On Short Term Rentals in Australia / Thomas Sigler
Architecture Off-Centre
We are no strangers to the AirBnB phenomenon – and how it has revolutionized the travel industry. Over the last two episodes, we have been focusing on the rental housing markets in Kenya and India, and today we’ll take pan over to Australia to see what the short-term rental market looks like. Dr. Thomas Sigler is an academic researcher in urban and economic geography. He holds a PhD and MSc from the Pennsylvania State University, and a BA from the University of Southern California. He is an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of School in the School of the Environment at the...
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On Migrant Labour Housing in India / Bandhu (Rushil and Jacob)
Architecture Off-Centre
Bandhu is an AI driven urban-tech startup that is solving for India’s rapid urbanization by enabling low-income workers to access urban jobs along with housing and thereby directly addressing the roadblocks that rural migrants face while entering the urban workforce. Rushil Palavajjhala is Co-founder and CEO of Bandhu, and holds a Master’s degree in City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he focused on finance and technology for urban development in the Global South. Jacob Kohn is Co-founder and COO of Bandhu, where he heads product development and data...
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On the Urban Rental Market in Nairobi / Etta Madete
Architecture Off-Centre
When we talk about discourses on housing, we usually draw references from the western context. It is only in the last few decades that developing countries have come to the forefront of housing dialogues owing to their growing economies and increasing populations. Today, we take a closer looking at the housing market in Kenya, especially in Nairobi. Etta Madete is an architect, sustainable design expert, and developer passionate about sustainable real estate development in emerging markets. Passionate about advocacy, Etta previously taught at the University of Nairobi, is an EDGE Expert, Aspen...
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On Ecological Living / Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris
Architecture Off-Centre
Toolshed is a platform, a project and a place in Hudson, New York, where artists Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris collect and share tools for ecological living. They have categorized these tools into four distinct groups: food, kin, shelter and magic. Today, we speak to Susannah and Edward about what ecological living means and how Toolshed plays into it. Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris (Sayler/Morris) work with photography, video, writing, installation and open-source projects. Of primary concern are contemporary efforts to develop ecological consciousness and the possibilities for art in...
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On Living Alone / Maria Vittoria Tesei and Flavio Martella (m2ft)
Architecture Off-Centre
People are increasingly making the conscious choice to live alone and it just so turns out that the number of people living alone in Europe has doubled since the 1980s. We speak to architects Maria Vittoria Tesei and Flavio Martella about the social, economic and architectural implications of living alone. Founded by Maria Vittoria Tesei (architect and urban planner) and Flavio Martella (PhD architect), m²ft architects is a multidisciplinary firm working in the fields of architecture, urban planning, public space and research. Through design by research, they propose to produce...
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Introducing Season 6: On Home, Shelter, Housing
Architecture Off-Centre
By living in a world of wars and unrest right now, we are witnessing one of the largest human displacements to have ever happened. People around the world are on the move to seek refuge – whether it is because of military action or a natural disaster. The idea of a “home” is under constant scrutiny as entire populations are uprooted from the very places where they built their whole lives. We ask our guests about how the concept of home has evolved in the last century. How do policy and design intersect to alleviate or exacerbate housing crises in cities around the world? Why are...
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On being a Doula by Design / Kim Holden
Architecture Off-Centre
In this bonus episode, we speak to Kim Holden, whose change of careers has been unconventional and courageous at the same time. She was a founder, managing principal and architect at the renowned SHoP Architects and decided to become a doula after 20 years of practice. We speak to Kim about her initiative Doula x Design and how she helps people during pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum. Kim is a registered architect and certified doula focused on the intersection of design and women’s health. Through the examination of the role that environment plays in the physical, physiological, and...
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On Architecture + Medicine / Diana Anderson
Architecture Off-Centre
For our final episode for this season, we speak to doctor and architect Diana Anderson, who has skillfully carved a unique career path for herself as a “dochitect” – by pioneering a collaborative, evidence-based model for approaching healthcare from the medicine and architecture fields simultaneously. Dr. Diana Anderson is a triple boarded professional – healthcare architect, internist, and a geriatrician. She is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Boston University, and a recipient of an Alzheimer's Association Clinician Scientist Fellowship. She is also a healthcare principal at...
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On Medical Tourism along the US-Mexico Border / Viviane Clement
Architecture Off-Centre
In our previous episode, we got an overview of medical tourism around the world and the key factors that drive people to travel from one country to another for medical treatments and procedures. Today, we take a closer look at some of the medical tourism hubs along a very specific geographic area, i.e., the US-Mexico border. Viviane Clement is an epidemiologist and a cultural Anthropologist whose research focuses on the macro and micro effects of health and environmental policies and politics on under-sourced and under-researched communities. For her article on medical tourism titled...
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On Medical Tourism / Valorie Crooks
Architecture Off-Centre
Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry that has emerged out of people’s need to travel across country borders to access medical treatments and procedures. In order to understand this global movement, we need to understand the reason for travel, the destinations that attract individuals and the web of factors that shape this global industry. Dr. Valorie Crooks is a health geographer who specializes in health services research. She is a Professor at Simon Fraser University where she also holds a Canada Research Chair and currently serves as Associate Vice-President, Research. For more...
info_outlineThree farm laws passed by the Parliament of India in 2020 received major pushback from farmers around the country - with many of them mobilizing in Punjab and heading to the capital New Delhi. The protest site at the border village of Singhu outside Delhi turned into a mini-city of sorts with the Sikh farmers operating community kitchens and serving meals to thousands of people every day, including the policemen watching over the very barricades that restricted their entry into Delhi.
Sarover Zaidi is a philosopher and a social anthropologist, who currently teaches at the Jindal School of Art and Architecture. She works at the intersections of critical theory, anthropology, art, architecture and material culture studies. Sarover has extensively worked on religious architecture, and urbanism in the city of Bombay and currently co-runs a site on writing the city called Chiragh Dilli (https://chiraghdilli.wordpress.com).
Her essay on food, cooking and the protest: https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/survivance/412221/the-gift-of-food/