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The Aesthetic City: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Ruben Hanssen
How come our modern cities have become so hostile to humans, so ugly, car-oriented and grey? What is the solution to these problems - how can we return to a more human, beautiful and liveable city? In this podcast, host Ruben Hanssen interviews experts in the fields of architecture, urban planning and urban design to find out how we can improve our cities, our architecture and our streets, in order to create more friendly and beautiful places. The clock is ticking; valuable land is wasted on dreary developments while many beautiful, picturesque urban environments are at risk of being jarred forever by ugly buildings that don't belong there. There are better ways to build; let's explore how!
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- Jun 13, 20261h 3m
#61 - Alexander Rotmensz: Seeking Truth & Beauty in Architecture & Urban Design
Alexander Rotmensz is an urbanist YouTuber with over 40,000 subscribers and millions of views, known for advocating classical architecture and traditional urban design while documenting the devastating legacy of mid-20th century urban renewal on American cities. He launched his channel about three years ago while studying at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and holds a bachelor's degree in Film & Media. He is now pursuing law school, with plans to move beyond the camera and into direct action, whether as a lawyer or real estate developer, in the fight to restore beauty to American cities. Follow Alexander's channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@alexanderrotmensz======JOIN OUR ACADEMY: https://theaestheticcity.com/academy/Join our Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/
- May 29, 202653 min
#60 - Branko Mitrovic: The Classical Architecture Education Renaissance in Trondheim
In today's episode, professor Branko Mitrovic tells us about the battle to teach classical architecture at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. Here, one student prompted Branko to start teaching Classical architecture, which started a movement in the university, a study association. Might this be the beginning of a return of the Classical curriculum at architecture schools? Branko Mitrović is a professor of architectural history and theory at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. He has been involved in the classical movement since the late 1980s. Professor Mitrović has PhDs both in Architecture and Philosophy and has been a recipient of research fellowships from the Harvard University, Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Humboldt Foundation, the National Gallery (Washington DC) and the Clark Art Institute. He is the author of eleven books and has received the Humboldt Research Award for his work in architectural history.--======JOIN OUR ACADEMY: https://theaestheticcity.com/academy/Join the #1 email list about making better places:https://the-aesthetic-city.kit.com/signup======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/Work with Ruben:https://aestheticcity.consulting Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/
- Feb 18, 20261h 10m
#59 - Michael Diamant, part III: Why Tradition Is Progressive
Michael Diamant is the founder and a leading voice of the global "New Traditional Architecture" movement. His background is in urban sociology, but he sparked the "Architecture Uprising": an international campaign to replace monotonous modernist buildings with beautiful, human-centered, and sustainable design. He has successfully shifted architectural discourse in his native Sweden and is a frequent speaker at leading institutions like the University of Notre Dame and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and his work has been featured in mainstream media like Bloomberg CityLab and Swedish magazine Kvartal, where he has been called "the Swedish John Ruskin." Visit his website https://newtrad.org Follow him on X: https://x.com/michael_diamantFollow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeldiamantFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.diamant.10 ======JOIN OUR COURSE: https://plld.io/go/podcastJoin the #1 email list about making better places:https://the-aesthetic-city.kit.com/signup======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/Work with Ruben:https://aestheticcity.consulting Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/
- Feb 6, 202635 min
#58 - Timothy Smith, Smith & Taylor Architects - The Revival of Classical Architecture Education in Britain
Timothy Smith is an accomplished architect, a partner at Smith and Taylor Architects, and a leading voice in contemporary classical design based in London.He's a tutor at one of Europe's only classical master's programs at Kingston School of Art and a visiting scholar at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. He holds degrees from Edinburgh College of Arts and London Metropolitan University, and is recognized for his work, which seamlessly bridges the gap between historical precedent and modern living.He has worked extensively in the field of traditional urbanism and craftsmanship, and is especially interested in examining elements of tectonic logic and classical proportions. Exploring how these timeless principles can be adapted to solve the architectural challenges of the 21st century.Visit the website of Smith and Taylor Architects: https://www.smithandtaylorllp.com More information about the mArch Unit 6 program:https://www.kingston.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/architecture-arb/riba-part-2-marchhttps://registerarchitecturelandscape.uk/masters-studios/kingston-unit-6-j8nhl======JOIN OUR COURSE: https://plld.io/go/podcastJoin the #1 email list about making better places:https://the-aesthetic-city.kit.com/signup======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/Work with Ruben:https://aestheticcity.consulting Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/
