The Urbanist (Monocle) – Episode Summary

Date: November 20, 2025
Episode Theme:
This episode explores South Korea’s evolving relationship with public art through a compelling new installation, examines sustainable design in the UAE via Dubai Design Week’s award-winning courtyard project, and hears from RIBA’s new president Chris Williamson on his aspirations for architecture and international design recognition.

1. South Korea’s Relationship with Public Art

Segment starts: 00:11

Guest: Jin Joon Lee

• Media artist and professor at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)
• Focuses on spatial transition, liminality, and the interplay of nature, technology, and the human body in public art

Key Discussion Points

• Artistic Philosophy

  • Lee’s lab is inspired by spaces like the MIT Media Lab, combining art, science, and engineering.
  • Emphasizes the value of “those moments when a familiar place suddenly feels different—where nature, technology, and the human body overlap.” (01:52)

• “Sine Awakening Balloon” in Seongnam

  • Installation for the Seongnam Media Festival, September 2025 (02:51)
  • Transformed 200 meters of forest into an open-air theater using 16 ultra-high-res projectors, lasers, orchestra, and a 1,000-member community choir
  • Technology allowed the forest to physically respond—colors of trees shifting, the landscape breathing alongside the choir
  • Blends world film music (reflecting on war and renewal) and new AI-composed work, inviting themes of fragility, loss, and healing.

“Many visitors said they felt as if they had stepped into a dream… the space where the forest, the sound, the people were breathing together.” — Jin Joon Lee (04:53)

• Community Response & Emotional Impact

  • Audiences described feeling part of the artwork:
    • Waving phone lights in the dark, singing along
    • “They felt proud because they weren’t just watching something, they were part of the artwork itself, co-creating the space with their own voices.” — Jin Joon Lee (05:22)
  • Frequent feedback: never before experienced public art that was “this alive, this communal, and this emotional” (06:07)

• State of Public Art in South Korea

  • Cities are improving, but the approach is shifting from viewing public art as static “objects” to communal, immersive experiences (06:36)
  • There’s a growing move toward participatory and transformative forms, driven by new technologies and evolving mindsets

• Why Public Art Matters

  • “It gives a city something that buildings and infrastructures alone cannot provide: a shared emotional life.” (08:07)
  • Contributes to healing, reflection, and sense of belonging in urban environments
  • Art should invite quiet, personal transformation, not dictate change: “My goal is not to transform city directly, but to create environments where transformation becomes possible quietly, personally, and organically.” — Jin Joon Lee (09:49, echoed from 00:17)

2. Dubai Design Week – “When Does a Threshold Become a Courtyard?”

Segment starts: 11:48

Report from: Insamin Rashid

Interviewees: Abdullah Abbas and Amal Darwish (Some Kind of Practice)

Key Discussion Points

• Winning Installation Overview
  • Situated in the Dubai Design District
  • Title: “When Does a Threshold Become a Courtyard?” by Some Kind of Practice (11:48)
  • Uses concrete blocks, plywood, and arish palm fronds
  • Designed to evoke the traditional Emirati majlis—an inviting, flexible, multifunctional gathering space

“We wanted to look at what makes a courtyard a courtyard: historically, programmatically, functionally, but also materially.” — Amal Darwish (12:26)

• Spatial Experience and Cultural Roots

  • Entry mimics traditional “liwan” (shaded passage); opens into a sunlit “courtyard”
  • Flexible for lectures, communal dining, or simply sitting—a place shaped by and for community (13:20)

• Materials, Research & Sustainability

  • Months of fieldwork across UAE: study of materials in historic, abandoned homes
  • All materials locally sourced and designed for reuse/disassembly
  • Deep engagement with Emirati craftsmanship, such as arish panels from Ajman, installed by local craftspeople (14:29)

“It’s a design that builds with what’s present, not imposed, a principle the studio hopes to see revived in contemporary Emirati architecture.” — Insamin Rashid (15:58)

• Evolving Building Practices
  • Shift from open, boundless traditional layouts to secluded, walled-in villas
  • Advocating for renewed attention to communal spaces and adaptive architecture (16:08)

“Nowadays we have four walls surrounding our villas, and then you have a villa at the center of it, which could be interpreted as a courtyard. … But architecturally, the way we construct our houses has completely changed.” — Abdullah Abbas (16:21)

