COP Conversations: What We Build

In Marwa Al-Sabouni's Building for Hope she speaks about the generational differences in perspectives between herself and her daughter. Reflecting on the potential for finding revolutionary solutions by having an intergenerational approach, we curated these Change our Planet (COP) conversations between writers and thinkers of different generations. From the natural world to the built environment, the COP Conversations encourage us to craft the future of our planet hand-in-hand, with open minds.

Given nationalist tendencies to point to flags and buildings as symbols of 'pure' identity, Diana Darke's Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe, has ruffled feathers in a few quarters. However, her argument, that architecture has a history of cross fertilisation, is compelling and might offer ways to heal the alienation that migrants feel as they cross borders, as well as open doors for a new generation, born wherever their forebears found solace, to feel connected to the lands of their birth. 

Diana is joined in conversation by architect and academic Shahed Saleem, to discuss how architecture affects the way we live and how we find our place within the world.