#30 - Tobias Baur: From tropical Singapore to Europe - the "ABC Waters" of sponge cities and climate adaptive design

Tobias Baur, Professor in Landscape Architecture at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST), Rapperswil and former partner at Studio Ramboll-Dreiseitl, sheds some light on Singapore's Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters Program, the country's journey in water management, and how sponge cities have evolved from stormwater to climate adaptation in recent years in Asia and Europe. We discuss the important role that interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral collaboration played in ensuring a successful renaturalisation of an urban stream in the flagship Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park project and the challenges going forward.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and Reflections on Singapore5:04 Early inspiration for water in landscape design9:00 Singapore's early water management leadership12:15 The ABC Waters Programme15:46 The Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park Project27:20 Tobias' other projects around Singapore31:58 Back in Europe and comparisons with the tropics36:14 Sponge Cities in Switzerland40:06 The role of the landscape architect and designer42:34 Q&A Start42:54 What inspires you?44:10 Key event, person, book44:40 If you had a magic wand?46:16 Biggest challenge in career to date48:20 Time management50:00 Advice for young researchers51:05 Where can people reach you?51:36 Final Message52:02 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/