Design Unmuted

In this episode of Landscapes Unmuted, Divine and Macy explore their personal journeys with tea, discussing its cultural significance, the rituals surrounding it, and how it connects to landscape architecture. They share their dreams of designing tea gardens that reflect diverse cultures and serve as community spaces. The conversation emphasizes the importance of tea as a form of self-care and personal expression, while also highlighting the stories behind the tea and its connection to the land.

Chapters

00:00 The Journey of Tea Appreciation

05:18 Cultural Connections Through Tea

12:05 Tea as a Gateway to Landscape Architecture

22:36 Personal Rituals and Self-Care with Tea

29:25 Finding Lightness in Difficult Times

29:50 Introduction to the Podcast and Hosts

30:21 Collaboration and Inclusivity in Landscape Architecture

Maci and Divine explore the complexities of entrepreneurship, focusing on the intertwining of personal identity and professional life. They discuss the challenges of vulnerability, community support, and the emotional facets of being an entrepreneur.

Key Themes

Entrepreneurship requires navigating personal and professional identities.

Community support is crucial for sustaining entrepreneurial journeys.

Building a multi-passionate business is possible and fulfilling.

Chapters

00:59 Reflecting on Five Years of The Landscape Nerd

04:27 The Intersection of Personal Life and Professional Identity

19:04 The Importance of Community and Support

24:52 The Intertwining of Life and Work

29:49 Unexpected Ease in Public Speaking

30:52 Embracing AI in Entrepreneurship

41:51 The Importance of Emotional Expression

51:49 The Challenge of Sharing Personal Stories

56:06 Setting Accountability and Challenges for Growth

In this episode of Landscapes Unmuted, Divine and Maci explore the concept of success, and redefining it. They discuss the traditional stereotypes of success and the challenges they present to keeping people in the field. The conversation emphasizes the need to redefine success to include personal well-being, work-life balance, and community impact. Then they close out the episode by sharing their definitions of success, celebrating achievements, and sharing their dreams for the future.

Key Themes

Redefining success is essential for more diverse perspectives in Landscape Architecture.

Exploitation in the industry begins during education, where students are expected to prioritize work over well-being.

The narrative of needing decades of experience to be considered good is limiting and harmful. 

Redefining success involves finding balance and joy.

Dream big.

Success is a personal journey that evolves.

Chapters

08:11 Challenging Stereotypes of Success

14:38 The Impact of Gender Dynamics on Success

19:55 Understanding Exploitation in the Field

30:40 Personal Redefinitions of Success

39:01 The Shift from Production to Impact

45:05 Centering Joy and Balance

49:52 Collaboration and Self-Knowledge in Success

57:20 Celebrating Achievements and Community

01:01:47 Dreaming Big: Personal Aspirations and Goals

In this inaugural episode of Landscapes Unmuted, hosts Maci Nelson and Divine Ndemeye introduce their new podcast, discussing their backgrounds, the importance of collaboration, and the challenges of navigating mental health and burnout in the design field.

The conversation highlights their commitment to creating a healthier, more inclusive environment in landscape architecture and design.

Maci and Divine both host their own podcasts, The Landscape Nerd, and Design Unmuted respectively. You can follow their work in the links below

⁠Remesha Design Lab⁠

@design_unmuted

⁠The Landscape Nerd⁠

@thelandscapenerd

⁠Transcript for the episode ⁠

Key Themes

Collaboration is key to overcoming challenges in the design field.

Mental health awareness is crucial for a healthier work culture.

Personal identities shape our perspectives and work in design.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Landscapes Unmuted

03:02 The Journey of Co-Hosting

06:02 Personal Backgrounds and Identities

09:11 The Importance of Collaboration

12:01 Navigating Burnout and Mental Health

14:50 The Power of Community and Support

21:12 Defining Success and Personal Growth

24:10 Designing a Life of Ease

39:41 Celebrating Milestones

41:48 Writing Ourselves into the Narrative

47:02 Asking for Opportunities and Collaboration

49:07 Claiming Our Talents and Multiple Passions

01:06:12 Final Thoughts and Future Episode Prompts

On this episode with Landscape Designer Michelle Gagnon Creeley, we start off with a discussion on mental health and working culture in design education, and dive into her practice in design and mutual aid working with unhoused communities in Vancouver and Seattle. We bring housing issues into the realm of landscape architecture and unpack how parks have served as homes and spaces for survival.

Dive in to learn how design is used as a social tool to support unhoused communities through community care-centered design processes.

You can watch a clip of this episode on the design unmuted youtube channel here and follow us on Instagram @design_unmuted

The production of this episode is supported by the Real Estate Foundation of BC (REFBC) . REFBC - a philanthropic organization working to advance sustainable land use and real estate practices in British Columbia, Canada. They do this by funding projects, connecting people, and sharing knowledge. REFBC grants support non-profit organizations working to improve BC communities and natural environments through responsible and informed land use, conservation, and real estate practices. REFBC is particularly interested in land-use projects that contribute to the upholding of Indigenous rights and title and racial equity and justice. Learn more at www.refbc.com.

