'Humanise: A Maker’s Guide to Building Our World' by Thomas Heatherwick is available to buying in all good bookstores: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/312740/humanise-by-heatherwick-thomas/9780241389799

Do you ever stop to think about how a particular building or objects makes you feel? Few of us do, yet every single day we inhabit multiple places; streets, buildings, offices, homes and public transport that Thomas Heatherwick says are having devastating consequences on our lives.

Thomas Heatherwick is one of the world's leading designers and one of Britain’s greatest creative talents. Responsible for some of the world's most iconic buildings and spaces, he was once described by the late Sir Terence Conran as "the Leonardo da Vinci of our times".

Thomas Heatherwick is unusually unapologetic in his thoughts and his actions and has never shied away from controversy – criticism he welcomes. Growing up in a bohemian family, his childhood experiences are evident throughout his work and his studio, which has won a global reputation for seamlessly merging engineering with design and architecture.

In the latest episode of The Pearl Lam Podcast, Thomas Heatherwick and Pearl Lam discuss ‘Humanise’, in which he calls on the design world to rid our cities from an “epidemic of boringness” that’s playing havoc with our physical and mental wellbeing. The solution Heatherwick believes is not to be found in today’s architects, but through a collaborative lens of emotion that includes the wider creative talent that the art world can offer.

During the episode Pearl Lam and Thomas Heatherwick debate, discuss and at times disagree on the role that art has in the places that we all occupy every day and argues that artwork in the public realm is often a cheap compensation for constructing characterless and inhumane buildings.

ABOUT THOMAS HEATHERWICK

Thomas Heatherwick brings together design, architecture and urban planning to create soulful and interesting places that spark emotion and celebrate complexity. Thomas Heatherwick leads Heatherwick Studio, where he collaborates with a team of 200 architects, designers and makers to create buildings, spaces, master plans, objects and infrastructure. The studio focuses on large-scale projects in cities all over the world, prioritising those with the greatest positive social impact and the smallest possible climate shadow.

Learn more about Thomas Heatherwick at https://www.heatherwick.com/

ABOUT PEARL LAM

Pearl Lam is a gallerist, patron and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience and who is at the forefront of reimagining China’s cultural place in the world. Pearl Lam is a leading authority on Asian art, design and the global contemporary art market with a network spanning China, UK and USA.

In 2005, Pearl Lam founded Pearl Lam Galleries and has since been a driving force within Asia’s contemporary art scene, with spaces in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The gallery is globally recognized for its intellectual and cultural ambition which re-evaluates perceptions of cultural practice in China.

Learn more about Pearl Lam at: https://www.pearllam.com/pearl-lam/