THE GRIMSHAW PODCAST

At the crossroads where downtown meets midtown, Union Square combines a dynamic mix of city energy, creative culture, and community life at the heart of New York. Union Square Partnership is central to its current success. In this episode, Tim talks with Executive Director Julie Stein, and Tali Cantor, Director of Planning at Union Square Partnership NYC about the key projects, programs and collab...

There are few bigger roles in the urbanist universe than planning the future of Greater London. Jules Pipe has that role, as deputy-mayor in Mayor Sadiq Khan's administration. Jules talks with Tim Williams and London-based Grimshaw Partner Declan McCafferty at a critical moment having just issued the new draft London Plan for consultation. How do you plan for a global city, or indeed any signi...

A specific focus of Jess Miller's work has been to transform what she calls the City’s “lazy spaces” into places of collaboration and gathering by introducing reforms to turn unused property into affordable housing and retail, and new spaces for the creative industries, by night or day. A former TEDxSydney curator and board member, Jess reminds us, in whatever city in the world this podcast i...

Ellen's work has centered on what happens when aging infrastructure, from shopping malls to office parks, no longer serves the communities around them. As co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, she helped define a movement and a moment. The book documented how underperforming, car-dominated spaces could be reimagined into walkable, resilient, and socially connected environments. Over time, her resear...

Global cities compete for investment. A key part of that competition involves bidding for and winning strategically important business events and conferences which attract market leaders and top talent in their specialist fields to spend time and money in your city. Beyond the immediate financial and employment benefits for local providers of hospitality and a wide range of services and sectors, t...

Urbanist Richard Florida called Seth Kaplan’s book "essential and engaging ". Tim Williams talks about the book with Seth and also his latest initiative. Flourishing Neighborhoods. We learn what makes places ‘fragile’ and what practical steps local community leaders and social entrepreneurs have taken to fix, repair and restore them to health.   Find out about some really powerful exemplars a...

Mark Coates is a recognised leader in infrastructure policy and digital transformation. In his role, Mark, with over three decades of experience in construction and global project delivery, collaborates with governments, policymakers, and industry leaders globally to champion the adoption of cutting-edge digital solutions, driving efficiency and innovation in infrastructure development. In th...

The housing crisis is an international one, though it can take different forms in different countries. What is shared is the need to protect and promote the interests of renters, tenants and others who may be vulnerable in our various housing systems. Two people doing great work in their own neck of the woods that is also, we believe, of international significance are the two leaders brought toget...

People acquire houses but they live in and come from neighbourhoods. In this timely conversation Andrew talks with Grimshaw's Head of Cities, Tim, about the state of British neighbourhoods and the interventions his Commission, chaired by the well-respected former minister Hillary Armstrong, recommends renewing them. Although the Commission has been focussed on neighbourhoods in the UK, t...

Everyone talks about the housing crisis. Few talk about the systems producing it. In this special edition of the Grimshaw Podcast, Tim Williams sits down with economist Cameron Murray, author of The Great Housing Hijack, to unpack the political, economic, and urban forces reshaping housing in Australia and beyond. Not just a conversation about property. A conversation about how cities work, who th...

AI will transform how we work in the built environment, yet there are still more questions than answers, and many feel unprepared for what comes next. In this episode, Dr Tim Williams speaks with Tom Sanchez, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University, and author of Artificial Intelligence for Urban Planning. He offers a clear and practical roadmap for urban...

City centres everywhere are seeking renewal. In this episode Robbie Silver, President and CEO of Downtown SF Partnership, tells us what’s creating San Francisco’s new momentum at the city’s heart. Joining us in the conversation is Andrew Byrne, Grimshaw’s Managing Partner for our LA studio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist, author and activist Elizabeth Farrelly, is the best known urbanist in Australia, with an international reputation. The title of her recent best-selling book, Killing Sydney: the Fight for a City’s Soul, speaks eloquently of her concerns but also of her independent spirit and determination to change the direction of the city she loves. A feisty and characterful conversation full of insi...

The international drive to increase housing supply is an opportunity to improve existing communities but also to design and deliver new high-amenity, higher density, low carbon, mixed use settlements. In this episode Tim Williams talks with Sara Waller – title, of Sovereign Network Group/SNG and Kirsten Lees, architect, masterplanner and Managing Partner, Paris for Grimshaw, about meeting this dua...

In the first of two episodes on social and affordable housing , Tim Williams sits down with Mark Washer the CEO of Sovereign Network Group/SNG, one of the biggest providers in the UK, with an asset base of 85,000 homes, to talk about managing a massive business with a big social purpose: to provide good, affordable homes that are the foundation for a better life – with the aim of sustain...

Tim Parker has massive experience of successfully managing big urban infrastructure and development projects. In this episode, he shines a light on his unique insights from an impressive CV and speaks with both passion and clarity about leading his latest large-scale project: the Federal Government’s initiative to build high speed rail initially between Newcastle and Sydney on Austr...

In the latest Grimshaw Cities podcast, Dr Tim Williams interviews Syrian architect and best-selling author Marwa al Sabouni. Unable to practice her profession in her battle-ravaged city of Homs, as the buildings and the lives around her and across Syria were reduced to rubble, Marwa Al Sabouni turned her fierce intelligence to chronicling how her city and country were undone through decades o...

Tim talks with international housing expert Professor Josh Ryan-Collins of UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Williams talks with Austin Williams, director of Future Cities and author of China’s Urban Revolution: Understanding Chinese Eco-Cities. What can we learn, as environmentalists, planners and architects, from the eco-city initiative and overall from the Chinese process of urbanisation? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Aruna Sathanapally, CEO of Australia’s leading urban thinktank, the Grattan Institute, talks about the key policy priorities to make a more productive and inclusive nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Kotkin, a fellow in urban studies at Chapman University in California, is the author of the best-selling book The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class . He is widely recognised as a leading international commentator on the future of cities and suburbs. In this episode, Joel joins Tim Williams for a passionate and insightful conversation about key urban trends. They ex...

Today's episode features Dr. Caroline Butler-Bowden, State Librarian for the State Library of New South Wales, alongside Dr. Tim Williams and Grimshaw Principal, Eduard Ross. Together, they explore the role of libraries and museums in shaping cities and their significance as dynamic public spaces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode, Dr. Tim Williams examines how America's largest city has grappled with the tensions between cars and public transit since the 1960s, with Nicole Gelinas, author of 'Movement: New York's Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car' and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. As a key part of this conversation, we also have Grimshaw Deputy Chairman and Partner, Vincent Chang...

Dr Hila Oren has an international reputation as a city-making and branding expert. In her work in Tel Aviv over decades she has helped make that ‘smart-city’ a recognised global leader in tech start-ups and innovation. In conversation with our host Tim Williams, Head of Cities at Grimshaw, Dr Oren shares that journey with us and her insights into what other cities can learn from it. Hosted on...

We are excited to share this unique episode to begin the fifth series of the Grimshaw Cities Podcast, The Resurgent City. Today we speak with our very own Jorrin ten Have, Associate Principal and Graham Gibbon, Principal about how Grimshaw, collaborators and clients collectively designed and delivered the Elizabeth Line – and won one of the world’s most prestigious architectural awards. Featuring...