The postponed 17th Venice Architecture Biennale asked its 112 participants to consider the question, “How will we live together?”. A question originally posed in 2019 by curator and architect, Hashim Sarkis far before our collective 2020 experience. He originally asked participants “to imagine spaces in which we can generously live together” Answers from 46 countries materialized into the exhibition of 2021. After a year spent living apart, the theme is both hauntingly fitting and reifies our disconnection.

The second installment of our special two-part Design and the City episode covers the long-awaited event. An event that signaled something, a community eager to reconnect and a deeper understanding of just how interwoven we are with our spaces spanning the full spectrum of human existence. The exhibition explores that spectrum across five scales: Among Diverse Beings, As New Households, As Emerging Communities, Across Borders, and, As One Planet.

For this episode we have it broken down into three parts. The first features none other than the 17th Biennale curator himself, Hashim Sarkis. Hashim is the Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the founder of Hashim Sarkis Studios. Joining him in conversation is NewCities’ Director of Applied Research and reSITE’s own visiting curator, Greg Lindsay, to discuss the meaning and aims of this special Biennale.

Following Sarkis and Lindsay’s conversation, we will explore accessibility and hear from the curators of the British Pavilion entitled The Garden of Privatised Delights and wrap up with the curators of the Austrian Pavilion entitled, We Like Platform Austria. Both sets of curators tackled what can often be a rather serious topic regarding accessibility along with the binary that exists between public and private space, but with a bit of whit and a sense of playfulness, ultimately makes the message on accessibility, accessible in itself.

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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more at www.reSITE.org

Join reSITE's Newsletter

If you would like to support us as a patron, sponsor, or strategic partner, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Your support allows us to continue sharing ideas to inspire more livable, lovable cities.

Design and the City is a reSITE production. reSITE is a global non-profit connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. This episode was directed and produced by myself, Alexandra Siebenthal with support from Martin Barry, Radka Ondrackova, Anna Stava, and Nikkolas Zellers as well as Nano Energies and the Czech Ministry of Culture. It was edited by Andel Sound Studio.

The postponed 17th Venice Architecture Biennale asked its 112 participants to consider the question, “How will we live together?”. A question originally posed in 2019 by curator and architect, Hashim Sarkis far before our collective 2020 experience. He originally asked participants “to imagine spaces in which we can generously live together” Answers from 46 countries materialized into the exhibition of 2021. After a year spent living apart, the theme is both hauntingly fitting and reifies our disconnection.

This special two-part Design and the City episode covering the long-awaited event. It has signaled something, a community eager to reconnect and a deeper understanding of just how interwoven we are with our spaces spanning the full spectrum of human existence. The exhibition explores that spectrum across five scales: Among Diverse Beings, As New Households, As Emerging Communities, Across Borders, and, As One Planet.

In this episode we’ll hear from the U.S. pavilion curators, Paul Anderson and Paul Preissner; exhibitors Lukas Feireiss and Leopold Banchini; curator from Luxembourg, Sara Noel Costa De Araujo; and finally exhibitors for the Nordic Pavilion, Siv Helene Stangeland, and Reinhard Kropf–all whose work shares a common thread: wood.

These wood-based installations make cases for their egalitarian and democratic nature. They offer a particular simplicity, humility, flexibility, and familiarity coupled with considerate retrospectives, to not only answer the pressing question, “How will we live together?” but “how will we thrive together?”

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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more at www.reSITE.org

Join reSITE's Newsletter

If you would like to support us as a patron, sponsor, or strategic partner, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Your support allows us to continue sharing ideas to inspire more livable, lovable cities.

Design and the City is a reSITE production. reSITE is a global non-profit connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. This episode was directed and produced by myself, Alexandra Siebenthal, and Radka Ondrackova with support from Martin Barry, Anna Stava, Nikkolas Zellers, and Weronika Koleda as well as Nano Energies and the Czech Ministry of Culture. It was edited by LittleBig Studio. 

