logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
4m 32s

Eureka 433: Checkmate and the city

MONOCLE
About this episode

Ian Flood shares how a late-night chess game with his then-flatmate and fellow architect Chris Prosser sparked the idea to design sets inspired by city skylines, with pieces shaped like famous landmarks. He discusses how they founded Skyline Chess and grew it into a thriving business, now featuring 12 cities and a growing portfolio of custom sets for developers, architects and corporate clients.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
France special: Best in sunny reads, surf and skincare
We head to the southwest coast of France to meet two surfers-turned entrepreneurs. Plus: Fernando Augusto Pacheco shares his top beach read and we get summer skincare tips from world-renowned aesthetician Sophie Carbonari.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
28m 45s
Jul 4
Eureka: how the private sector is helping rebuild LA after the January 2025 wildfires
Monocle’s Gregory Scruggs reports from Los Angeles, where wildfires devastated communities earlier this year. He meets the brothers behind Crest Real Estate, a property firm taking a thoughtful approach to help the city recover.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
11m 7s
Jul 3
Pullman Voices: Amelia Christie-Miller
Former chef Amelia Christie-Miller has long been obsessed with brands that have the power to shape consumer behaviour. In 2021 she created Bold Bean Co to change the perception of beans, encouraging people to see them as more than a mere pantry ingredient. In this conversation wi ... Show More
22m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Christian Parreno, "Boredom, Architecture, and Spatial Experience" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Boredom is a ubiquitous feature of modern life. Endured by everyone, it is both cause and effect of modernity, and of situations, spaces and surroundings. As such, this book argues, boredom shares an intimate relationship with architecture-one that has been seldom explored in arc ... Show More
35m 6s
Feb 2025
From Ground Zero to Luxury Resorts: Designing Spaces That Transform Lives
Kevin Kennon is an internationally renowned architect with over 40 years of experience, specializing in environmentally sustainable and innovative design. As the founder and CEO of Beyond Zero DDC Inc., Kevin leads the development of zero-carbon emission luxury eco-resorts in rem ... Show More
37m 28s
Jun 9
Episode 252: The Brave New World of Data-Driven Design with HDR's Computational Design Director, Jeremy Graham
In this episode, we are going to delve into the world of Data-Driven Design or D3 as it's known.And to help us traverse this brave new world of design, we’re talking with, Jeremy Graham from HDR. With over a decade of experience, HDR's Computational Design Director, Jeremy Graham ... Show More
32m 4s
Sep 2021
Susanna Phillips Newbury, "The Speculative City: Art, Real Estate, and the Making of Global Los Angeles" (U Minnesota Press, 2021)
Underlying every great city is a rich and vibrant culture that shapes the texture of life within. In The Speculative City: Art, Real Estate, and the Making of Global Los Angeles (U Minnesota Press, 2021), Susanna Phillips Newbury teases out how art and Los Angeles shaped one anot ... Show More
40m 6s
Jan 2024
Susanna Phillips Newbury, "The Speculative City: Art, Real Estate, and the Making of Global Los Angeles" (U Minnesota Press, 2021)
Underlying every great city is a rich and vibrant culture that shapes the texture of life within. In The Speculative City: Art, Real Estate, and the Making of Global Los Angeles (U Minnesota Press, 2021), Susanna Phillips Newbury teases out how art and Los Angeles shaped one anot ... Show More
38m 6s
May 7
Carlo Ratti
Carlo Ratti is is an Italian architect, engineer and educator, and the curator of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale. As the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale opens its doors, we speak with this year’s curator, Carlo Ratti—architect, engineer, and a leading thinker at the inte ... Show More
28m 56s
May 2019
Bjarke Ingels to Cities: Take a Longer View
Bjarke Ingels communicates the value—and world-changing potential—of architecture with the giddy enthusiasm and excitement of a sci-fi obsessive anticipating the next big Hollywood blockbuster. This is an analogy that especially makes sense when one gets deep into conversation wi ... Show More
1 h
Dec 2024
Episode 231: Nuanu Creative City - a mirage in the jungle or a vision of the future?
Nuanu Creative City is a city spanning 44 hectares set on a lush tropical site in Bali, Indonesia.Designed as an integrated ecosystem, the city features dedicated spaces for education, art & culture, wellness, experience, and nature-inspired living, envisioning a future where the ... Show More
33m 20s
Oct 2024
Episode 226: The growth and growth of Studio.SC and balancing aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability in diverse projects
Studio.SC or Scott Carver as it was known then was established in Sydney in 1983 by Stuart Scott and Malcolm Carver using innovative and entrepreneurial spirit across commercial and experiential projects, including several Sydney CBD towers, hotels and 16 venues for the Sydney 20 ... Show More
45m 56s
Feb 2024
Thomas Heatherwick Talks Future of Buildings
Building designer Thomas Heatherwick is best known for his work on landmarks such as New York's Vessel and Little Island, and designing the cauldron for the Olympic flame at the 2012 games in London. The founder and design director at Heatherwick Studio tells Bloomberg's Stephen ... Show More
20m 5s