It, at most, opens up possibilities. This is why that I dare not to use the word “contemporary Chinese architecture” to describe my practice, but “reflexive regionalist architecture”. Here, to be “reflexive” as in ‘dialogue with’ a situation, through which, an objective understanding of the situation could be established; to be “regional” is here different from the ‘picturesque’ or, ‘iconic’ regionalist architecture (by which, architecture was understood as a tool to demonstrate a cultural presence as a fixed entity), what I have been proposing is to understand the “regional” as comprehensive, dynamic and sustainable ‘condition’ of place – a tabula rasa, that solutions could be based on and emerged from.
This episode was recorded at WAF 2018.
Beyond Binary
Jeanne Gang, Founding Principal, Studio Gang
Chair: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
Many of our inherited binary notions of identity—female/male, nature/city, wild/tame—continue to influence architecture and urban design, though science and culture increasingly demonstrate their limits. How can our model of the city evolve when we think beyond oppositional relationships and focus instead on connecting for mutual benefit?
This episode was recorded at WAF 2018.
Mecanoo, the Asia experience.
Francine Houben, Founding Partner and Creative Director, Mecanoo
Chair: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
Exploring the recently opened projects such as the Kaohsiung National Center for the Arts (Wei Wu Ying), Kaohsiung station and the work which is still in progress such as the Tainan public library.
This episode was recorded at WAF 2018.
WAF Keynote
Sir David Adjaye, Principal, Adjaye Associates
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
This episode was recorded at WAF 2018.
Rafael Vinoly, Founder, Rafael Vinoly Architects
•RV is a former super-jury chair and keynote speaker at WAF.
•How does the concept of performance apply in his varied work?
•How does projects range from the Tokyo Forum complex include a temporary mobile performance space he is designing in Berlin
This episode was recorded at WAF 2017.
Pierre de Meuron, Founding Partner, Herzog & de Meuron, and Charles Jencks, Architecture Critic and Theorist
•Critic Charles Jencks will present the recently completed Elbphilharmone in Hamburg; Pierre de Meuron will respond to the presentation in a ‘performance’ where the role of critic and architect are reversed
This episode was recorded at WAF 2017.
Mathias Kohler, Co-Founder, Gramazio Kohler Architects
•How will robotics affect the performance of the construction industry?
•What are the implications of greater automation for architectural practice?
•What design activities could be replaced by machines?
This episode was recorded at WAF 2017.
Louisa Hutton, Founding Partner, Sauerbruch Hutton
This keynote was recorded at WAF 2017.
Francis Kéré, Principal and Founder, Kéré Architecture
This episode was recorded at WAF 2017.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall there was a belief that a vision for Berlin could provide a model for new world cities and stage for new world citizens. How has the energy and ambition of so many contributors to this idea given life to the city that exists today?
This episode was recorded at WAF 2016.
Contrary to popular belief, many of the luxuries commonly associated with high end residential developments are no longer limited to the affluent alone. A growing consciousness of all things beneficial to health and happiness is resulting in a trickling down effect and a widespread societal demand for healthy living environments. Today’s residents want convenient shared amenities which encourage a sense of community and promote physical and psychological wellbeing. On the one hand we are witnessing the global development of big data and smart cities, while on the other there is call for ‘social cities’ with a more creative mix of work, welfare, active leisure and community sharing. Health and wellbeing have recently evolved from a seemingly universal social right, to the responsibility of the individual. From experiments in human gene-editing and biohacking, to increased demand for affordable fresh and healthy produce for all, a new egalitarian ideal is emerging which increasingly renders the exclusive, inclusive.
This episode was recorded at WAF 2016.
How have population movements, demographic shifts and lifestyle trends informed how we live collectively and as individuals? How has this impacted on the function, design and servicing of dwellings today and how will these factors affect the housing, and life, of tomorrow.
This episode was recorded at WAF 2016.
Discussion of housing is currently based on politics, migration, urbanisation, new cities and numbers. What has happened to consideration of this building type as architecture, and what lessons could we draw from the work of Zaha Hadid Architects in Berlin and across the world?
