The Green Room | Furnitubes

In this episode, Alexandra Gomes discusses her research on urban dynamics, focusing on social spatial inequalities, the role of urban design in creating equitable cities, and the importance of leveraging data while maintaining human experiences in placemaking.

Join Catherine as she chats with Sophie Trotman, Head of Place Branding, Marketing and Communications at Notting Hill Genesis, about how the best places aren't decorated with art... they're born from it. When artists join the conversation from day one, local stories shape every curve of a bench, every thoughtful detail that makes a space sing with authenticity.

Alexandra Steed, Founder & Director of Alexandra Steed Urban, feels that people's broken relationship with nature has got us into the environmental predicament that we find ourselves in. But rather than wait for others to do something about it, Alexandra is calling upon all of us - especially those in the Landscape Architecture industry - to act now.During her chat with us, she talks about multiple actions - as described in her latest book, Portrait to Landscape: A Landscape Strategy to Reframe our Future, that we can take as professionals and citizens to start making a change.

With a mission to Live In Painted Cities, Lee Bofkin, CEO and co-founder of Global Street Art joins us to discuss the importance of street art and how our urban landscape can benefit from joyful murals representing and bringing together communities. We discuss the evolution in attitudes towards street art over the last 10 years, how street art brings spaces to life, democratises art and the museum of inspiration in the basement of GSA HQ.

Our latest installment of #Youviewfromhere features Maria Guiterrez, a landscape architect at Gillespies. As a former product designer, Maria shares her journey as a product designer in Colombia to becoming a landscape architect in the UK. We touch on the different perspectives she brings to projects, she shares insights from both professions and some of her favourite projects.

What happens when you remove cars from one of the busiest roads and intersections in London, and prioritise people and plants? The new Strand Aldwych. The newly pedestrianised area has already picked up a bouquet of awards and generated lots of coverage. So Cannon Ivers, design lead of The Strand redesign and Director at Landscape Architecture practise LDA Design joins us for a chat about the project.

We’re back with #YourViewFromHere, our ongoing series sharing the best in landscape architecture. This month, Mariana Marques, a Landscape Architect from Deacon Design, joins us in The Green Room to share her experiences breaking into the profession, valuable learnings - and having worked on countless Care Home projects, we discuss the lack of readily available guidance for landscape architects in this space.

Meet the Humanitarian Landscape Collective, a network of professionals who operate to bridge the gap between humanitarian work and landscape architecture, highlighting the crucial role landscape architecture can play in helping the most vulnerable. The month, we’re joined by their founders Rhys Jones (Landscape Architect at Alexandra Steed URBAN) and Joanna Ferro (Landscape Architect at Arup). They share their experiences setting up and growing this passion project (now with 200+ members), their goals and how they bring like-minded people together in thought leadership and research to drive change.

After a little break, we're back in The Green Room with a new episode of #YourViewFromHere - our ongoing series sharing stories and experiences from the landscape architecture profession. Today we're joined by Clay Baylor, Projects Director at Publica. He shares his journey working within landscape architecture and urban design: the differences in infrastructure between the UK and the US, how both view the profession and the impact of allelopathy and changing plant palettes.

In our first episode of 2023 - Fiona Cummings, Environment and Sustainability Officer at Marlborough Highways, Joins Catherine in The Green Room to chat all things sustainability and what it means for highways design and planning. Fiona shares a bit about her journey and experiences in the industry, how she built Marlborough's carbon calculator and her thoughts on some of the biggest drivers in reducing carbon across the industry.

“If you could put a bench anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?” It’s a question we ask every guest we invite into The Green Room and we love hearing their responses.

In our final episode of 2022, Catherine is joined by Graham Edward (Edward Architecture) and Tim Reid (Urban Wilderness), to discuss this awesome community-led project in Leeds - to transform the iconic Holbeck Viaduct into a multi-functional green space for locals to enjoy. The pair share their journey from concept to fruition, some challenges along the way and their overall vision for what Holbeck Viaduct can be for the community.

This month we are joined in the Green Room by Sarah Bridger, a Landscape Architect at Norwich City Council. We discuss her journey from private to public sector, her key takeaways from both ends of the spectrum, the factors involved in cultivating successful landscape architecture projects and more!#YourViewFromHere is a first in a series of ongoing discussions here in The Green Room with professionals across our industry. This series all about celebrating the Landscape Architecture profession by sharing personal experiences and key learnings. Tune in.

Create. Maintain. Sustain. This month we’re chatting with Kim Morrish, the driving force behind UK-based grounds maintenance company, Ground Control. Kim joins Catherine in The Green Room for a chat around their unique approach to sustainability, their journey to carbon neutral in 2020 and key sustainability initiatives that she and her team have launched in the last few years.

