Carlotta Rebelo (3:44)

Now, we know that some of the reasons that have contributed to this nursing shortage is also the constraints of the facilities themselves. So can you talk a bit about that and actually how nursing education as a whole, what are some of the constraints it has faced too, in general?

Karen Parzick (4:01)

At universities in the U.S. a lot of general enrollment is on the decline, but we are not seeing that in nursing and the health professions. We're actually seeing a lot of populations popularity for these programs. And universities are really stepping up. They're enlisting architects to build new facilities for existing programs and even help to start up new schools of nursing and colleges of nursing within their universities to help grow the number of students that are going into nursing. And so in this year alone, over 50 nursing programs in the US are either opening for the first time or expanding their enrollment. And one of the biggest constraints that a lot of facilities face is their technology and simulation environments. So simulation centers are common in schools of nursing. They are mock healthcare environments where students are able to learn and practice in a safe environment. And back in 2014, there was a study completed and many state nursing boards moved towards allowing nursing programs to provide students their clinical training hours in a simulation setting. So not all of them, but many states, it's 25 to 50% of your clinical hours can be accommodated in SIM, while the rest are accommodated in the healthcare setting with clinical and healthcare partners. And so what this means is that programs that had invested in simulation environments and technology prior to that change were able to increase their enrollment. You can have more students, they can get some of their training in sim, while the rest of the training happens in the healthcare setting. And programs that have robust simulation centers really needed to invest in those facilities in order to be competitive and to keep growing their enrollment. And so incorporating those high quality, simulation technology rich spaces allows for more efficiency in how nursing students train so that they can become qualified to enter the workforce and be equipped to enter whatever role within nursing they want to. So the University of Minnesota helped in the design of a 30,000 square foot simcenter that serves not only nursing students, but also medical students and even clinicians and healthcare providers from local hospitals go there for training. So they become a really integrated and integral part of the training, not only of students, but of current care providers.

Carlotta Rebelo (6:32)

Well, and it's really interesting because that really highlights this idea that designers can come in and help create these state of the art campuses and, you know, ramp up enrollment and help close that gap. Let's focus on this project then in Providence College. Maybe start by describing the project and then we can talk a bit about the design and some of the considerations made there.

Karen Parzick (6:54)

We just completed the new School of Nursing and Health Science facility at Providence College. It's an incredibly popular program for them. They're only in their second year now of enrollment, and they are planning for a class size of around 150 students across nursing and health sciences. But last year they received more than 1,600 high schoolers applying for those spots. So you can see that the demand is there. That premise of if you build it, will they come? Absolutely. They're coming in large numbers, and there's a few reasons for that. From the facility design perspective, this environment that we've designed and created is state of the art. It has all of the latest in technology, a large simulation, virtual anatomy. There's research spaces associated with their student athletics, with biomechanics and movement analysis and those kinds of things. Exciting programs that students want to be a part of. But some other things we incorporated into the design that I think has made the facility successful is it's on the residential side of campus. And in addition to classrooms and learning environments, it also includes student life amenities that serve the whole campus. A dining hall, a chapel for services and reflection, large classroom environments for general education courses. So from day one, this building not only serves the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, but also is an asset to the campus community as a whole, which has been really successful for them and has made for a great place to be, a great building that students.

Carlotta Rebelo (8:31)

Want to be in when approaching projects like this. What, from a design point of view, do you think are some of the considerations that designers need to think about? Because it was interesting to hear you now describe, you know, the importance of blending some of these elements, the importance of considering life in this building beyond the work that is done there. I'm curious, from your own perspective, what are some of the things that designers tackling similar projects should bear in mind?

Karen Parzick (8:58)

I think the concept of well being and designing space for well being is Especially important for training of healthcare providers, whether it's a nursing student or a medical student. And from a perspective of design, a great building makes everyone who experiences it feel cared for. There are certainly spaces you've been that you liked being and other places where you think, get me out of here. I don't. It's too loud. It's too. The light isn't good. The proportion of the space feels off. It's too crowded. What we do in design is make buildings where learners feel cared for, where they have what they need to feel equipped to care for others. And that natural light is important. Acoustics are important, the right proportions to make a space feel comfortable or welcoming or restorative. A mix of larger spaces and smaller spaces where students can carve out a spot to study and get things done. It's restorative to be in a space that feels good to be in, and that's what we want to do. I think another thing that we do, especially when it comes to multiple health science programs, is we include stakeholders across multiple disciplines. If you have nursing and physical therapy and occupational therapy and speech students and faculty, we can design spaces that support multiple programs as long as we include all of those voices during the design phase. So they feel that the spaces we're designing are to fit them as well.

Carlotta Rebelo (10:28)

Do you believe in the power of design and architecture to help with this nursing shortage, to help ultimately to lead to more qualified professionals?