This episode was recorded at WAF 2016.
Nutters of the North
Prof Sir Peter Cook, Architect, Professor and Writer
Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
Invention and creativity inspired by the backdrop of the North Sea. This session will look at UK, Netherlands, Nordic, Baltic and Belgium architecture from the nineteenth century up to today.
This episode was recorded at WAF 2018.
Four leading women architects share their personal experiences and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing women in the global profession.
Women In Architecture at WAF 2015 in association with The Architectural Review
Julie Eizenberg, Principal, Koning Eizenberg
Gonca Pasolar, Partner, Emre Arolat Architects
Angelene Chan, CEO, DP Architects
Chaired by Christine Murray, Editor-in-chief, The Architectural Review
This episode was recorded at WAF 2015.
Charles Jencks, Author, Critic, Sculptor and Landscape Architect
Topic: On Singapore and its lessons for world architecture
Fifty years of growth, transformation and experimentation.
This episode was recorded at WAF 2015
Topic: Calmer Singapore
· Enhancing the quality of life in a tropical climate with high-density urban living
· Addressing the problem of heat and noise pollution as anthropogenic effects
· Developing a fundamentally new bottom-up analysis/design scenario approach
· Understanding the key to cooler, calmer and more liveable cities
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schmitt, ETH Zurich, Chair of Information Architecture, Singapore ETH Centre and Senior Vice President ETH Global
This episode was recorded at WAF 2015
Topic: The evolution of public space
· What is the future for public space in an age of social media and virtual relationships?
· Public access to private buildings: balancing ownership, access and control
· Exploring new ways of introducing public space at height
· The ambiguity of public space - what is the point of the town hall?
· Differentiating public space and public realm
David Green, Urban Design Leader, Principal, Perkins+Will
This episode was recorded at WAF 2015.
Ross Lovegrove, a designer and visionary whose work is considered to be at the very apex of stimulating a profound change in the physicality of our three dimensional world, will discuss his design philosophies, experience with OLED light and possibilities as an architectural medium in the future.
Ross Lovegrove, Principal, Lovegrove Studio Chair: Nigel Coates, Principal, Nigel Coates Studio Sponsored by LG Display
Adapting the existing
- How to turn a prison into a hotel and a ammunitions storage hall into a restaurant
- What are the main challenges when re-purposing a space and how can these be overcome?
- Is there anything the original designers could have done differently to aid the conversion if they had known the space would see a change of use
- What types of spaces are the most challenging in respect of flexibility and adaptability?
Joyce Wang, Principal, Wang Almut Grüntuch-Ernst, Principal, Grüntuch-Ernst Architekten Chair: Nigel Coates, Principal, Nigel Coates Studio
Brand and experience design - combining temporary and permanent
- How to blend the ephemeral element of experience design with the more permanent design of retail and brand interiors
- Considering the digital experience as a connecting factor between a temporary brand experience and the permanent
- What strategies can be adopted to give a retail interior flexibility as well as increased longevity when often they have a limited life span?
- Digital and physical storytelling for brands: the extended role of the designer
Philip Handford, Principal, Campaign Chair: Edgar Gonzalez, Director Bachelor in Design, IE School of Architecture and Design, EGD Edgar Gonzalez Design
Public vs private - a new balance
- How are the boundaries changing between personal and public space across a range of settings?
- Balancing intimacy, privacy and openness across collective and individual space
- Interpreting the approach to public space in the past for the rituals of today
- How can lighting, furniture and spatial planning provide maximum flexibility of use?
Seyhan Özdemir, Principal, Autoban Edgar Gonzalez, Director Bachelor in Design, IE School of Architecture and Design, EGD Edgar Gonzalez Design Chair: Nigel Coates, Principal, Nigel Coates Studio
The Future: how is the way we live changing?
- How fluid will the interior spaces we inhabit need to be in order to respond?