For Trey Trahan, founder of Trahan Architects, human connection, ecology, and unvarnished beauty encompass the core ethos of his work which primarily focuses on creating cultural architectural spaces. With roots in New Orleans and their global perspective based in New York, they have risen to the rank of the number one design firm by Architect 50, an official publication of the American Institute of Architects. He leads his firm with the conviction of bringing humility and awareness into a mindful design process to create authentic spaces that elevate our lives and the human experience.

His firm known for projects like the Holy Rosary Church Complex, St. Jean Vianney, Moody Pavilions, Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre, as well as the Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome renovation post-Katrina, just to name a few. As well as his poetic approach and thorough consideration applied to every aspect of his projects. As well as his poetic approach and thorough consideration applied to every aspect of his projects. He views them as part of the natural ecosystem, including the soil. Soil is the repository for all living, organic matter, and for Trey, our buildings should not be separate from it but constructed in harmony. And, well-constructed spaces foster human connection, both ephemeral and lasting—and it should be no different between architecture and the natural world.

We connected with Trey to hear his ideas on the importance of creating sacred spaces devoid of clutter that make way for that human connection, his definition of beauty, and the potential regeneration holds as he presents a different side of that coin. His primary focus is creating lasting, impactful cultural spaces, with the aim to look at the periphery, examining how architecture builds connections between humans and the environment in ways we may have not considered.

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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more at www.reSITE.org

Join reSITE's Newsletter

If you would like to support us as a patron, sponsor, or strategic partner, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Your support allows us to continue sharing ideas to inspire more livable, lovable cities.

This episode was directed and produced by myself, Alexandra Siebenthal, and Nikkolas Zellers, with the support of Martin Barry andRadka Ondrackova as well as Nano Energies and the Czech Ministry of Culture. It was recorded and edited by LittleBig Studio.

A city that is good for children, is good for everyone. A concept that has begun to gain more traction as cities look to new urbanism principles to apply to their respective cities. It’s one Tim Gill, author of Urban Playground: How Child-Friendly Planning and Design Can Save Cities, has been championing since the nineties. Based in the UK, he has laid a foundation for a career in research on the topic and was the former director of Play England, a children’s play council.

In Tim’s book, he asks questions like “what type of cities do we want our children to grow up in? Car-dominated, noisy, polluted, and devoid of nature? Or walkable, welcoming, and green?” He emphasizes that “as the climate crisis and urbanisation escalate, cities urgently need to become more inclusive and sustainable”. His book helps us “look at cities through the eyes of children while strengthening the case for planning and transportation policies that work for people of all ages, and for the planet”.

When reviewing Tim’s book ahead of this episode, we found ourselves projecting my own childhoods onto much of what he shared in his work—an experience I think anyone might share upon reading. He invites us to look at cities through the eyes of our inner child, and revisit childhood memories of play. 

Tim’s book, Urban Playground: How Child-Friendly Planning and Design Can Save Cities, was published this year by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more at www.reSITE.org

Join reSITE's Newsletter

If you would like to support us as a patron, sponsor, or strategic partner, please get in touch with us at [email protected]. Your support allows us to continue sharing ideas to inspire more livable, lovable cities.

This episode was directed and produced by myself, Alexandra Siebenthal with the support of Martin Barry, Radka Ondrackova, Nikkolas Zellers, and Alexander White, as well as Nano Energies and the Czech Ministry of Culture. It was recorded in the reSITE office in Prague and edited by LittleBig Studio.

We are asking—is birth a design problem? Can rethinking and redesigning the ways birth is approached shift the outcomes of labor and birth experiences? Can it be instrumental in improving our qualities of life--in our environments, in cities, and beyond? And, as we explore how to create better cities for the next generation to work, live and play in, should we also consider the spaces in which that generation comes into this world?

It’s these questions we will explore today with Kim Holden, one of the founders of SHoP Architects, whose own birth experience led her to become a doula herself, and is that background in architecture that has become a lens through which she views her new practice, Doula x Design. She is using a unique application of design to solve something not typically seen as a design problem, to help facilitate better birthing experiences for her clients by advocating for creating positive environments that support labor rather than inhibit it.

