Finding answers to the urgent crises of our time requires an honest discussion between different disciplines – arts, science, technology and society. Our podcast acts as a platform where we can invite experts to share their knowledge on how to tackle these issues through aesthetic, sustainable and collaborative solutions. The 2nd and 3rd seasons of the podcast were released during the autumns of 2020 and 2021 respectively. These 12 episodes discuss themes related to sustainable architecture.
‘’Perspectives on Ecological Building’’ is a Finnish podcast produced with the help of Eko-SAFA (a subsection of the Finnish Association of Architects focusing on ecological and sustainable architecture through open lectures and excursions). The podcast team (Laura Lammert, Kristina Färm, Siiri Könönen, Venla Leppänen, Heidi Peura, Julia Rytkönen and Anniina Taivainen) consists of Finnish architects and architecture students who have a strong passion for learning more about sustainable architecture and also spreading those ideas. The themes for the episodes include everything from circular economy to discussing climate anxiety within the building industry to biodiversity in the built environment. However, the main goal is to gain new perspectives, raise awareness and share knowledge not only with other architects and designers but also with a wider audience range.
The podcast was created in 2019 with the first episode being released at the end of August 2019 followed by the rest of the first season. The second and third seasons were released in the autumns of 2020 and 2021 respectively. The fourth season is under production with a release date similar to previous seasons. Each season has a loosely defined larger theme. Overall, the themes have become more concise and the scale has gone from bigger entities like zoning regulations towards more concrete case examples.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
The emissions caused by the building industry must be reduced drastically and quickly. The ecological crisis and biodiversity loss are the biggest issues facing our generation of building experts. The building industry produces up to a third of all emissions in Finland and consumes a large portion of natural resources. Yet building plans and worksites are still suspiciously devoid of all the actions that need to be taken.
Solutions do exist and our podcast explores the different local solutions that are currently available. These solutions are presented to a wide audience in an easily digested package - the podcast format. We dive into practical examples including carbon emission calculations, the possibilities of circular economy, biodiversity incorporation into buildings, renovation and how to incorporate wood and other natural materials into ways of fixing the problems caused by the prevailing building methods. The episodes range from 45 minutes to an hour and a half so that we can truly get into the smaller details of the subject at hand. Some episodes focus on case examples and others introduce concrete ways to make a difference within the listeners range of influence.
It is of the utmost importance that information like this be free and available to all. Keeping the podcast free from sponsors has allowed full creative control to the podcast team and no compromises made during the production of the episodes. We are able to truly ask all the necessary questions, even if they are difficult, and demand answers from people in decision making positions.
The series has received a positive reception from its listeners. It will be featured in an upcoming issue of the biggest building magazine in Finland (Rakennuslehti) and has even been used as learning material at the University of Oulu, Architectural Department. Our team is budding with more ideas that deserve to be heard by the public.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
As architects, we care about creating beautiful and functional environments. It has been wonderful to find and highlight already existing examples, which are both aesthetically pleasing and sustainable. In episode 4, season 3, we discussed biodiversity roofs and how to celebrate nature in the built environment with architect Pia Ilonen and Research Director of the Department of Agricultural Sciences Susanna Lehvävirta. The episode focused on a case study ‘’Greenest of the Green’’, a housing block in Jätkäsaari, Helsinki. This was an example of how changing seasons and nature can provide a new experiential, ecological and social dimension in architecture.
Another example is during episode 4 in season 2 where we had a chance to discuss natural materials, such as rammed earth, with architects Kati Juola-Alanen and Kristiina Kuusiluoma. Materiality is an important part of architectural design and aesthetics of the building. Episode 3 in season 2 focused on wooden buildings in contemporary and urban architecture, which can be considered to be a positive sustainable trend in architecture. The guests Professor of Practice Pekka Heikkinen from Aalto University and architects Selina Anttinen and Teemu Halme from Anttinen Oiva Architects shared their thoughts and expertise of wood with us and introduced two splendidly designed wood building projects: Jätkäsaari Wood City and Katajannokan Laituri. In addition, episode 5 in season 2 raised many questions on how to preserve historical value and the beauty of the existing architecture, while supporting sustainable development. On the other hand, the circular economy introduced many questions of the aesthetics of reclaimed materials.
We think that all the designers and projects we have introduced in all of our episodes have a great sense of style and they have been able to add something beautiful in a sustainable way to our built environment.
Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context
Audience participation is quite easy nowadays due to social media and every time we receive feedback, we can develop our concepts into better suited material for our listeners. As anybody who understands spoken Finnish can listen to the podcast, the information shared is widely available within our nation. It has been important to us to keep the language of the podcast inclusive, so that a listener does not have to be a professional architect to understand the ideas. After all, we believe that people who have access to information also demand better solutions as citizens.