- Global socio-economic political factors that will change the lifestyles we lead tomorrow
- How will the interior spaces we inhabit need to respond to changing lifestyles?
- Anticipating the impact of future technologies: designing with strategic foresight
Juergen Mayer H, Principal, J Mayer H Architecture Design Research Ludwig Engel, futurologist and urbanist interdisciplinary in the fields of culture, science and economy Chair: Nigel Coates, Principal, Nigel Coates Studio
The office home
- Designing for a workers community: spatial planning that accelerates community and opportunity
- Creating permeable spaces that are flexible yet specific enough to accommodate multiple functions of the new office
- Distilling the ethos of a start-up for large corporations
- Cultural hub, members club or office? The new generation of shared workspaces and their impact on office design
Paul Monaghan, Principal, AHMM Chair: Edgar Gonzalez, Director Bachelor in Design, IE School of Architecture and Design, EGD Edgar Gonzalez Design
Preservation vs modernity
- How can existing buildings be sympathetically reinvented as new spaces which respond flexibly to the future requirements of occupiers
- Respecting the design, materials and form of the original building and its relationship to its context
- Meeting current standards on environmental sustainability without compromising the appearance of the original design
- Turning the constraints of original layouts into opportunities to create innovative spaces for a new generation of occupiers
Tim Bowder-Ridger, Senior Partner & CEO, Conran and Partners Chair: Edgar Gonzalez, Director Bachelor in Design, IE School of Architecture and Design, EGD Edgar Gonzalez Design
My kind of house A 'household name' in architecture gives their take on the ideal house.
Lyndon Neri, Principal, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office Chair: Paul Finch, Director, World Architecture Festival
Global housing update - Chicago The Chicago architects that are changing the face of the city’s public housing.
Jeanne Gang, Principal, Studio Gang Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
Housing and luxury – comparative trends Maria Warner Wong,Principal, Wow Architects and Warner Wong Design Eric Parry, Principal, Eric Parry Architects
What do purchasers expect from individual luxury homes that differ from general market product? How can architects communicate their value to clients, in a sector where budget is a secondary concern?
Four practices introduce themselves in five minutes. Salon Architecture Amos Goldreich Architecture Jacobs Yaniv Architects Babin+Renaud Chair: Paul Finch, Director, World Architecture Festival
Architect as instigator
Lars Krückeberg, Principal, Graft Architects
How can architects address societal needs around the globe, using their skills to initiative help for people in need, rather than waiting for the next client? Whether acting as their own client or as advisors, how can professionals today advance the role of the architect as a way of actively nurturing the development of liveable spaces and environments for all?
Housing And Density
Ole Scheeren, Principal, Buro Ole Scheeren
How can greater urban density improve housing situations for all sections of society? How can architects create mass-density housing solutions that appeal to European sensibilities, do not alienate occupiers and provide an alternative to the rise and rise of the urban slum? Are all three goals intrinsically linked?
Housing and cultural difference Qutub Mandviwala, Mandviwala Qutub & Associates Which has more influence in terms of social outcomes, housing design or management? Can the way housing is designed or managed facilitate desired outcomes or bring together different social groups? How could this be achieved and what impact would this have for clients, occupiers and society at large?
Housing and the urban block Coren Sharples, Principal, SHOP Architects Morten Schmidt, Principal, Schmidt Hammer Lassen
How can architects use their influence to ensure housing is woven into the urban fabric where it sits, creating communities or ‘urban villages’? What services, infrastructure and other considerations are required for the design of housing which recognises occupiers’ need for connectivity and a sense of place?
Housing, energy and construction Silja Tillner, Principal, Architekten Tillner & Willinger James Pickard, Principal, Cartwright Pickard
How do you pitch, procure, and build housing with 0% or even negative energy use? How can you demonstrate that the development of cost-effective designs of components, construction systems and processes can add value for both occupier and client, through building performance evaluation, intelligence and data?