Her designer’s approach to birth focuses on everything from the scale of the individual—anatomically and physiologically—to the scale of the environment, to the archaic design of the tools and instruments that play roles in a delivery room, to the triage and post-partum hospital flows, and what those impacts look like for the person bringing new life into the world. She is here to remind us that women, and birthing people, are designed for this.

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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more at www.reSITE.org

Join reSITE's Newsletter

This episode was produced by myself, Alexandra Siebenthal with the support of Martin Barry and Radka Ondrackova as well as Nano Energies, the Czech Ministry of Culture and Project Syndicate. It was recorded in the reSITE office in Prague and edited by LittleBig Studio.

Michael Green and Natalie Telewiak love wood. These Vancouver-based architects champion the idea that Earth can, and should, grow our buildings--or grow the materials we use to build them.

They are the principals of Michael Green Architecture, or MGA, and have made it their mission to tackle world housing and climate change by harnessing the power of timber, which they call “the most technologically advanced material we can build with,” to sequester carbon, to accelerate construction and reduce local disruption, and to create spaces that foster more holistic well-being in our built environments.

In this episode, Michael and Natalie dive deep into the ethos behind their design and material choices in some of their standout projects, like the Ronald McDonald House of British Columbia and Yukon, with reSITE founder, Martin Barry. They weigh the advantages and limitations of mass timber construction and dissect the complex nuances faced when striving for true sustainability. 

One could argue, what is sustainability without community? Without affordability? Without connection? As pillars of MGA’s practice, it is the combination of these factors that render their work both remarkable and mindful. Their projects are rooted in the local ecosystem and designed for inhabitants to build connections to nature and to each other. 

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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more at www.reSITE.org

Join reSITE's Newsletter

This podcast was directed by Elizabeth Mills and produced by Alexandra Siebenthal, with support from Martin Barry, and Radka Ondrackova as well as the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture and Nano Energies, and edited by LittleBig Studio.

Michel Rojkind, founder of Rojkind Arquitectos is known as one of Mexico’s most successful architects. Projects like Foro Boca, a stunning sea-side home to the Boca del Rio Philharmonic Orchestra, or the Cinetecca Nacional that is home of arguably the most important film heritage center in Latin America, Mexico’s National Film Institute. Mercado Roma is a Mexican gastronomic expression designed from the inside-out and bottom-up. And finally, the Nestle Chocolate Museum immortalizes the telling of Mexican chocolate history; all these spaces share a common thread: utilizing space and architecture to have an impact on their respective communities.

Michel’s ethos behind his work is what sets these projects apart—the social responsibility that motivates their existence. Long after his designs are realized, these spaces come into their own, shaping the communities they reside in, with those same communities shaping those very spaces, in a sort of unconscious collaboration. As he puts it, it's the manifestation of making that space for other things to happen.

But his success as an architect was not his first. Michel was the drummer in the popular 90’s rock band Aleks Syntek y la Gente Normal. He attributes a lot of his evolution as a creative to the time spent touring through different cities. Experiences he culminates into his approach to architecture. And, one might assume that influence appears in his outputs, but as we discovered in this conversation, it shows up far more in his inputs—in how he collaborates, or “jams” as he calls it, with all interested parties—like the proper rockstar he is.

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Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more at www.reSITE.org

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This podcast was produced by Alexandra Siebenthal, with support from Martin Barry, and Radka Ondrackova with the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture and Nano Energies, and edited by LittleBig Studio. 

"It only took a couple of seconds to destroy 40% of the city of Beirut on August 4th, 2020. A couple of trivial seconds were enough to determine the fate of the urban and social fabric of the Lebanese capital and its architectural heritage. Years and years of accumulated cultural assets fell instantly in distress, causing more harm than the infamous 15-year civil war. These seconds have erased the past, present, and destroyed future aspirations." Words taken from Christele Harrouk’s article published in ArchDaily just one month after Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, sustained two catastrophic blasts that left the north side of the city in ruins, just 6 months ago.

