Chinese Takeaway

Pedro Medeiros traded his architecture degree for something far more hands-on — building intricate physical models for some of the world's biggest exhibitions. In this episode, he takes us inside a workshop producing 500 models a year, shares the chaos of impossible deadlines and last-minute client changes, and reflects on landmark projects including the F+P exhibition at the Pompidou Centre. He also draws a brilliant parallel between model making and his love of rock climbing — both are really just elaborate puzzles. Plus, a fascinating peek into life in Macau, one of the world's most densely packed cities.

Igea is Professor and Head of the School of Architecture and Planning at LSBU. She is an architect and academic with nearly 30 years of experience, gained in the UK, China, Germany, and Australia. Igea’s key areas of research include the social production of the architect, architecture and media, and architectural labour, neoliberalism and sustainable ecologies. Her books include the Politics of Making, Architecture Filmmaking, Spaces of Tolerance and the most recent, Work-Life Balance in Architecture. She has supervised 100s of dissertations at the undergrad and post-grad level and also welcomes potential PhD students reaching out to her.

Vicky Richardson is a curator, writer and educator. She is the former Head of Architecture and Drue Heinz Curator at the Royal Academy of Arts. She is launching a new curatorial office, Pick Up Architecture, which is working on exhibitions internationally. She is also Director of Grymsdyke Farm,a maker-space and design school just outside London, and teaches at the Bartlett School of Architecture.

In this episode, Vicky shares her journey of exploring her interest in journalism, writing, exploring the arts and immersing herself in the cultural life centred around Camden in London.

Check out Pick Up Architecture

https://pickuparchitecture.com/[email protected]@vcky_rchrdsn

Jackie Wu is a motion designer and game developer. More importantly, he is a climbing enthusiast who practices weekly with Dee. This episode rambles through many topics, including climbing in London, queer community, the pride parade in Taiwan, language barriers, tattoos, Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, motion design and game development.

Chinese Takeaway makes a comeback after a 6-month break. In this episode, I discussed my experience of listening to Audiobooks, how it fits into work, and some of the highlights and reviews of the books I listened to lately.

In this episode, Dee delivers a reflective monologue on the origins of the Chinese Takeaway podcast and her journey so far. The conversation with Dee herself stretches from her professional background as an architect in London, the cross-cultural lived experience in her twenties, and her current outlook on life. This is also an open invitation to listeners and podcast enthusiasts to join her in exploring, questioning, and unpacking the myths of Chinese identity and global modern culture.

Rand is a practising architect who lives in London. Having worked in Lebanon, Romania and London, she adapts her view on well-being to the changing environment of the practice. What is it like to work in a cross-cultural architectural Corporation? How do we address well-being with our personal development? What kind of resilience do we need to live in a cosmopolitan city?

Davide Lombardi is the Head of Department (HoD) of Architecture at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU). Before this, Davide lived and studied in his hometown Pescara in Italy, where he attained a PhD in Architecture. He also worked at the University of Edinburgh before Suzhou.

2024 marked his seventh year in XJTLU. What has changed over the years? How does technology speak with a traditional profession? What does it feel like to be an Italian in China? And what does he have to say to the current students?