Global housing update - India Understanding the changing face of Indian housing The triumph of density Driving for quality across income groups Wong Chiu Man, Principal, Wow Architects Chair: Jeremy Melvin, Curator, World Architecture Festival
Housing and longevity – the new aging Matthias Hollwich, Principal, Hollwich Kushner (HWKN)
Empowerment communities’ provide scalable support to inhabitants, enabling cradle-to-grave housing. Are occupiers and clients ready to take on board new approaches and housing typologies?
Reflections on the continued reconstruction of Berlin from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the present day with Hubertus Siegert, filmmaker behind the acclaimed 2001 film Berlin Babylon.
Contrary to popular belief, many of the luxuries commonly associated with high end residential developments are no longer limited to the affluent alone. A growing consciousness of all things beneficial to health and happiness is resulting in a trickling down effect and a widespread societal demand for healthy living environments. Today’s residents want convenient shared amenities which encourage a sense of community and promote physical and psychological wellbeing. On the one hand we are witnessing the global development of big data and smart cities, while on the other there is call for ‘social cities’ with a more creative mix of work, welfare, active leisure and community sharing. Health and wellbeing have recently evolved from a seemingly universal social right, to the responsibility of the individual. From experiments in human gene-editing and biohacking, to increased demand for affordable fresh and healthy produce for all, a new egalitarian ideal is emerging which increasingly renders the exclusive, inclusive.
How have population movements, demographic shifts and lifestyle trends informed how we live collectively and as individuals? How has this impacted on the function, design and servicing of dwellings today and how will these factors affect the housing, and life, of tomorrow
www.worldarchitecturefestival.com
Discussion of housing is currently based on politics, migration, urbanisation, new cities and numbers. What has happened to consideration of this building type as architecture, and what lessons could we draw from the work of Zaha Hadid Architects in Berlin and across the world?
www.worldarchitecturefestival.com
Topic: The evolution of public space
· What is the future for public space in an age of social media and virtual relationships?
· Public access to private buildings: balancing ownership, access and control
· Exploring new ways of introducing public space at height
· The ambiguity of public space - what is the point of the town hall?
· Differentiating public space and public realm
David Green, Urban Design Leader, Principal, Perkins+Will
Topic: Calmer Singapore
· Enhancing the quality of life in a tropical climate with high-density urban living
· Addressing the problem of heat and noise pollution as anthropogenic effects
· Developing a fundamentally new bottom-up analysis/design scenario approach
· Understanding the key to cooler, calmer and more liveable cities
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Schmitt, ETH Zurich, Chair of Information Architecture, Singapore ETH Centre and Senior Vice President ETH Global
Topic: Singapore 50:50
· What assumptions were made about population and commercial growth when planning the development of Singapore 50 years ago?
· How was the plan adjusted in response to change?
· How is Singapore planning robustness strategies for the next 50 years?
· Is the Singapore ‘garden city state’ concept embedded in local culture?
Liu Thai Ker, Senior Director, RSP
Chair: Paul Finch, Programme Director, World Architecture Festival
Charles Jencks, Author, Critic, Sculptor and Landscape Architect
Topic: On Singapore and its lessons for world architecture Fifty years of growth, transformation and experimentation.
Four leading women architects share their personal experiences and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing women in the global profession.
Women In Architecture at WAF 2015 in association with The Architectural Review
Julie Eizenberg, Principal, Koning Eizenberg
Gonca Pasolar, Partner, Emre Arolat Architects
Angelene Chan, CEO, DP Architects
Chaired by Christine Murray, Editor-in-chief, The Architectural Review
Alex McDowell WAF 2015 Keynote: Building worlds - future reality, not science fiction
- Birthing the world building process as well as over 100 patents for new technologies
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Combining rigorous scientific inquiry with a human lens - from Hollywood blockbusters to real world community building
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Forecasting the future of a Saudi Arabian village, from barren desert to verdant oasis
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Creating future worlds: asking what if and why not to explore what is not yet thinkable
Alex McDowell is the creative director at 5D Global Studio. He is a strong advocate of world building and immersive design and integrates digital technology and traditional design technique into his work.