Karen Parzick (10:39)

I do. I think this space is important to recruitment of students and also faculty. I know when I was deciding what college to go to, I did a lot of campus tours. And when you're in a space that feels like the institution cares about and is investing in the program that you're entering, it goes a long way to some enthusiasm towards that program. It also helps when clinical partners feel like they can make use of those spaces, too. So I own a university, it's in New York, has a partnership with New York Presbyterian, a hospital system, and the nursing facility simulation environments that we designed there. One of the reasons we did that again was so the clinical partnership piece could make use of those training spaces as well. And so it goes a long way to create spaces that are nice spaces to be for recruitment of students, recruitment of faculty, involvement with clinical partnerships, it all just makes a difference. And I know I'm an architect, I'm a designer, so I'm a little bit biased there, but I think when you make a space that's nice to be, people want to be there. We have a healthcare practice as well, and Our healthcare architects are doing the same thing on their side with the patient environments, where you've got nurses and doctors and pharmacists and patient populations and creating healthcare settings that are better places to be, that have some of those same components of natural light and good acoustics and nice materials and good detailing and lighting that make a difference in the human experience of the space.

Andrew Tuck (12:16)

Karen Parzik there higher education market leader at SLAM Next up Today we head to Helsinki to learn about the city's annual herring market, which has just wrapped up last week. Monocle's Petri Butsoff takes us on a tour of the city's harbour and recounts the history and the importance of one of Helsinki's oldest and most popular traditions.

Petri Butsoff (12:43)

Each autumn, Helsinki's historic market square becomes the stage for studying Silakkumarkinat, the Baltic herring Market, a tradition that dates back to 1743, making it one of Finland's oldest continuous public traditions. Originally, the one week event was tied to the autumn fairs held in late September and the so called Mikkelimpa market. Over time, that fair moved into October. Around 1820, the Herring Market found its anchorage in the South Harbour atelasatama at what is now the market square. And though over the centuries other fairs have faded, the city made a decision in 1891 to retain only the salty fish market, the Silacco market, as the locals call it, as the enduring autumn gathering. So when you walk into the market today, you are stepping into over 270 years of traditions. For many Helsinki residents, the market is not merely a moment to buy dinner. It is a meeting place, a ritual and a time when the city's identity affirms itself. By the opening Sunday, the market square is already humming. Boats from across the Finnish archipelago, often dozens of them in all shapes, shapes and sizes, tie to the quaysides, their crews unloading salted herring in smoked and pickled varieties, bottles of marinades flavored with rowan berries and red pepper, and curiosities of seasonal sea bounty. At stalls under striped topolins, vendors display sweet dark malt bread baked in archipelago style, hand woven woolen garments made from island sheep, jars of mustard and condiments, jars of pickling brine and baskets brimming with crisp autumn apples. You'll hear the crack of sea breeze against masts, the clang of a ship's bell that signals the opening, friendly shouts of Tuare Silakka, Ostaka, fresh herring coming by, and the occasional accordion too. And so the market becomes a living portrait of Helsinki, a city with Distinct maritime routes, routes which for centuries has been a key gateway to the archipelago and is tied to the Baltic Sea in both memory and commerce. The herring market tells you that this is a city that does not forget its geography, even as it grows modern. Inside that daily bustle, the visitors can sense a kind of democratic meeting ground, with pensioners leaning on walking sticks, school children sampling sugar, spiced herring on rye, tourists guided by maps and young couples ordering mustard and pickled bits to sample. Citizens pause between tram rides to wander the fish stalls, greet a vendor they've seen for decades, and to support small fishing families by buying directly. In those shared instances, the market is a place of civic belonging. Even the act of choosing a herring becomes a connection. You'll see. Someone lifts a jar of dill marinated silakka, tastes a spoonful asked about the brine recipe. Another will carry away a jar of mustard spiced with allspice or onion, along with a loaf of malt bread baked with island grain. Some will buy apples from a nearby orchard, their skins warm from the autumn sun. The market is not just nostalgia. It supports the livelihoods of fishers whose numbers have declined in recent years. The organizers stressed sustainability, that Baltic herring is a local, relatively low impact choice, and that purchasing directly from the fishermen helps maintain a fragile tradition. At peak years, nearly 100,000 people visit the market, which in a city of just half a million inhabitants, is a staggering number. During the hairy market week, the streets around Kalpatori fill with folk music, children's programs, demonstrations of fish filleting and even a herring jewelry that picks the best products in categories like pickled fish of the year and herring Surprise. The visuals are striking too, with rows of hawker tents fluttering, nets drying on wooden racks, fishing boats upright in the harbour, and with smoke curling from the small food stalls against the blue autumn sky. Those rich colors of amber, russet, forest green and deep marine blue stand out. In some years, traditional wooden sailing ships drop anchor alongside with their masts framing the skyline. Old traditions like this do what new architecture and grand plazas cannot. They map time onto place. They allow a citizen of Helsinki in 2025 to feel connected to someone walking the same square 200 years ago. They give give the city a depth and a past that registers beneath the hum of everyday life.