• Material Honesty & Design for Disassembly

  • Emphasis on sustainability: wood and arish will be repurposed post-exhibition
  • Temporary structures should be “really lightweight, very cheap, not that difficult to assemble...as easily let down as put up.” (17:55)

• Philosophy of Place

  • Courtyard installation argues “for slowness, for shade, for sitting still,” echoing how meaning in life and design often exists “in the spaces between.” (18:55)

3. Chris Williamson, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Segment starts: 19:19

Interviewee: Chris Williamson

Key Discussion Points

• Stepping into the Role
  • Acknowledges the “weight of history”—RIBA’s 200-year legacy vs. running his own 40-year-old practice (19:51)
  • Sees opportunity for more influence in political and public life, positioning architects as specialists, not just generalists

“We need to be more influential in political circles...The government doesn’t always see us as having great specialisms. They often see us just as generalists.” — Chris Williamson (20:30)

• Ambitions for Tenure

  • Focused on improving “quality in the built environment” (particularly in Britain’s pledge for 1.5 million new homes)
  • Advocates involving small and medium enterprises—not just large housebuilders—for housing targets and standards (22:37)
  • Emphasizes “quality, beauty and texture” in large-scale development

• RIBA’s Expanding Global Reach

  • RIBA Asia Pacific and Middle East awards: raise design standards and recognize excellence worldwide
  • RIBA’s rigorous judging: “All the shortlisted entries are visited; it’s a very thorough process. ...You often don’t get to see the building [in other awards].” (24:19)

• International Innovation & Learning

  • Highlights cross-cultural exchange:
    • Middle East (e.g., Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Al-Mujahdilah Centre for women, Dubai’s World Food Waste Teahouse using tea waste as material) (25:27)
    • Asia Pacific (Shenzhen Energy Ring, BRAC University in Bangladesh with low-energy, cross-ventilation on a reclaimed site) (27:26)
  • British architects both export design excellence and learn from emerging innovations abroad

“You learn lots of things from working in different places and there’s lots of innovation and new technologies.” — Chris Williamson (25:27)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Jin Joon Lee (on purpose of public art):
  “Cities are made of concrete, data and efficiency, but they are also made of people, their memories, their fears, their hopes, their sense of belongings. … Public art creates moments where strangers pull together, feel something together, and recognize that they are part of the same place.” (08:07)

• Amal Darwish (on traditional Emirati architecture):
  “The function of a courtyard was always multifunctional. … So it’s a very flexible space…like a majlis awaiting coffee and conversation.” (13:20–17:12)

• Chris Williamson (on RIBA’s award philosophy):
  “It’s important to go and see the building, speak to the client, speak to the architects and look around it. That’s how architecture should be judged.” (24:19)

Key Timestamps

| Segment/Topic | Start Time | |------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------:| | Introduction & Episode Preview | 00:11 | | Interview – Jin Joon Lee (South Korean public art) | 01:48 | | Seongnam “Sine Awakening Balloon” Project Details | 02:51 | | Audience Response to Installation | 04:48 | | Korean Public Art Context & Future | 06:13 | | Public Art’s Importance for Cities | 07:45 | | Lee’s Approach to Art & Liminality | 09:21 | | Dubai Design Week Report – Courtyard Installation | 11:48 | | “Some Kind of Practice” on Intent, Design, and Craft | 12:26 | | On Traditional Courtyard Function and Field Research | 13:20 | | Sustainability & Local Craft | 14:29 | | Critique of Modern Emirati Housing Practices | 16:08 | | Design for Disassembly & Temporary Structures | 17:55 | | Chris Williamson, RIBA President – Interview Begins | 19:19 | | On Role and Ambition, UK Homes Challenge | 20:30 | | Global Awards and International Practice | 24:19 | | Middle East/Asia Pacific Innovations Highlighted | 25:27 |

Conclusion

This episode foregrounds the power of public art and architecture to foster connection, reflection, and innovation in cities—from the participatory, almost mystical installation in a South Korean forest, to the resourceful, tradition-rooted courtyard constructed in Dubai, to the international reach and influence of British architectural standards. Through personal testimony, field research, and institutional ambition, The Urbanist charts how design shapes the emotional and communal life of urban spaces worldwide.