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Sep 14, 2025 1 hr 3 min

BUILDING CITIES OF HOPE

from THE GRIMSHAW PODCAST

In the latest Grimshaw Cities podcast, Dr Tim Williams interviews Syrian architect and best-selling author Marwa al Sabouni. Unable to practice her profession in her battle-ravaged city of Homs, as the buildings and the lives around her and across Syria were reduced to rubble, Marwa Al Sabouni turned her fierce intelligence to chronicling how her city and country were undone through decades of architectural mismanagement and mistakes. The result was The Battle for Home in 2016 and Building for Hope:Towards an Architecture of Belonging(2021). We talk about these important books, her architectural advocacy and the values Marwa believes that architecture needs to embody so as to promote greater civic harmony, humanity and yes beauty in a divided and often ugly world. A really important and challenging conversation about why, what and how we build with someone with a unique voice and standpoint not heard enough in the international discussions about the future of our cities: exactly what the Grimshaw cities podcasts were created to do. Joining Tim and Marwa on this occasion is Grimshaw architect and urbanist, Awkar Ruel, with his own special experience and contribution as an Iraqi-born Sydneysider.

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BUILDING CITIES OF HOPE

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This episode is 1 hour and 3 minutes long.

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This episode was published on September 14, 2025.

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