The Hearing Architecture podcast proudly sponsored by Brickworks, presents Again and Again and Again, a mini-series hosted by Hilary Duff.

Each week, we will bring you interviews and conversations as we seek better ways to understand, harness and deploy the expertise and knowledge of professionals currently within the design community, at home and abroad. Our guests are all experts on circularity within the building industry and share the aim to display that waste is not an accident but the consequence of decisions made at the design stage. Here is our opportunity. We, as designers, have an opportunity to do better.

In this episode, we speak with Lasse Lind of GXN, an independent, design-driven research studio that pioneers strategic sustainability within the construction industry. 

Founded in 2007 by parent architectural office 3XN, GXN and now features over 20 researchers and consultants promoting a circular future by challenging the way we use and reuse resources in the building industry.

At GXN, the architecture itself is not in focus, but rather the process behind the ideation and implementation of circularity in architectural projects. 

In our discussion Lasse and I explore how these important research consultancies tackle the role in asking questions that there is often not time or space to ask within the architectural process. Lasse explains GXN’s aim to provide insights into the preconditions that inform circularity on the construction site.

We touch on the new types of conversations being had with developers, where the sustainability performance of a building is deemed as much a risk as the financial feasibility of the project. He talks of design teams upskilling, knowledge sharing and about knowing where we need to go, and the need to be much more aggressive in what we need to do, but how we are at the very beginning at understating what this means for design.

Among other things, we spoke about the impressive Quay Quarter Tower, a collaborative project by the Danish office built a little closer to my regular home. 

The Syndey project set an ambitious goal: to build new, whilst reusing as much of the existing building as possible and to set a lofty new standard for what is possible for adaptive reuse in architecture.

This has been Again&Again&Again, a mini-series of Hearing Architecture, proudly sponsored by Brickworks, and made possible with the support of the Alastair Swayn Foundation. 

Thank you so much for listening and thank you to our international guest Lasse Lind for your discussion. Thank you for sharing your stories and we are excited to envision a future where our industry enables us to make buildings as part of the climate solution and not the problem.

Let’s watch this space and we look forward to speaking with you again.

Our sponsor Brickworks also produces architecture podcasts hosted by Tim Ross. You can find ‘The Art of Living’, ‘Architects Abroad, and ‘The Power of Two’, at brickworks.com.au or your favourite podcast platform.

If you’d like to show your support please rate, review, and subscribe to Hearing Architecture in your favourite podcast app. If you want to know more about what the Australian Institute of Architects is doing to support architects and the community please visit architecture.com.au

This is a production by the   Australian Institute of Architects Emerging Architects and Graduates Network, in collaboration with Open Creative Studio. The miniseries Again&Again&Again is proudly supported by the Alstair Swayne Foundation. The Institute production team was Madelynn Jenkins, and Claudia McCarthy, and the EmAGN production team was Daniel Moore and Hilary Duff. Music by Blue Dot Sessions released under Creative Commons Licencing.

This content is brought to you by the Australian Institute of Architects Emerging Architects and Graduates Network, in collaboration with Open Creative Studio. This content does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. This content does not constitute legal, financial, insurance, or other types of advice. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in circumstances where loss or damage may result. The Institute endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published, but does not accept responsibility for content that may or will become inaccurate over time.