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© 2026 Talk Architecture
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Hosted by Naziaty Mohd Yaacob, Ph.D.
Malaysian Architect | Universal Design & Accessibility Expert (MS 1184 Specialist) | Former Associate Professor (28+ years) | Advocate for Inclusive Spaces & Women in Architecture
Launched in April 2020, Talk Architecture delivers intimate, reflective conversations on architecture education, practice, and human impact—hosted solely by Naziaty Mohd Yaacob. Rooted in Malaysia yet resonating globally, the podcast connects local insights with universal challenges faced by architects worldwide.
Every episode centres inclusivity, empathy, and equity, drawing on Naziaty’s expertise in universal design, ageing-in-place, sensory architecture, and professional well-being. Global listeners value candid critiques of education models, graduate employability hurdles, and practice realities.
Essential listening for architecture students, professionals, educators, and thought leaders everywhere who are shaping inclusive, resilient built environments in an era of technological and demographic change.
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407 Episodes
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![The Power of Patterns: Revisiting Christopher Alexander's Notes on the Synthesis of Form [Part 1]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/o8vfsfgy9schb3ioqgqhgh062zit?.jpg "The Power of Patterns: Revisiting Christopher Alexander's Notes on the Synthesis of Form [Part 1]")
Send us a text In the first episode of the series on design approach and methods, we discuss the Preface of Christopher Alexander’s 1964 seminal work, Notes on the Synthesis of Form, the 1971 paperback. The discussion highlights Alexander’s pivot from a rigid "design method" toward the profound simplicity of the diagram—later known as a pattern. This approach moves beyond the academic "cult of method" and returns the focus to the practical, intuitive act of shaping forms that respond to...
Send us a text Four weeks ago I commented on the idea of collaboration, as if the ability to collaborate is necessary in order to have leadership skills. What are the essential qualities and why is it important that an architect have leadership skills? There are a lot of other skills associated with that - adaptability, understanding context and the fit, steering based on processes which are relevant to the task at hand … A lecturer has to know how to guide, that’s the very least ...
Send us a text A scenario of the architectural design studio project for a community that would have made a better impact in terms learning for the students, when site-context specific rather than a project that objectifies for 'citation', ' data' and 'research agenda'. How this sort of project would "fail in the rankings" and not encouraged in schools of architecture. A closing manifesto is concluded at the end of episode. © 2026 Talk Architecture, Author: Naziaty Mohd Yaacob. Supp...
Send us a text Last 29 December 2025, the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaya in an article says “Let me be clear: rankings are not the goal; they are a means. The goal is, and has always been, to create knowledge and graduates that make the world a better place. If climbing the rankings comes as a result of doing that goal well, then we should welcome it. We must remember that our true rank is measured by the positive difference we make for humanity and the world, and as a compass of good, ...
Send us a text The conclusive episode (Part 3) to underline the bigger picture of problems in architecture education where we need to deal with the following: 1. Architecture design studio curriculum needs to be clear on the "design problem" identification and solving them as complexities in the final year project (Part 1) and design thesis (Part 2). 2. The role of the architect as collaborators and teaching in the school architecture how to collaborate and not just merely follow instructions...
Send us a text Part 2 continues the discussion on the systemic problems where "the burden of education has quietly shifted from academia to practice", by referring to Seshan Design SB Handbook and points discussed in Part 1 of the same topic. Naziaty started by what went wrong in architecture education and how and why we lost our direction. It will span from when I started architecture in 1980 until now. 46 years of reflection plus the on-going discussion on social media especially Face...
Send us a text A frank discussion on a commentary based on Seshan Design's post in a Facebook Group. They highlighted on systemic problems where "the burden of education has quietly shifted from academia to practice", and later gave comments on the problems specifically: the lack of fundamental skills on: 1. Drawing clearly 2. Understanding how buildings put together 3. Accuracy 4. Coordination 5. Accountability I discussed what happens (happened) and why it is a systemic problem in schools o...
Send us a text We explain further in depth on the dialogic studio critique methods to explain how we can transform architecture education. In Part 2B, we delve into: Common Dialogic Critique Methods Round-Table or Harkness MethodPeer Crits (Structured Peer Feedback)Group Crits or Panel Discussions with Student InvolvementFormative Desk Crits as True DialogueNarrative-Based Dialogic Design (NDD)Hybrid or Alternative FormatsPlus the benefits and implementation tips. © 2025 Talk Architecture, Au...
Send us a text Dialogic studio critique methods shift traditional architecture design studios from 'hierarchical, tutor-dominated feedback' (often called "desk crits" or juries) to collaborative, multi-voiced conversations. These approaches, inspired by Donald Schön's "reflection-in-action," Mikhail Bakhtin's polyphony, and Vygotsky's socio-constructivist pedagogy, emphasize mutual dialogue where students actively participate, question, and co-construct knowledge. This fosters deeper comprehe...
