Episodes
Monocle’s Ed Stocker reports from Turin’s annual festival of urbanism, Utopian Hours, where a collection of inspiring speakers discussed everything from meanwhile spaces to climate resilience. Plus: we visit the river Po to see how it interacts with the Piedmontese capital.
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Published 11/07/24
Each week we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In the fifth and final episode we sit down with the Japanese architect and founder of his eponymous studio, Sou Fujimoto.
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Published 11/04/24
We are using the upcoming US election to put a spotlight on American cities and the challenges they face. We discuss housing struggles, how to get around, the changing world of work, the resulting state of downtown cores and how apps are altering our urban fabric.
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Published 10/31/24
Every week we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode four we meet Peruvian architect and co-founder of Barclay & Crousse, Sandra Barclay.
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Published 10/28/24
Monocle’s Carlota Rebelo reports from the World Economic Forum’s annual Urban Transformation Summit, which took place in San Francisco this week. We discover the city’s plans to build a resilient waterfront, hear about South Africa’s ambitions to tackle the housing crisis and how the private sector can help deliver urban innovation.
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Published 10/24/24
Every week we invite one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to discuss their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode three we speak with Norwegian architect and co-founder of Snøhetta, Kjetil Thorsen.
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Published 10/21/24
In a special episode in collaboration with the Holcim Foundation Awards, we look at how to design nature into our cities and foster sustainability in the building sector. We meet Laura Viscovich, the Holcim Foundation’s executive director for sustainable construction, and bring you a live discussion from the Natural History Museum in London where we discover the foundation’s award-winning Urban Nature Project: a new five-acre, globally celebrated green space in the heart of the...
Published 10/17/24
Every week we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards – the world’s premier competition for sustainable design – to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode two we sit down with Lebanese-born architect Lina Ghotmeh, the founding principal of her eponymously named practice.
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Published 10/14/24
To mark Monocle’s visit to Istanbul for the annual Quality of Life Conference, we find out what makes the city tick with our local correspondent – Hannah Lucinda Smith. From an up-and-coming neighbourhood to a revitalised industrial district, and a revamped hammam too.
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Published 10/10/24
Every week on Monocle Radio we welcome one of the jury chairs of the Holcim Foundation Awards, the world’s premier competition for sustainable design, to hear their views on creating uplifting places, fostering a healthy planet and building thriving communities. In episode one, we sit down with the US architect and founder of Studio Gang, Jeanne Gang.
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Published 10/07/24
We report from the CTBUH International Conference at London’s Barbican Centre where keynote speakers and city-building experts discuss how to do density better.
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Published 10/03/24
Petri Burtsoff tells the story of Havis Amanda, a beloved fountain and statue in Helsinki, which has recently been restored.
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Published 09/30/24
At a tough time for downtown districts, we visit San Francisco and Seattle to find out how the urban centres are trying to encourage more footfall and appeal to the public during work and leisure hours.
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Published 09/26/24
Paul Logothetis visits the site of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s famous bed-in protest, where one of the most well-known protest songs was recorded.
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Published 09/23/24
We look out for the oldest – and youngest – residents of our cities as we explore how design can combat loneliness among the elderly, and how children in Helsinki can learn while enjoying public playgrounds. We also check in with the originator of the ‘sponge city’ concept.
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Published 09/19/24
Mandy Sinclair explores the story of a disused rail station in the car capital of the US, which has been given a new lease of life by the automobile giant that calls Detroit home.
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Published 09/16/24
As the capital of Oman begins an era of urban expansion, we speak with the firm tasked with forming a plan for the region’s future growth. Then: we tackle some of the existential challenges facing our urban environments through a new book which places design and architecture in the driver’s seat for saving our cities.
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Published 09/12/24
Tomos Lewis investigates how Russia’s embassy in Cuba has come to represent renewed ties between the two countries.
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Published 09/09/24
We explore some summery stories as the season comes to a close in the Northern Hemisphere, including how ice-cream-shop owners and urbanists think alike, plans for regenerating London’s Crystal Palace Park and revitalisation efforts for India’s railway stations.
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Published 09/05/24
Liv Kessler explores the story behind a marvel of neofuturistic architecture stretching out across the water in Rio de Janeiro.
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Published 09/02/24
How does adaptive reuse differ around the globe? We speak to an expert to uncover how Africa does things differently when it comes to giving a building a second life. We also discuss the feeling of safety for women in cities by way of a recent study into our physical and emotional responses to urban environments.
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Published 08/29/24
Gregory Scruggs takes us to a non-denominational chapel that has been a spiritual sanctuary and design lover’s dream for decades.
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Published 08/26/24
Good journalism can have an effect on our cities’ quality of life. In this episode, we speak to a media company in the Philippines aiming to make Manila livable. We also visit a new waterfront park near the Port of Los Angeles and flick through the pages of Monocle’s mobility special issue.
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Published 08/22/24
Guy De Launey tells us about a largely overlooked piece of Zagreb’s urban environment that was once home to an iconic Yugoslav newspaper.
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Published 08/19/24