The climate crisis is not just a concrete fact we face to tackle. It also includes feelings and adverse attitudes that building professionals encounter. The way people process their anxieties was a theme for one episode in the second season (Climate anxiety and architects). Can architects still dream of building monuments with whatever material they want or have their dreams been shattered by the humbling knowledge that their decisions make the global issues even worse? In this episode, we asked our audience to describe their feelings and how they try to alleviate the guilt that can often arise. We also interviewed two young architects who decided to make changes in their careers due to the anxiety they faced at their workplaces. This approach of including the listeners was eye opening and fruitful as it gave insight into the minds of architects and planners across age groups and gender.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary
All of the challenges of our time require us to understand the world as an interconnected, complex system. This is the reason why we consider an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to architecture and building industry necessary. We need to be able to discuss and gain new perspectives in order to find innovative solutions to difficult problems. The podcast is a platform where we have invited architects with special expertise, researchers, scientists and engineers from other fields to share their insight with us. Therefore, the podcast as a platform itself is a combination of all the aspects: sustainability, aesthetics, quality of experience and inclusion.
Listeners, who learn something new from the podcast episodes, are able to apply the new information in their own projects or places of influence. The information is available for anyone who understands spoken Finnish and it can be easily listened to and shared among peers. One specific example could be that listeners find new appreciation for existing surroundings through the lens of sustainability. There is beauty to be found within older structures as they contain history and precious resources and they should be appreciated in this light as well as in their aesthetic qualities.
The greatest reward for us is to hear and see other architects discussing and sharing the information they have learnt from the podcast. We have started new discussions after releasing the episodes with friends and colleagues, face to face and online. Those people have also questioned their own assumptions considering sustainability, agency of architecture and the future of the building sector. One of our guests considered the podcast something that can be shared with investors and developers to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable building.
Please also explain the benefits that derived from their involvement.
This podcast has been created by climate aware and concerned civilians who happen to be architects. It is a way to take action when feeling helpless with the looming climate catastrophe. The original creators have invited and involved other like minded people to participate in the creation of each new season. Through the social media campaigns during episode releases, we have asked for the participation of the listeners to guide us towards content that they would also like to hear. The podcast is for anyone to listen to (via Spotify or website) so it is a really open and unbiased platform. We would like to continue to encourage regular and new listeners to get involved however they can in their own circles.
The ‘’Perspectives on Ecological Building’’ podcast series has had a clear impact on the amount of people becoming aware of the challenges that come from building processes other than just energy consumption. Resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, emissions caused by construction and waste management have become familiar terms for our listeners. This means that they are able to think more critically about the impact of their surroundings and can demand quicker change from builders and the public sector.
As the podcast is distributed under the Eko-SAFA name, as a result, Eko-SAFA has gained popularity among the subsections of the Architect’s Association and in a recent vote, they were the most popular party to receive votes. This shows that there is a growing concern for how things are done and the podcast has been key in bringing these problems to the forefront of people’s minds.
We have addressed many global challenges relevant to architectural practice in Finland. These themes vary from biodiversity loss to making the use of recycled building materials efficient. The focus of the episodes is in the local practices and projects, which provide a great framework for learning about real solutions for the particular Finnish climate and culture. The Finnish building sector is heavily regulated and the changing seasons can be challenging for construction on top of the increasingly demanding climate conditions. Therefore, the solutions to tackle global challenges need to be studied through the perspective of regional answers.
The podcast has allowed us to learn more about sustainable architecture and related aspects without actually building anything. We have been able to create a new kind of agency, which has encouraged us to take action. This concept among architecture professionals in Finland is quite novel as it is assumed that all architects build something. This podcast has proved that using out of the box thinking, change can be made.
It is also a platform for bringing different experts together to gain more interdisciplinary knowledge on a particular subject and in the best case scenario, create new and innovative ideas for the field. The goal is to inform and inspire our audience by giving them the tools to make changes, thus forming a snowball effect.
Please provide clear documentation, communication of methodology and principles in this context.
We would like to see architects and designers in other countries to share their knowledge with similar media. Although it is important to provide information with a national language, as we have done with this podcast, the project could be even more accessible by using English or even writing summaries in English. This could help to build an international community of architects and designers sharing ideas using this format.
A lot of time could be saved if tested solutions were readily available and this could be a helpful place to gather the information. For example, if one country has created a working way of circulating building materials like a material bank database, the means by which it was made would be extremely helpful for recreating the same thing in other countries. Keeping the materials as local as possible is certainly an important aspect of sustainability and emission reduction. But information can be spread with very low effort and would make an impact on creating uniform standards across borders.
The Finnish name for the podcast is “Ekologisen rakentamisen näkökulmia” and can be listened to on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6Ldi12MehHDp1PpldbEIer?si=ef9061f551884f4a) or the SAFA website.
As we go into our fourth season, certain routines have become the normal way to do things. During the spring, we gather a small group of individuals who are interested in developing an episode concept. Once the script is more or less set, we contact the experts we would like to interview. So far, none have turned us down. We send them the interview questions and set up a date to record at a podcast studio (https://www.podcastory.fi/). After the recording session, the episode is edited and a brief summary is written about it for marketing purposes. Then we create the graphics to go along with each episode. Finally, the episodes are released, usually two per week (Monday and Thursday).
@LauraLammert, 2020
Content licensed to the European Union.