Send us a text We frequently speak of students as "products" or "graduates"—metrics to be optimized for Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM) Part I and II exemptions, high QS subject rankings, graduate employability rates, and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). But where is the student's voice? Do aspiring architects truly seek personal and societal transformation through design, or have they, too, been captured by the logic of credentials—chasing accreditation compliance, technical proficien...
Send us a text We dive into the conversation on "reforms in architecture education" to understand further how education affects the profession in a profound way. The principles from Mark Alan Hewitt's 2020 reforms explained in arch daily —emphasizing embodied cognition through hand drawing, physical model-making, haptic engagement, and sensory-rich practices—can absolutely be integrated into both the ARB Competency Outcomes Framework and the RIBA Themes and Values framework. Both are delibera...
Send us a text Another “unfiltered” critic argues that architecture education is the root cause of the profession being undervalued and widely misunderstood. The defense of the profession, we contend, must begin in academia, where the core problem lies in situating architecture schools to comply with—and be dictated by—non-architects who neither understand nor uphold the profession’s essential competencies. This external oversight has diluted the foundational truths of architecture, eroding i...
Send us a text This podcast episode is a one-off reaction piece to the discussion on "What makes a good studio master?" It refers to the Malaysian Architecture Education context and the premise from the problem of bureaucracy. The assertion here argues that formal qualifications (PhD, Part 3 registration, 5+ years industry/teaching experience) proposed by the Malaysian Board of Architects (LAM - Malay Acronym) are irrelevant for design studio masters, who need to have both talents in te...
Send us a text Architecture education and the problems of competent graduates have been discussed elsewhere in Talk Architecture podcast, but this topic shows how much things have changed in architecture education and how it affected the curriculum. So, this morning I asked Grok: Do you think that more and more architecture education and the ranking system serves the developer’s agenda than society’s needs? Grok says: Yes, absolutely — and the trend has been accelerating dramatically over the...
Send us a text The “research-framework” approach to design theses is a myth and must end. Best industry preparation: give the entire studio one real, complex, shared urban site and force students to solve 10–15 genuine, layered design problems from day one. This final episode of a 3-part series explains how using two cases almost a decade apart. 2008–09 (wrong way): 24 students → 24 different (often easy/speculative) sites → pretty drawings, 2–3 shallow problems, bored students, weak graduate...
Send us a text In the second part of this three-part series on the “context specificity” approach, we explain a design thesis studio philosophy that insists on “real site + real community issues only,” with the focus placed on identifying and solving authentic design problems. The studio runs for a full academic year, structured as: 7 weeks of Special Semester (Brief proposal on site analysis and research) 14 weeks of Design Development 14 weeks of Detailed Design + Special ...
Send us a text For a design thesis, context specificity approach is the answer, the only way to get students of architecture to be ready, equipped, going into the architecture industry because that's the way the industry works. There is no place for speculative design, prototypes or fantasy design, as you will not be able to overcome the challenges of the industry. This episode is the first part of the three-part series, focused on identifying design problems rather than speculating with a pr...
Send us a text For Architecture Academics, a special podcast on: Why Research Framework cannot be used in Architectural Design, specifically in the Architecture Studio Design Thesis Curriculum. An introduction to a topic addressing what is currently wrong with the way we teach architecture in universities where research and publication becomes increasingly important and how we have lost our way in producing credible architecture graduates. Refer to the link below on a previous Facebook post (...
Send us a text The seven principles of sensory-driven architecture, which focus on engaging human senses to create meaningful and immersive built environments, are often derived from the broader concepts of sensory design. 1. Sight (Visual Engagement) 2. Sound (Acoustic Harmony) 3. Touch (Tactile Experience) 4. Smell (Olfactory Design) 5. Temperature (Thermal Comfort) 6. Movement (Kinesthetic Awareness) 7. Emotional Resonance (Human-Centered Experience) This episode, Naziaty Mohd ...
![The Use of Sensory-driven Architecture Principles to Achieve Inclusive & Therapeutic Spaces [Part 2]](https://storage.buzzsprout.com/9oaal775ty5mkiluf4svz41aao0v?.jpg "The Use of Sensory-driven Architecture Principles to Achieve Inclusive & Therapeutic Spaces [Part 2]")
Send us a text The concluding part (Part 2) of this proposition of using sensory-driven architecture principles to achieve inclusive and therapeutic spaces as explained by Naziaty Mohd Yaacob, is based on a research to combine architecture, disability and phenomenology. Based on an internet literature search, the 7 principles of Sensory-driven Architecture Principles are: Sight (Visual Engagement)Sound (Acoustic Harmony)Touch (Tactile Experience)Smell (Olfactory Design) Temp...
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