For this month’s episode, we’re joined by Graham Duxbury, CEO of Groundwork. A federation of awesome charities across the UK that focus on improving the environment and tackling poverty. They champion green initiatives by empowering local communities, equipping them with the right tools and mobilising them to drive change in their neighbourhoods. Graham joins us in The Green Room for an inspiring chat about the Groundwork concept, the vast amount of ongoing initiatives and how they support local communities. Graham also discusses his response to the Queen’s speech earlier this year and his thoughts on the Levelling-up and Regeneration bill.

“The future of the natural world is in our hands and everyone can play a part in helping it”. This month we’re joined in The Green Room by Lauren Hyams (Head of Urban Nature Project Activities) from the Natural History Museum and Neil Davidson (Partner & Landscape Architect) from J&L Gibbons. We discuss the ambitious Urban Nature Project, how it came about, what they hope to achieve with it and how local communities, tech and science come together to make this unique concept come to life.

With climate change now at a critical point, it has become increasingly important for us all to think about the way we live our lives and the impact we have on the environment. As industries scramble to do their part streamlining operations, thinking smarter about design and curbing wastage - Sustainability is an ever-growing focus across the board from manufacturing to landscape architecture. Welcome to The Green Room #Decarbonised – our 5-part series tackling sustainability with key heads in our network. Featuring Alistair Bayford from Maylim, Martin Hunter from Robert Bray, Jonathan Bourne from Bourne Amenity, Deb & Janine Davies-Tut from Ashwells timber and Alex lowenhoff from Outerspace.All 5 episodes available now.

In the final episode of our #Decarbonised series, Alex Lowenhoff from Outerspace joins us for a chat on all things circular economy. We kick off discussing the meaning of the concept the impact and the benefits - we delve into policy, how Outerspace have adapted their approaches and how the concept can be applied across the architecture, urban design and construction industries. Make sure you tune in!

In the penultimate episode of our #Decarbonised series, we ventured out to Essex for a chat with the UK’s leading tropical timber reclamation specialists, Ashwells Timber. Joined by Janine Davies-Tut (Managing Director) and Deb Davies-Tut (Operations and Marketing Manager ) who are at the head of the business - they share their story, we discuss the significance of reusing materials within the built environment and how reclamation is key to saving the world’s trees and rainforests.

In the third episode of #Decarbonised, we are joined by Jonathan Bourne, Sales Director at Bourne Amenity who manufacture high quality bespoke topsoils and substrates. Tune in as Jonathan educates us on “good soil”, it’s significance and how it impacts sustainability across the supply chain.

In the second episode of our sustainability series, #Decarbonised - Martin Hunter of Robert Bray Associates joins us in The Green Room for a discussion around the significance of SuDS (sustainable drainage systems) in combating climate change and how they compare with the traditional engineered approach.

In part 2 of Decarbonising Construction, we conclude our discussion with Alistair Bayford (Maylim) on sustainability and its effects in our industries. Alistair shares his thoughts on how manufactures can support the decarbonising of the supply chain and he answers our quick fire questions.

In the first of 2 parts in #Decarbonised - Alistair Bayford, Director of Business Development at Maylim joins Catherine in The Green Room for a discussion around sustainability, the decarbonising of construction and its supply chain and what landscape architects and designers can do to drive change.

Happy New Year all and welcome back to The Green Room! It’s our first episode of the year and we’re kicking off with a bang. We’re joined by Mike Wilderink of The Outdoor Deck Company for an eye-opening discussion on how fire safety regulations have changed over the past 2 years, the impact on our industry and what it means for landscape architects. We also touch on how regulations have influenced our approach to design and the way we use materials.

Jane Findlay, president of the Landscape Institute joins us in The Green Room this month for an insightful discussion around landscape architecture. We touch on the value of great landscape architecture and the impact it can have on society, how the Landscape Institute is actively raising the profile the profession and most importantly, why landscape architects should have ‘a seat at the table’.

Nivedita Vijayan of Jacobs joins Catherine in The Green Room this month for a discussion around Urban Design and why it needs to be considered much earlier in the planning and design process. She talks about her growth and experiences in the design industry, the impact of great Urban Design in our communities and she touches on her work with Urban Design London.

We are joined in The Green Room this month by Simon Pitkeathley (Chief Executive of Camden Highline & Camden Town Unlimited) for a chat about the much anticipated Camden Highline aka London’s new park in the sky. We discuss how the project came about, how it has and continues to engage the local community, why James Corner Field Operations were chosen and the impact Covid had on development.

Landscape architect Claire Hobart of Grants Associates joins Catherine in The Green Room this month for a discussion around the Covid. They discuss the impact the pandemic has had on our cities, how the public’s views of outdoor spaces and priorities have changed, the Inequality in access to green space in urban environments and what we can do to equalise this.