Thank you for all of you who come back to listen to Design unmuted. Here are some ways to continue showing support:

- Subscribe to my newsletter and to Design unmuted on your podcast listening app

- Support the production of this podcast by being a Patreon member or making a donation

- Write a review & Share the podcast with a few people

Join us as  we unpack the stories behind our exhibition; Sustaining Apertures, currently on view at the Or Gallery from March 7 to July 6, 2024. Together Colin and I share all about our collaborative journey and discuss food security in relation to the land, intersectional conversations around environmental justice, place-based design, and architecture in contemporary art.

Colin Berg Mbugua is a Kenyan-Canadian artist, researcher, and architectural designer. He holds both a Masters and a Bachelor in Architecture. Mbugua’s practice, Kagvr, founded in 2021, engages multidisciplinary contexts that draw from traditional architectural practices while engaging experimentation through collaboration and cross-cultural exchange.

You can watch a clip of this episode on the design unmuted youtube channel here and follow us on Instagram @design_unmuted

"The Sustaining Apertures artist podcast is co-presented with Design Unmuted, Or Gallery, And-Co Community, and the Real Estate Foundation of BC (REFBC) . REFBC - a philanthropic organization working to advance sustainable land use and real estate practices in British Columbia, Canada. They do this by funding projects, connecting people, and sharing knowledge. REFBC grants support non-profit organizations working to improve BC communities and natural environments through responsible and informed land use, conservation, and real estate practices. REFBC is particularly interested in land-use projects that contribute to the upholding of Indigenous rights and title and racial equity and justice. Learn more at www.refbc.com.

Thank you for all of you who come back to listen to Design unmuted. Here are some ways to continue showing support:

- Subscribe to my newsletter and to Design unmuted on your podcast listening app

- Support the production of this podcast by being a Patreon member or making a donation

- Write a review & Share the podcast with a few people

Saba Farmand, a landscape architect,  talks about his passionate project that documents the boulevard gardens in East Vancouver and the stories behind the people who take over these public boulevard spaces and turn them into gardens. Through this project, Saba aims to build more urban literacy, environmental education and most importantly putting Landscape architecture into the community. This will be a great inspiration for those who want to have impact in their local communities in simple yet powerful ways.  You can watch this episode on the design_unmuted youtube channel here

Follow Saba’s project on instagram at: eastvan_blvd_gardens

Recorded on: August 29th, 2023

The production of this episode is supported by the Real Estate Foundation of BC( REFBC)- a philanthropic organization working to advance sustainable land use and real estate practices in British Columbia, Canada. They do this by funding projects, connecting people, and sharing knowledge. REFBC grants support non-profit organizations working to improve BC communities and natural environments through responsible and informed land use, conservation, and real estate practices. REFBC is particularly interested in land-use projects that contribute to the upholding of Indigenous rights and title and racial equity and justice. Learn more at www.refbc.com.

Thank you for all of you who come back to listen to Design unmuted. Here are some ways to continue showing support:

- Subscribe to my newsletter and to Design unmuted on your podcast listening app

- Support the production of this podcast by being a Patreon member or making a donation

- Write a review & Share the podcast with a few people

I am happy to launch the first conversation of the podcast season TRANSFORMING with Patricia Algara and Jose Leal. In this conversation Patricia and Jose share the ways in which they engage with their design practices in a meaningful way, engaging their spiritual practices into their work as a means to restore balance, connections to the cosmos and to reclaim their own indigeneity and agency. Tune in to learn their about their practices and the ways in which you can connect and engage more meaningfully with your own work.

Patricia Algara is the Principal & Co Founder of Base Landscape Architecture and Founder of With Honey in the Heart . After working for a women’s rights organization on community empowerment projects, she earned a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture in order to bring together participation and the built environment. Patricia is a shamanic counselor, a frame drummer, a landscape architect, a bee priestess

Jose Leal is  Principal, Landscape Architect Director of Native Nation Building Studio at MIG. José has a passion for truth-telling, considers humor to be good medicine. His Mexican and Indigenous heritage lead to Jose’s passion for Indigenous landscape architecture and celebrating how diverse Indigenous people have adapted to their natural environment. 

The production of this episode is supported by Anova Furnishings-who is on a mission to enhance landscapes and strengthen communities. They offer a variety of high-quality, functional outdoor site furniture products and styles to fit your project and budget. See more at www.anovafurnishings.com where you can shop online now or search for a local rep.

Thank you for all of you who come back to listen to Design unmuted. Here are some ways to continue showing support:

- Subscribe to my newsletter and to Design unmuted on your podcast listening app

- Support the production of this podcast by being a Patreon member or making a donation

- Write a review about the podcast

- Share the podcast with a friend and within your network

Announcement of the new podcast season called TRANSFORMING where I share about this theme and what you can expect over the next few months. I also tell you all about the new direction my Art and Design practice have taken this year.