On Innovative Modular Dwellings / Sampat Althur (Pop-Up Housing)
In our previous episode, we spoke to the team from Better Shelter about their kit-of-parts approach to providing emergency shelters in crisis situations. Today, we continue that line of inquiry and look at the work that Pop-Up Housing has been doing in India by deploying an industrial and modular construction system. Sampat Althur is the founder of Pop-Up Housing, a social innovation organization working on improving sustainable housing and infrastructure in low income communities in India. Using latest advancements in industrial construction, sustainability and hands on volunteering, Sampat is simplifying housing and enabling infrastructure development in marginalized communities. More on Pop-Up Housing: https://popuphousing.org/
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25:48
On Building for Refugees / Better Shelter
The very first episode of our podcast focused on the Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh and highlighted the role of designers in alleviating the living conditions of the refugees. Today, we speak to Better Shelter about their work in providing shelters to refugees and displaced people around the world. Better Shelter is an independent Swedish non-profit without political or religious ties. They design and provide temporary shelters to help people live safer and more dignified lives until they can return or move to a new permanent home. About Better Shelter: https://bettershelter.org/ And their photo project What Makes a Home: https://www.whatmakesahome.org/
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35:50
On Feminist Capital Cities / Dorina Pojani
We have been talking extensively about housing this season but have not really looked at the identity of the cities within which it exists. In today’s episode, we zoom out a little to take stock of new capital cities and discuss their planning through the theoretical lens of feminism. Dorina Pojani is Associate Professor of urban planning at The University of Queensland, Australia. Her latest books are Trophy Cities: A Feminist Perspective on New Capitals (Edward Elgar, 2021) and Alternative Planning History and Theory (Routledge, 2023). Her forthcoming book is Early Planning Utopias: A Feminist Critique (Anthem, 2025). About Dorina: https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/11894
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26:14
On Urban Planning and Policy in South Africa / Adi Kumar
For those of us who have grown up in India, we were introduced to the concept of segregation and apartheid very early on as we were taught about the discrimination Gandhi faced while living in South Africa and how that marked the beginning of the independence movement in India. In this episode, we speak to Adi Kumar about the history of apartheid in South Africa and how those land policies continue to affect the supply of affordable housing in Cape Town today. Adi Kumar is a trained architect and seasoned land and housing activist. Over the last two decades, Adi has been leadership positions in several civil society organisations working across the globe in India, Southern Africa, Lebanon and United States on development programmes. He is former Loeb Fellow at Harvard University. Adi’s current work: https://www.seeingtheother.org/
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35:03
On the Rebuilding Efforts in Rwanda / Yutaka Sho
In this episode, we speak to Yutaka Sho about working in a context that has a history of genocide and colonization, and we discuss the challenges of working on ground, at the grassroots level. Yutaka Sho is a partner of nonprofit architecture firm General Architecture Collaborative (GAC) that has been working in Rwanda since 2008, and a professor of architecture at Meiji University in Tokyo. GAC works with underrepresented communities to build sustainable and aesthetically engaging spaces while using the construction sites for end-user training. About GAC and their work: https://www.gacollaborative.org/
Architecture Off-Centre highlights unconventional design practices and research projects, which reflect various emerging discourses within the design discipline and beyond. Hosted by architect Vaissnavi Shukl, the podcast features engaging conversations with exceptionally creative individuals, who, in their practice, have extrapolated the traditional fields of architecture, planning, landscape and urban design to unexplored frontiers.
Portugal