{"id":720,"date":"2023-02-27T13:41:45","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T13:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petermbach.com\/?page_id=720"},"modified":"2023-10-28T11:34:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T11:34:18","slug":"006-arya-arabshahi","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/petermbach.com\/index.php\/podcast\/006-arya-arabshahi\/","title":{"rendered":"TGC Podcast Episode 006"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Grand Challengers Podcast Episode #6<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Citymaking in times of crisis, from yoghurt shops to plans of resistance <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Guest: Arya Arabshahi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

March 14th, 2023<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201c…the most successful planning exercises are the ones who resist planning…\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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In the face of an unpredictable future, we are all called upon each and every day to think of out-of-the box ways to tackle challenges to our environment, wellbeing or what kinds of yoghurt to bring with you on your next journey to space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My guest today is Arya Arabshahi, an architect and territorial strategist at 51N4E, an architecture and urban strategy studio based in Belgium. Through his diverse portfolio of projects across Europe and Asia, Arya has been challenging conventional notions of territorial planning in search of more adaptive solutions for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today on the show, we unpack the idea of citymaking with an appreciation for cultural connections and continuity as well as the persistence and care of nature in harsh urban environments. We also consider how a master plan may be better characterized as a palette of choices and where education in this rapidly evolving discipline should be heading.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Biography<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arya Arabshahi is a designer, planner and experienced leader at the intersection of strategic design, geospatial analysis and territorial governance. Arya has lived and worked in Iran, Belgium, Albania, UK, and Luxembourg, and developed and delivered city strategy and urban development projects for city governments in Brussels, Genk, Luxembourg City, Tehran, Lyon and London, as well as for Schiphol airport and Befimmo. Pooling together his expertise in scenario building, strategic design, storytelling, negotiation and communication, he develops narratives that are adopted as common ground in polarised socio-spatial conditions such as in Luxembourg in Transition, Ruderal Acts, and C-Mine’s Masterplan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is currently the program lead of Territories in Transition at 51N4E, where he is overseeing projects that push the boundaries of conventional spatial planning in light of the climate crisis. The domains of his work span across the fields of decarbonisation, stress-tolerant landscapes, planning,  innovation management, CSR and, meanwhile, use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously Arya has worked at Arup Foresight, where he co-authored two publications on the future of workplaces and disruptive technologies, as well as co-facilitating workshops for business leaders and engineers across the building industry worldwide. In 2020, together with Love Di Marco, he created Ruderal Acts, an investigation into the ruderal species that could flourish without human care in cities, as part of a residency in Bozar Brussels and the Goethe Institute. In 2018 he co-founded Critical Practice, a platform dedicated to finding common ground among radical pedagogies and visionary practices in architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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