Thomas Heatherwick, designer, on thinking of cities as gardens to grow people; on reimagining the classic London bus; and why lovable cities are more sustainable ones
In this episode of your city or mine?, Julio meets Thomas Heatherwick, the visionary founder of Heatherwick Studio and the design pioneer behind recent landmark projects including New York’s Little Island and London’s Coal Drops Yard. Heatherwick also redesigned the classic Routemaster red bus in London. Heatherwick’s passion is ‘how to make the world around us better’, meaning his designs are more than designs: they’re plans to improve the lives of everyone who uses them. Heatherwick also discusses designing an electric car that cleans the air and working on the 2012 Olympics – and avoiding designing an Olympic cauldron destined to collect pigeon droppings for decades. In Heatherwick’s world, the future is lovable and sustainable.