How can we make buildings and spaces work harder by joining the dots?
Listen to Leah and Julian chat to Estates Gazette editor Tim Burke on a podcast episode covering all things system thinking.
How can we get more from the places we shape?
At REGEN in Manchester earlier this month, our COO Julian and director and head of our Leeds studio, Leah, sat down with Estates Gazette editor Tim Burke to explore how system thinking can help us find better outcomes for people, place and planet.
Too often, buildings, streets, infrastructure and green spaces are considered separately. But the greatest opportunities can emerge when we look at how they work together.
A park, for example, can provide space for people to enjoy while managing rainwater and supporting biodiversity. Streets can make walking, wheeling and cycling easier while helping places adapt to a changing climate. By joining the dots, we can make better use of limited space and resources, delivering more benefits through the places and infrastructure we already have.
This means looking beyond the immediate brief to understand the wider context: how a place functions, how people experience it, how it connects to its surroundings and how decisions made today will shape its future.
As the conversation explored, system thinking is common sense - but it requires a willingness to look beyond individual projects and recognise the opportunities that can be missed when we focus on solving one problem at a time.
Listen to the full conversation to hear Leah and Julian discuss how joining the dots can unlock more value from the places we shape.
