Architecture’s Dream Builders

My interest in architecture goes back to the very first time, as a teenager, I walked into a building I'd never been in before.

I noticed how different I felt in the space. It was a theatre and what happened there, under an elaborate dome and the proscenium arch of the stage, changed how I understood the feelings buildings can provoke in the human heart.

Razia Iqbal

I noticed how different I felt in the space

Years later, and after many conversations with architects have added to the sum of my knowledge, that fundamental thought has not altered: buildings can change how you exist in the world; they impact on your life and your happiness.

Dream Builders is a series of programmes made in collaboration with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The idea behind the programme is to take those simple notions directly to some of the world's most successful architectural practitioners.

Interviewing these leaders in the field provides the opportunity to explore their ideas, theories and experiences.

The interviews take place at the headquarters of RIBA in Portland Place, central London, in front of an audience of 500 people.

Many of those in the audience are students of architecture. Some come to hear their heroes or heckle those with whom they have issues.

Lloyds Building, London, interior | Architect, Richard Rogers | © Getty Images

We wanted to talk to the architects who were stars in their world

How we made our choices was simple: we wanted to talk to the architects who were among the most successful, who might or might not have a discernable style, but were stars in their world. There is no apology for this. Architecture on the radio is a hard sell. We first of all wanted to bring the audience into RIBA, and then we wanted to hook the listener for the event's second life as a radio programme.

We chose Renzo Piano, whose Shard in London - utterly altering the skyline - was about to be completed. He talked at length about that, his early career with Richard Rogers, the ingenues who won the competition to build the Pompidou centre in Paris, and his subsequent buildings around the world.

They are still great friends, and Rogers was in the front row for the event. I went on to interview Lord Rogers himself. Renzo Piano was as much a philosopher and dreamer as he was an architect.

Our other choices for the first series were: Santiago Calatrava, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid.

Calatrava was funny and serious by turns, quoting from German and French writers as much as talking about artists. He signed a large coffee table book for me with a drawing. Daniel Libeskind was moving about his childhood and how memory informs his philosophy and is a fine story-teller.

I have followed Zaha Hadid's career from her early days and am always interested in her work, if a little nervous of her! She never pulls her punches. Lord Norman Foster seemed to enjoy reminiscing about the old days, and now in his seventies, still delighted by a new discovery or a different way of looking at the world.

Our second series included someone who was not a trained architect - more a renaissance man who charmed and inspired the audience: the designer Thomas Heatherwick.

Francine Houben talked about being Dutch, building in Birmingham and being a woman in a man's world.

David Adjaye was spellbinding about his connection to Africa and told fascinating stories about making buildings from west Africa to Washington.

Moshe Safdie looked back fondly on being 25 when he made his first building, and was equally obliging when taking challenging questions about building in Israel.

The questions from the audiences have always been the surprise element in these programmes.

Examples include 'what advice would you give to a young architect?' Answer: 'Go to bed with a brick under your pillow!'. Other questions and answers have ranged from conventional to controversial.

That has been a big part of the joy of DreamBuilders because what architects think, and how and what they build, makes a big impact on how we live and how we feel.

And, while they often divide opinion, they create environments we collectively share. Challenging the dreams they build has been a privilege for me and if you haven't already heard the programmes I hope it will be a fun listening experience for you.