Andrew Tuck (17:30)

Petri Buttsov there, reporting from Helsinki, and my thanks to him. With a rapidly urbanizing global population and an increased demand for doing more with less, finding alternatives to carbon rich food growing methods is an immediate challenge for our cities. So how can we envision A future system for growing fresh produce which may not come from far off fields, but from within the urban centres themselves. Andy Jones recently visited Norway to see how companies there are proving that urban robot farming can mean that no grape or leaf is left behind.

Andy Jones (18:14)

I'm in Oslo at the lettuce lab of the future. Forget muddy fields and backbreaking labor. Avesomo Robotics and Coupe supermarkets plan to grow thousands of tons of greens which from seed to shelf, don't ever see a human hand or even any soil. The process means less waste and pesticide free lettuce which stays fresh for eight times longer than the standard. Here's Avisoma's Martin Molnar and his green fingered machines.

Martin Molnar (18:49)

Here we have the robot arm. He can do three tasks. First task, it brings trace with lettuce into harvesting. It can bring up new seeded trace into racks and it can shuffle levels from germination racks into growth racks.

Andy Jones (19:04)

And that's all decided by the robot. You don't need to necessarily have any human input to describe to the robot what state of growth each lettuce is in.

Martin Molnar (19:12)

No, exactly. Everything is connected to our software that runs the whole farm. So our digital twin always knows where everything is and what stage it is in and also what to provide to that plant. So for example, when the plants are very small, they don't need that much light. So any of these stations can get a rack that are newly seeded, then that station will know, oh, this is newly seeded seeds, so I'll have a very low light intensity. And that's how we can tailor the farm to use as little resources as possible. Because all of this is individually controlled.

Andy Jones (19:42)

Obviously we're having to wear very specific specialist protective equipment in here. Can you explain a little bit about.

Martin Molnar (19:48)

Why that is so in this room we don't take any air from the outside in. Totally sealed this room, so there's no insects coming in. The only way to get into this room for insects or for pathogens or other contaminations is through us humans. So we need to wear a lot of protective wear to not bring problems into our farm. Basically that we need to handle afterwards.

Andy Jones (20:08)

And obviously the soil you're using, it's not really soil, is it?

Martin Molnar (20:11)

Right now it's bio based waste from corn production and that's basically only for the plants to hold on to, for the roots to entangle around and then it absorbs some water that holds some nutrients for the plants. So it's only there to make the plants robust and that it can hold on to something because of that you.

Andy Jones (20:28)

Haven'T got to wash the lace either. You've got a completely clean sterilized product at every part of the production stage.

Martin Molnar (20:34)

That's correct. So all the produce that comes out of here that we've grown so far, we do tests of every single batch today. These are 50 times cleaner than washed produce from elsewhere in the value chain.

Andy Jones (20:46)

So your product from start to finish is 50% cleaner than product that's actually been washed, that's been grown in a field?

Martin Molnar (20:52)

Yes, that's correct. Even if you wash it, you can never get off. Everything in these type of environments where we can grow it fully sterile, we can ensure that nothing really attaches to it and it stays clean.

Andy Jones (21:03)

Other urban farms in Europe are now visiting this lettuce lab to take notes. Paulo Sardella from Nordic Harvests in central Copenhagen says this robot lab method allows you to have farms right next to the consumer, often in former offices, industrial outlets or even old pubs. But there are limits to what produce you can grow with this method.

Petri Butsoff (21:28)

We grow leafy greens in general and herbs, crisp salad, arugula, romaine, basil, mint, simian. You can either retrofit older buildings or existing buildings already in town, leaving the fields outside the city up for other type of crops, reducing the pollution of transportation itself. So the potential of having close to the consumers will provide food security and.

Anders Gunderson (21:55)

Longer shelf life as well as quality.

Andy Jones (21:58)

The one problem we can't necessarily grow berries is because when you're growing greens, you just take the greens, whereas the berries you need to leave the tree behind.

Petri Butsoff (22:06)

Yeah, I mean, the difference between having leafy greens, herbs or this type of.

Anders Gunderson (22:11)

Plants is definitely the fact that in.

Petri Butsoff (22:13)

One case you eat the full plant. We just know that at the day X we just take it all harvest.

Anders Gunderson (22:19)

Pack and it's ready.

Petri Butsoff (22:20)

When it comes to plants or fruits, as tomatoes, for example, it's not that they get ready to be eaten all at the same time. So it's a constant checking.

