Léon Krier is a renowned Luxembourgian architect and urban planner, often hailed as the godfather of the New Urbanism and Traditional Urbanism movement. He has been a vocal critic of modernist architecture, advocating instead for a return to traditional, human-scale urban design. Krier's philosophy emphasizes walkable neighborhoods, a mix of housing types, and a harmonious blend of architectural styles that prioritize human interaction over vehicular dominance. One of Krier's most famous...

Steve Mouzon is an architect, urbanist and author known for his work in the New Urbanism movement. With several influential books and articles on the subject of sustainable and traditional architecture, including "The Original Green: Unlocking the Mystery of True Sustainability," today’s guest goes beyond the regular, technological solutions to fix our cities, and instead focuses on timeless, naturally sustainable ways of building and living. In addition to his writing, Mouzon is a...

Lew Oliver is an Atlanta-based designer, urbanist and master planner, celebrated for advancing New Urbanism and designing whole towns with a focus on the pedestrian experience. He masterfully blends local values, vernacular, and climate considerations into his work, ensuring communities are not only livable but also aesthetically enriching. His notable achievements include influential roles in projects like Trilith and Rosemary Beach, and numerous awards such as the Platinum and Gold Best in...

Jonathan Weatherill is an architect based in Rome and professor at Notre Dame University. He graduated at the Architectural Association in London over 25 years ago and now runs his own practice. He has collaborated with the 2014 Driehaus laureate Pier Carlo Bontempi for a long time, leading to a shift in his practice from Modernism to Traditional and Classical architecture. His broad expertise spans from architecture to watercolouring and photography to urban planning.  More information...

Pierre Bidaud is a skilled stonemason and entrepreneur promoting the use of natural stone for load bearing structures. He is the co founder of the Structural Stone Company, part of the Stonemasonry Company which is based in London. With his company, he is proving that natural stone is still one of the most versatile, sustainable and beautiful materials available to humans.  Find their website here: https://www.thestonemasonrycompany.co.uk/ Follow them on...

Micah Springut is an entrepreneur based in New York City. After having set up multiple successful software startups, he is now on the path of disrupting the way we construct our buildings using AI and robotics. Potentially, his new company Monumental Labs could enable us to build more ornate, detailed buildings on a larger scale and for lower cost than we could now possibly imagine. Find his website here: https://www.monumentallabs.co Follow Micah on X:...

Ettore Mazzola is a professor at Notre Dame School of Architecture, based in Rome, where he teaches traditional urbanism, architecture and building techniques. Prof. Mazzola has extensive experience with  multiple urban design projects and written countless publications, articles, essays and blog posts. His academic and professional career is centered on integrating traditional architectural principles with modern urban planning needs.  Prof. Mazzola’s Blog:...

Join us as we delve into the rich world of classical architecture with our distinguished guest, Pablo Funes. A seasoned architect hailing from Spain, Pablo has laid his professional roots in London. With an impressive educational background that spans the University of Sevilla and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, his journey in architecture has been marked by a noteworthy tenure at Stanhope Gate Architecture, lasting 12 years, before his transition to his present position at Katharine...

Mark Wilson Jones is an an esteemed academic architectural historian. He is known for his significant contributions to the understanding of architectural history of antiquity, mostly through his seminal work on the Pantheon. He doesn’t limit himself to historical research, but is a practicing architect at his own firm, Apollodorus Architecture.  Previously an Associate Professor at the university of Bath, he has authored multiple scholarly books and a great number of articles. Additionally,...

In today's episode we are joined by Ann Sussman, architect and president of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute, or the Hapi. Her book Cognitive Architecture, which she authored together with Justin Hollander, dives into the cognitive effects that our built environment has on us humans. Cognitive Architecture is an important source for anyone who wants to consider the human experience of architecture and design for cognitive health, and to create more pleasant, beautiful...

In today's episode we are joined by Patrick Webb, master plasterer, educator, a strong proponent of traditional architecture and a bit of a philosopher as well. Although Patrick's everyday work is that of a craftsman, this conversation dives deep into today's struggle to create beauty against the backdrop of a society that steadfastly chooses the machine over the human hand, money over long-term value and delusion over truth. Patrick writes great articles on his webpage...

Léon Krier is a renowned Luxembourgian architect and urban planner, often hailed as the godfather of the New Urbanism and Traditional Urbanism movement. He has been a vocal critic of modernist architecture, advocating instead for a return to traditional, human-scale urban design. Krier's philosophy emphasizes walkable neighborhoods, a mix of housing types, and a harmonious blend of architectural styles that prioritize human interaction over vehicular dominance. One of Krier's most famous...

