The Aesthetic City

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 co-founder of the New Urban Guild, which is a group of architects, designers, and other professionals dedicated to the development of sustainable architectural practices and community designs. His work often emphasizes the importance of building practices that can endure and remain relevant over time, contributing to the creation of living traditions in architecture and urban design.

Mouzon's approach to architecture and urban planning is deeply rooted in the idea that buildings and communities should be designed with an eye toward their long-term impact on the environment and society. He advocates for a return to traditional architectural principles, which he believes offer time-tested solutions to contemporary challenges in building and urban design.

Find more information on the website of Urban Guild:

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 America Living Awards. Known for his attention to detail, form, and proportion, he creates designs that are both beautiful and innovative. 

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 about Jonathan Weatherill and Pier Carlo Bontempi's studio:

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. 

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.

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. 

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 Pooley Design Studio.

Apart from his architectural pursuits, Pablo is passionately imparting knowledge in his capacity as the Director of Education at the Classic Planning Institute. There, he mentors student cohorts, illuminating the path through the revered realm of classical planning and the enduring principles of design that have stood the test of time.

I had the privilege of first meeting Pablo at the La Table Ronde summer school in Bruges, and our paths crossed once more at this year's IMCL congress in Poundbury. His profound expertise not only resonates with the ethos of The Aesthetic City podcast but also enriches our ongoing dialogue on the pursuit of beauty and timeless urban design. Join us for a conversation that promises to deepen our appreciation for the classical aesthetic that shapes our cities and living spaces.

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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, he serves as chair of the Traditional Architecture Group and has taught at the Centre for the Study of Classical Architecture Summer School at Cambridge, and the summer school of La Table Ronde d’Architecture in Bruges. 

He recently made an exciting counterproposal for the renovation and replacement of the ageing Bath rugby stadium, which has caught the attention of many. Although it is far from certain the design will be taken serious by local government, it has significant advantages over the current proposal.

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 projects is Poundbury in England, a model town championed by King Charles, which embodies many of his urban principles. Additionally, Krier's influence can be seen in the design of Ciudad Cayalá in Guatemala, another testament to his vision of creating sustainable and livable urban spaces. His work, writings, and lectures have inspired a generation of architects and urban planners to rethink the way cities are designed and built.

Do you want to know more about Léon Krier and his vision?

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 new town, with friendly, beautiful spaces that foster community and that encourages human interactions

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 for Traditional Architecture and Urbanism, 'Let's Build a Beautiful City', which happened from July 17 to August 3, where Michael appeared as one of the lecturers.

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 built environments, our guest works alongside architects and urban planners globally to advocate for scientifically based, sustainable, and people-focused design. Importantly, he has collaborated closely with the esteemed architect and urban planner Christopher Alexander, creating inventive concepts and strategies for urban planning that highlight human-centered, adaptable, and robust design.

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, his design was dubbed 'patricide.' Since 1982, he has been engaged in developing counter-projects for residents' groups, which ultimately expanded into an architectural firm specializing in restoration and public housing. In 1989, he initiated a collaboration with Mieke Bosse under the banner of SCALA Architects.

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 power of democratic processes and social media in driving change, the lack of classical architecture education and the role Engelsberg played for him - and much, much more. 

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 better places for all. Through consultations, community, and content, she leads creative community engagements and advises on urban planning initiatives. Currently, she is a Design Committee member for the Beverly Main Streets non-profit in Greater Boston.

Katherine holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in Housing Studies, a concentration in Community Development and Policy, and a minor in Communication Studies. She has a Master of Science degree from the University College London's Bartlett School of Planning in Urban Design and City Planning. Katherine was awarded honors for her Master's dissertation, which focused on pop-up housing solutions.

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.

Michael Spicher is a writer and philosopher, who is specialised in art and aesthetics. He is based in Boston and earned his PhD in Philosophy from the University of South Carolina. He currently teaches at Massachusetts College of Art & Design and Boston Architectural College. Apart from that he also founded the Aesthetics Research Lab in 2016, with an excellent website that showcases a lot of fascinating research and projects that showcase the importance of aesthetics in our everyday lives. He is currently co-editing a book about digital fashion for Bloomsbury Publishing. This episode dives deep into the questions of what aesthetics are, why they are important, the difference between beauty and taste and the great value of what can be achieved when various fields of research are combined.