- Jan 30, 20261h 12m
#57 - Will McCollum, Citymakers Collective: Creating Urbanism Education Alternatives in the USA
Will McCollum is a designer who worked alongside celebrated urbanist Lew Oliver for 10 years to create meaningful and beautiful communities across the United States. He currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he has opened his own firm. He also serves as the president of Citymakers Collective and as a board member of the Congress for the New Urbanism in New England. I've had the pleasure to visit the summer studio organized by Citymakers Collective in Charleston last summer, which was a huge success. Applications for 2026 summer school are open until early march, visit the website of Citymakers Collective for more information and to apply: https://citymakerscollective.org Connect with Will: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-mccollum-6965a066/ Follow Citymakers Collective on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citymakerscollective/?hl=en ====JOIN OUR COURSE: https://www.aestheticcity.academy/products/courses/aesthetic-city-academyJoin the #1 email list about making better places:https://the-aesthetic-city.kit.com/signup======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/
- Dec 30, 20251h 1m
#56 - Ann Sussman: Why It's Time for Human-Centric & 'Biological' Architecture & Urban Design
Ann Sussman is an architect, author and researcher interested in how buildings influence our behavior. She's president of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute, and also known from the books Cognitive Architecture and Urban Experience + Design. She recently co-authored the Handbook of Neuroscience and the Built Environment, which recently launched.In this interview, Ruben and Ann talk about a variety of topics regarding the brain, the importance of beauty, the experience of our built environment through our senses and the need for a different kind of design that takes human perception into account.====JOIN OUR COURSE: https://www.aestheticcity.academy/products/courses/aesthetic-city-academyJoin the #1 email list about making better places:https://the-aesthetic-city.kit.com/signup======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/
- Dec 4, 202549 min
#55 - Alexandros Lavdas: Why Our Brains (& Bodies) Need Beautiful Cities
Alexandros Lavdas is a is neuroscientist, a tenured Senior Researcher at Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy and head of Psychology at Webster University, Athens Campus, Greece. He is also member of the board of directors of the Human Architecture and Planning Institute. He holds a PhD from University College London (UCL) and has worked at UCL and the Hellenic Pasteur Institute in Athens. He has worked extensively in nervous system development and regeneration, and is especially interested in examining elements of visual organized complexity, such as those found in nature and pre-modern architecture, and exploring their physiological and neural correlates.======== JOIN OUR COURSE: https://www.aestheticcity.academy/products/courses/aesthetic-city-academyJoin the #1 email list about making better places:https://the-aesthetic-city.kit.com/signup======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/
- Nov 2, 20251h 11m
#54 - Jon Jon Wesolowski, The Happy Urbanist: Making Happy Cities
Jon Jon is an avid urbanist, national speaker, and content creator passionate about decoding what makes spaces great. His TikTok channels have amassed over 8.6 million likes and 406k followers. His website: https://www.thehappyurbanist.cityFollow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonjon.jpeg ======== JOIN OUR COURSE: https://www.aestheticcity.academy/products/courses/aesthetic-city-academy Join the #1 email list about making better places:https://the-aesthetic-city.kit.com/signup ======For more information on The Aesthetic City, find our website on https://theaestheticcity.com/ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@the_aesthetic_city Follow us on X: https://x.com/_Aesthetic_City Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aesthetic.city/ Substack: https://theaestheticcity.substack.com/
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About The Aesthetic City
How come our modern cities have become so hostile to humans, so ugly, car-oriented and grey? What is the solution to these problems - how can we return to a more human, beautiful and liveable city? In this podcast, host Ruben Hanssen interviews experts in the fields of architecture, urban planning and urban design to find out how we can improve our cities, our architecture and our streets, in order to create more friendly and beautiful places. The clock is ticking; valuable land is wasted on dreary developments while many beautiful, picturesque urban environments are at risk of being jarred forever by ugly buildings that don't belong there. There are better ways to build; let's explore how!
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