Maria Sánchez and Pedro Godoy are two architects from Guatemala in South America. The couple graduated at Notre Dame School for Architecture in South Bend, Indiana, after which they returned to Guatemala to set up their firm Estudio Urbano. In Guatemala, they have worked on one of the most special and successful masterplans in the world of traditional architecture and urbanism: Cayalá. Together with Léon Krier, Marc Landers and Richard Economakis, they designed what would be a completely...

Michael Diamant is founder of New Traditional Architecture & Urbanism and is a very vocal critic of Modernist architecture and planning. He has fought a long battle against the ugliness that results from Modernism in Sweden, but he is also getting more recognition abroad, with guest talks in various podcasts, getting articles in various magazines and even at the National Capital Commission in Ottawa, Canada. This episode was recorded at the second edition of the Utrecht Summer School...

We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Alejandro García Hermida to the podcast today. He is an architect with a PhD and a Master's degree in Conservation and Restoration of Architectural Heritage, as well as an Associate Professor at the Department of Architectural Composition at the School of Architecture of the UPM in Madrid. His professional expertise lies in traditional architecture and building methods, as well as the restoration and examination of various historic buildings and archaeological...

We're thrilled to have none other than Professor Nikos Salingaros as our guest on this episode. He is a distinguished Greek-American mathematician and urban theorist who has made substantial contributions to the realms of architecture and urban design. He has authored numerous influential books and articles, promoting traditional and human-scale architecture while critiquing modernist and post-modernist methodologies. As a specialist in applying complexity theory and information theory to...

We are delighted to host Peter Drijver as our guest today. He is a skilled architect from the Netherlands with a fascinating background. While studying architecture in Delft, the Netherlands, he participated in a group that created a 'counter-project,' providing additional and more affordable student rooms on the same land. He completed his studies with a counter-design for The Hague's urban renewal practice, incorporating a neoclassical educational science museum. At the graduation ceremony,...

We're excited to have Eric Norin as our guest on this episode. Eric is a classical architect from Sweden who studied at the School of Architecture in Stockholm, but fully discovered his passion for classical architecture at the Engelsberg summer school. Eric has been actively involved in the Swedish Architecture Uprising for several years, watching its growth and impact on the national conversation about architecture. We'll be discussing Eric' insights in the effect the Uprising has had, the...

Katherine O'Neil is a placemaking consultant, writer, photographer, and community event planner, specializing in urban design and city planning. Over the last ten years, she has worked for various non-profits and start-ups, such as Habitat for Humanity and the Urban Land Institute. Her goal has been to inspire more sustainable, affordable, accessible live, work, and play places. In 2020, Katherine founded her business Builtfully® to showcase beautifully built environments and to create...

Brandon Ro is a professor at Utah Valley University and an experienced Classical architect from the USA. He has over 16 years of experience in both new construction and renovation, and has worked for private sector developers, state universities, governmental agencies, religious institutions and more. At Utah Valley University he has developed a curriculum for new courses. He is active as a researcher and has many publications to his name, many of which about sacred architecture. His firm...

Erik Bootsma is a Catholic architect and author, specialised in classical and sacred architecture. He is instructor of sacred architecture at the Catholic Distance University and has given many lectures at various colleges. Over the years, he has built up extensive knowledge about ecclesiastical and other sacred architecture. He is also involved in the planning of several new urban districts, like St. Aubin Village in Detroit and St. James-on-the-Glebe. In this interview we talk about a very...

Peter Verschuren is an experienced Dutch urbanist who has worked for the Town Planning Department of both Rotterdam and The Hague and later founded his own urban design consultancy firm, 'Fijne Stad'. He has also been active as a board member for INTBAU the Netherlands, and is a member of the Dutch Chapter of the Council for European Urbanism. In this episode we talk about his experience as an Urbanist, his ideas about how to create fine, enjoyable urban spaces and places, materials &...

Professor Michael Lykoudis is an experienced architect, educator and consultant. He is a professor at the University of Notre Dame's School of Architecture, where he served as its first dean from 2004 until 2020. In this episode, we talk about traditional & classical architecture education, about the origin of the Driehaus prize, building materials, problems with modern ways of building and much more. Visit Prof. Lykoudis' website here: https://www.mlykoudisarchitect.com/ University of...

Nicholas Boys Smith is founder of CreateStreets, an organisation that exists to help solve the housing crisis and that aims to help actors such as developers, landowners, councils and neighbourhoods to create more beautiful, sustainable places. The places that CreateStreets envisions are of gentle density, popular, and with high probability correlated with good wellbeing and public health outcomes. With a great body of research, CreateStreets can make a strong case for the benefits of these...