Anders Gunderson (22:29)

It's a constant go back and pick.

Petri Butsoff (22:31)

What is ready to be harvest.

Anders Gunderson (22:33)

Right.

Andy Jones (22:33)

But Oslo's robots again have the answer to this soft fruit problem.

Martin Molnar (22:38)

This is the startup sound. It's actually a little song from the university where we started this, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, that is Lars.

Andy Jones (22:49)

Grimstad of Saga Robotics and his cheerful robot Thorvald. A U shaped bot that envelopes strawberry plants and vines, firing UV rays at them 24 hours a day. This prevents the need for pesticides or endless human labour.

Martin Molnar (23:08)

So it drives around on its four little wheels up and down the field Treats kind of one row at a time. And while it's driving, it shines this little light on the plant as an alternative to chemicals. We have about 150 robots in operation this year, and since March they've driven about 200,000 kilometers, which is about five times around the globe. So they get to drive quite a lot. This year we did about 20% of all UK grown strawberries.

Andy Jones (23:33)

And you're now manipulating Thorvald to be able to do more than just mildew. This isn't just a mildew robot. He's now doing all sorts of stuff, isn't he?

Martin Molnar (23:40)

Definitely. So we of course want our robot to be kind of the Swiss army knife for farming. So our design philosophy is that a robot is modular, so it's basically Lego. For field robots, we have a few different modules that we designed that we can combine in different ways to make robots a different property. But this system allows us to very quickly kind of adapt to new environments. But this year we also have a data product. So basically we have cameras kind of surrounding the plants and kind of capturing all of the plants. And then we have clever AI algorithms figuring out where all the fruit are and count all the flowers and fruits at different levels of ripeness. And then we can provide these basically detections to our customers who then can put that into their models for estimating yield.

Andy Jones (24:24)

And that's where other Oslo farming technology, which predicts each fruit's weight, volume, sweetness and exact harvest date while still on the vine, ensures your crop is the best of the bunch.

Anders Gunderson (24:38)

My name is Anders Gunderson. I'm the founder and CEO of SenseOnCommonic. We've carved out a nice little niche market. For us, it's things that grow on trees or on vines. We work with a world leading grower in Peru. This is a grower of about 2,000 hectares. They produce billions of grapes far in advance of the actual harvest. You can tell roughly what the size of the bunch will be, what the size of the berries will be, and what the sweetness of each individual berry on the vine will be. What that means is that you really have a recipe for where to send it in the world. The payment for a great looking bunch of grapes is about four or five times as much in Japan as it is in Scandinavia. And we know before it happens that it will qualify for this. And that's a super strength for the growers that are on the Senseonomic platform. Labor in agriculture is getting increasingly hard to get hold of and you have to reserve large numbers of people. It can be up to 7,8000 people involved in harvesting. So predicting exactly when you need to get started, when the intensity is at its highest, gives you the ability to buy in those often third party harvest expertise that can come into the fields and actually do their work at the right time. So let's say you normally would produce 20% more than you sell. We can reduce that down to 10% more and that is pure profit.

Andy Jones (26:07)

You may have noticed that Oslo is not a place typically associated with growing world class wine and strawberries. And so why is it a hub for this agro robotics movement? Here's Siv Anderson, head of Oslo Business Region and organizer of Oslo Innovation Week which starts on Monday.

Carlotta Rebelo (26:27)

It's like three factors. I think the first reason is the research institutions that are here. I think they play a very important role and MBU is one of them. Here in the Oslo region, a little bit further north you find ntnu which is also a big research institution. I think another reason is the climate, just the natural climate. In Norway we have four seasons and they can vary very much. We saw there was a big storm this weekend. We have strong winters, warm summers and I think the climate creates those great testing facilities as well. Another one is the huge emphasis on system sustainability. Impact is really much a driver in the entrepreneurial ecosystem as well.

Andrew Tuck (27:15)

My thanks there to Andy Jones for that report. And that's all for this week's episode of the Urbanist. You can follow us for new editions of the show every week. And you can subscribe to Monocle magazine for reports on all things design, architecture and urbanism too. Just visit monacle.com the Urbanist is produced by Carlo and by David Stevens who also edits the show. I'm Andrew Tuck. Goodbye and thank you for listening. City lovers. I put Real Estate is Dublin's leading property investment company. For almost six decades they've owned and developed the best workplaces in Ireland. Setting standards and attracting global capital to the Irish market. As a gateway to Europe, Dublin is a global centre for investment. I put leads the market by delivering innovative design led workplaces and public spaces that enhance the occupier experience and neighbourhood life. Their ambition to set new benchmarks in workplace quality, attract leading businesses to Dublin, all while delivering strong sustainable returns for their investors. Find out how they're building this Future. Head to IPUT.com now I put creator of Exceptional Places, Custodian of the city.