Building Hope by Listening

In season 1's final episode, Vincenza and I share our favorite moments. We also hear from current architecture students, as they weigh in on the value of interdisciplinary education, being part of a movement (or not), and how they are building hope. It’s full of thoughtful, wise, amusing, and hopeful takes.

We wrap up season 1 with a special two-part episode recorded live in the architecture school library with three returning guests and a gathering of current students. To explore the bridge between hopeful ideas and practical problem solving, topics include finding a firm that matches your values, how to prevent burnout, environmental justice, being part of a movement, and the gift of a good conversation to seed powerful ideas.

In this episode, we talk with Christian Romero, who, during the pandemic shutdown, found creative ways to engage people thousands of miles away using social media. He heard their stories, learned their preferences, and offered design options. In short, he listened.  Professor Brian Kelly was his advisor on the project. Brian joins us for part of this conversation about how architects can best serve the communities in which we work.

Environmentally visionary architectural projects explore how good design can build hope in a world facing a climate emergency. Featuring two projects: one, a radical proposal to reinhabit vacant lots in West Baltimore with pop-up communities for the unhoused.  The other digs to the foundations of the rich, twice-erased history of Berry Farm in the Anacostia neighborhood of Southeast D.C. and celebrates the heritage of Black residents. 

Buildings by themselves are no guarantee of quality of life. Many other factors, including the weight of history, urban planning, design, and even landscaping, have real, measurable impacts. Today we talk with Melonee Quintanilla and Jemimah Asamoah, whose projects in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. reconnect people with nature and community.

We talk with Ava Omidvar, whose project explores the history of adaptable architecture and proposes an arts community on a site in Southwest D.C., an area of the city already affected by climate change, but vulnerable to more extreme events in the near future. And we meet with Juhi Goel, who designed a mixed use tower with an engineered wood structure on the Boston waterfront to give people experiences of a more climate resilient future.

Introducing a podcast featuring environmentally visionary architecture projects to explore how good design can build hope in a world facing a climate emergency. We give an overview of the episodes in season 1, Patience in an Emergency.

Introducing Building Hope, where we are featuring environmentally visionary architectural projects that explore how good design can build hope in a world facing a climate emergency.