We spoke to managing ArchDaily editor, Christele Harrouk and World Bank's Salim Rouhana on their experiences of the Beirut explosions and their perspectives on what rebuilding the Lebanese capital could look like after such an unbelievable event. If there’s one thing we’ve taken away from both their powerful testimonies, it’s this bright, bold hope that seems to be rising from the dust, by way of the Lebanese people—a hope that feels very much alive.

Referenced works from Christele Harrouk, ArchDaily:

+ Beirut: Between a Threatened Architectural Heritage and a Traumatized Collective Memory

Referenced works from Salim Rouhana, World Bank Group:

+ Beirut Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA)

Design and the City, is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

Learn more www.reSITE.org

Join reSITE's Newsletter

Connect with us:

This podcast was produced by Alexandra Siebenthal, with support from Martin Barry, Radka Ondrackova, Elizabeth Mills, and Elizabeth Novacek. It was recorded at WeWork Prague, with the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture and Nano Energies, and edited by LittleBig Studio. Album art photo by Rami Rizk.

Some of you may already know our next guest, New-York based, Indie filmmaker, Gary Hustwit, from his iconic trilogy of design-focused documentaries: First, Helvetica examines our visual culture and how a font impacts urban spaces, asking us to take another glance at the thousands of words we see every day. Objectified is a look into our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, “by extension, the people who design them.” And finally Urbanized — a window into how cities are designed, framing a discussion on their futures.

His work takes us on a journey into how design impacts our lives, from a micro level to a macro, and has helped many see the design through a more humanistic lens — challenging the idea of what design is — is it something to consume or an application to makes our lives better.

In recent years he has followed up with films like Rams, an intimate portrait of one of the most influential designers alive, Dieter Rams, Workplace which focuses on the future of our workspaces. As well as his latest release — a short film called The Map, which follows the redesign of New York City's iconic subway map — one that updates in real-time.

reSITE founder, Martin Barry, spoke with Gary about his creative process, motivation, and evolution, that led to making the kinds of films he, himself, wants to watch and ones that make design more accessible for all. 

Watch Gary's films!

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This podcast was produced by Alexandra Siebenthal, with support from Martin Barry, Radka Ondrackova, Elizabeth Mills, and Elizabeth Novacek. It is recorded at WeWork Prague, with the support of the Prague Ministry of Culture as well as Nano Energies, and edited by LittleBig Studio.

It’s hard to say what iconic graphic designer and typographer, Stefan Sagmeister, is most known for. His multi-decade career was first formed as the New York-based Sagmeister INC. in 1993 and went on to become Sagmeister & Walsh in 2012. Some of his best-known work includes iconic album covers and posters for artists like The Rolling Stones, the Talking Heads, and more--some of which went on to receive Grammies, cementing him as an epochal visual artist of our time. His intimate self-portrait captured in “The Happy Film” turns himself into a deeply self-reflective design project, exploring questions like--can I redesign my personality to become a better person? Or, perhaps for his advocacy on the power of time off and the year-long sabbatical he takes every seven years. A practice he ultimately credits for breathing new life and perspective into his work. 

But what does this approach to design have to do with cities? Well, everything. He joined Martin Barry in a conversation discussing his Austrian roots, his influences from different cities, and happiness as related to the importance of beauty as a utility for any properly functioning building, space, or city.

Design and the City is a podcast produced by reSITE about the ways we can use design to make cities more livable and lovable. reSITE is a global non-profit and platform connecting people and ideas to improve the urban environment. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics, acting as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership. We encourage the exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive, resilient, inclusive, mobile, and designed with humans in mind to protect and public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.

More about Stefan Sagmeister

If you want your project reviewed on Sagmeister's Instagram, email a square .jpeg or .mov file on white or black background, and include your IG address. Please do not send in designs based on the work of another designer. [email protected] 

Learn more www.reSITE.org

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This podcast was produced by Alexandra Siebenthal, with support from Martin Barry, Radka Ondrackova, Elizabeth Mills, and Elizabeth Novacek It is recorded at WeWork Prague, with the support of the Prague Ministry of Culture as well as Nano Energies, and edited by LittleBig Studio.