Have we become too attuned to accepting throwaway, meaningless places and spaces that don't really meet our needs? And have we been programmed to believe that a neat place is a good place, a tidy place is a healthy place, and a pristine clean surface is a sign of a well-designed building? Podcast hosts Flora and Ulrich unpack these complex questions with the help of Ian Boyd, an ecologist based on the Isle of Wight, whose mission is to to shape better places by conserving, reimagining and revitalising landscapes, places, communities and wildlife across the Island. They discuss the role of young people and the street-level democratic voice in placemaking today, and why communities should be encouraged to allow wildlife to flourish in and naturally colonise urban spaces. Finally, Ian reflects on how we can combine built and natural heritage, to create curated biodiverse spaces and places in which people and nature can thrive side by side in the future.

In this new episode - the first in our 2023 series - Flora interviews Andreas Hofer, the Artistic Director of the International Building Exhibition or IBA'27, a company based in Stuttgart, Germany that provides advice, project support and networking opportunities to those interested in transforming cities and open spaces of the 21st century. Drawing on his rich experience in cooperative and new forms of housing and his training as an architect, Andreas does his utmost to promote dialogue between projects, experts and communities, not only in the Stuttgart region but all over the world. In this episode, Andreas describes the fascinating history of urban planning in the Stuttgart region, and how it developed into a highly industrialised metropolitan region with a population of 2.8 million. We explore the social, technological and ecological similarities and differences in urban planning in 1927 and today, and what challenges architects face today: what place do history and heritage have in architecture today, and how can architects build 'future proof' homes that are relevant to communities today and in decades to come?

In the fight against heat, drought, forest fires and heavy rain, every little green counts. In this brand-new podcast interview, Flora and Ulrich talk to German landscape architect and author Tim Kaysers about his vision of a world that is made up of green cities: human and climate-friendly spaces filled with plants and trees, and free from cars and concrete. With the irreversible effects of climate crisis an ever-present threat to the future of mankind, Tim explains why we must act quickly to make this vision a reality. We find out why plants are so crucial, and the practical steps involved in greening our cities - will it take a bottom-up, or top-down approach, or both? And what challenges will there be to changing people's mentality in our technology-focused world, where convenience and speed rule the day?

In this new episode on the Ideal Spaces Podcast, Flora and Ulrich talk to the acclaimed artist and master sculptor Romolo Del Deo about how to make art that stands the test of time. Taking a stand against the fast, momentary and disposable 'now' culture of the present, Romolo instead focuses on creating enduring, sustainable, 'long art' for the 21st century. He tells us how his sculpture is preoccupied with two major aesthetic sources of inspiration; a fascination with the artefacts washed up upon the ocean shores of his native Provincetown and a natural affinity with the archeological ruins of his Italianate background and training.

Flora interviews Delhi-based architect, urban designer and educator Tapan Chakravarty, to find out more about building with true community impact. Tapan describes how traditional, vernacular housing in rural India mirrors the characteristics of the local environment, climate and natural materials – and how the lifestyle of villagers and their ways of using domestic spaces have been culturally inherited over many generations. Amongst other themes, Flora and Tapan explore how being curious about the past is key to understanding the built environment of today – this is a mindset that Tapan encourages in his students at the Pearl Academy’s School of Design in Delhi.

In this episode, Flora and Ulrich speak to Ed Finn about the complex world of algorithms. Ed tells us about the ever-increasing role that computational systems play in the 21st century. We discuss the threat that our increasingly technology-focused lifestyle poses to imagination and creativity, and what the future might hold in a world where Apple and Google determine, and often dominate, our every move: from dating and shopping, to securing good A Level grades or choosing a film to watch on Netflix. What's the difference between a useful algorithm and a damaging algorithm? And what responsibility do we have when it comes using algorithmic and computational systems?

Flora Loughridge and Ulrich Gehmann welcome artist-game designer Chris Solarski onto the Ideal Spaces Podcast in this brand-new episode on Experiencing Space. We explore how Chris's sensory design approach Interactive Empathy and Embodiment (IEE) to interactive media heightens the player-audience's physical experience of gameplay, making them feel totally immersed in the virtual gaming environment. Chris explains how his sensory design method relates to architecture, interior design and classical painting (as well as acting theory, neuroscience, psychology and disability aesthetics), with the atmosphere of a game similarly created through the careful placement of objects, colours, music and movement. We also learn how exactly video games succeed in evoking a wide range of emotions in their players. Along the way, we discuss fail videos, the rubber hand illusion, The Simpsons and Game of Thrones!

Architecture, Communities & Practice

In this episode, Flora Loughridge and Ulrich Gehmann welcome San Francisco architect John Marx onto the Ideal Spaces Podcast to explore the importance of emotional meaning in built and natural environments. We discuss the role that architects play in bringing poetry and beauty to our daily interactions with buildings and urban spaces - to giving form to ideas and emotions, rather than falling into the trap of creating banal and purely functional, soulless Modernist buildings. John shares with us how architects might achieve architecture that is sustainable, aesthetically appealing and function, and which fundamentally, stands the test of time - just like the great Doric Columns in Agrigento's ancient Greek temples. Along the way, we discuss the Brutalist Barbican complex in London, the difference between beautiful, pretty and cute and The Temptation's 1966 hit single 'Beauty is only Skin Deep'.

John Marx, AIA, is a co-founding principal and chief artistic officer of Form4 Architecture in San Francisco, California. He is responsible for developing Form4 Architecture's design vision and philosophical language. Form4 Architecture has received over 174 design awards and in 2017, John became a Laureate of the American Prize for Architecture - one of the highest public tributes for architecture in the United States. In order to return a sense of humanity back into architecture, John advocates for the inclusion of Philosophy, Art, and Poetry in the thoughtful making of place by creating emotionally resonant architecture and urban spaces. John's design work and writing have been published in over 100 national and international publications. In 2018, the Architectural Review published his monograph "The Absurdity of Beauty - Rebalancing the Modernist Narrative". He has widely lectured on the topics of Design, Placemaking, Emotional Meaning and Cultural Vibrancy in Silicon Valley and places as diverse as Korea, Italy, Austria, Australia, Canada and the Technion in Israel.

In this episode, co-founder of Deep Blue Institute and expert in green, clean and smart cities Greg Delaune joins us on the Ideal Spaces Podcast to speak to us about the multi-scale regenerative marine infrastructure projects that Deep Blue Institute is leading in the Bayou region. Greg explains why the transition to a blue economy is so crucial, and shares the challenges that the institute faces in its work to preserve and restore at-risk aquatic ecosystems most impacted by climate change and other human-caused damage. We learn about Deep Blue Institute's 'three legged' approach to building a blue economy, which will leverage the economic and environmental benefits of emerging blue technologies, and will allow the Bayou region to become a global leader in the deployment and scaling of these critical marine infrastructure solution sets.

Greg Delaune is an internationally recognised consultant, teacher, speaker, and writer specialising in public-private partnerships (PPPs) for green cities and smart cities, regenerative floating cities, sustainable economic development, and innovation ecosystem design. He is the Co-founder and CEO of The Urban Innovation Exchange (UIX Global), Co-founder of Deep Blue Institute, and founder and editor of the blog IMPACT URBANISM (www.impacturbanism.org).