Volcano describes itself as a 'creative place-making agency'. In this episode of Let's Talk Architecture, host Michael Booth meets Kristian Riis, Volcano's co-founder to find out exactly what that means.
Volcano is not an architectural studio, although they do have architects working for them. Instead, the Copenhagen-based consultancy's work, which takes them from Los Angeles to Bhutan, Mongolia to London, begins with listening to what people want from the places where they live and work. Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it? But what are the structural barriers to persuading developers, municipalities, investors and architects to spend time listening before they start digging foundations? And how has Kristian's background as a guitarist with the much-loved Danish band Nephew, and his subsequent work running events, festivals, concerts and a theatre, informed his role at Volcano?