Samuel Hughes is a research fellow at Oxford University and senior fellow at Policy Exchange and Create Streets. He has a background in philosophy, as he completed his PhD in Philosophy in 2020 in Cambridge. He spent time as a visiting researcher at many other universities and served as research assistant to the British governments’ Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission.

In this episode, we talk about a variety of topics: we hear about Samuel's work with the Building Better, Building Beautiful committee for the UK government, about how 'beauty' is being spoken about again and how it is more important than we think, how to intensify urban areas and much more.

Ben Southwood has worked for KPMG, was head of research at the Adam Smith Institute and the head of Housing, Transport and Urban Space at the UK think tank ‘Policy Exchange’.

He has also assisted CreateStreets as head of research. Currently he is editor at Stripe, for the online journal Works in Progress. An excellent source for high quality, optimistic articles on scientific progress, innovation and other topics.

In this episode he talks about the StreetVotes concept, how it can gently transition low density areas into beautiful, denser neighbourhoods, offering more housing units in overheated markets, giving more power to local communities and enabling them to reap the benefits of this  densification. The concept is a true win-win solution that is now being tested out in the UK on a small scale.

Marjo Uotila is the founder of INTBAU Finland, connecting Finland to the International Network of Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism, and Arkkitehtuurikapina, the Finnish architectural uprising. The Nordic Architectural Uprising groups have more than 100.000 members altogether and are achieving real impact in the Scandinavian countries. 

Marjo also works as an elected Member of City Council and the Chair of the Urban Development Committee at the town of Kaarina in Finland.

In this podcast, we talk about the most common fallacies about traditional architecture, driving change towards more beauty in cities, the Finnish architectural uprising and much more.

Milly Main is a consultant at a global business strategy firm by day, but late last year she founded an organisation called StreetLevel in Australia. With StreetLevel, the aim is to build a grassroots movement in Australia being led by regular local people for more attractive and liveable cities and buildings, while trying to change things from the top down too. Her outstanding work to promote better forms of urbanism and architecture 'at street level' is a model for other people to follow in other countries. With a professional, well thought out organisation with local chapters that offers clear communication, they do a stellar job at making our world a bit of a more beautiful place.

Vincent Veneman is a professional trombonist, composer and arranger and an architectural designer specialised in classical architectural design. 

He has had an interest in both music and architecture since childhood, but chose to pursue music - which led to a full-time career as freelance musician. He appeared on over 50 recordings, as well as on TV and radio. He even appeared on the Grammy-award winning album ‘Sylva’ by Snarky Puppy and the Metropole orchestra; both in the orchestra as well as a featured soloist.

Ireland faces a horrendous housing shortage and a lack of commercial real estate accessible to smaller entrepreneurs, as well as a homelessness problem. Yet, an astounding quantity of real estate, often consisting of beautiful, incredibly valuable heritage, is rotting away, sometimes even on purpose. Thus, entire historical districts of Irelands' cities are at risk of getting demolished, permanently erasing quality urban fabric and Ireland's very own history. Why is this being allowed to happen?

Dr. Nir Buras is an experienced architect, planner, author and founder of the Classic Planning Institute, which is a traditional architecture and urban design consultancy, an academy of traditional architecture and classic urban planning, and a community of like minded practitioners. He authored the book 'The Art of Classic Planning' (Harvard University Press, 2019) which is a must-have for any planner that values beauty and common sense in the built environment. In this episode we talk about dr. Buras' experiences of becoming an architect, about the difference between Beauty and the Sublime, the Classic Planning method and the Art of Classic Planning book, suburbs, and much more.

Joseph Jutras is the founder of the Institute of Traditional Architecture, on which he shares useful information on correctly applying traditional architecture. As a Canadian living in the Netherlands and having travelled all over Europe, he has a refreshing outlook on many urban matters. He is chair of the committee organising the brand new summer school on traditional and classical architecture and architecture happening in Utrecht this year, 'Let's Build a Beautiful City'. In this episode he tells all about his life changing experience while seeing the architectural and urban beauty in Europe, his Institute of Traditional Architecture, a lot of details about the Summer School and much, much more.