DESERT ISLAND BUILDINGS



A podcast about the architecture of our lives.

This podcast is based on the seminal BBC Radio 4 Show, Desert Island Discs, which was first launched in 1942. In that show, influential figures ranging from actors, musicians, writers, athletes, and the occasional architect, are asked to select 8 songs that form the “soundtrack of their lives”.

Instead, we have adapted this format to ask our guests to share “the architecture of their lives” by selecting five buildings that are most relevant to their work, have altered their design approach, or that have left them baffled, inspired, angry, or lost for words. 

The discussion aims to reveal how our guest’s background education, culture, and upbringing have shaped their identity and their approach to architecture. 

What are the key moments that have impacted their architectural vision, what keeps them motivated, and what concerns them most today?





Desert Island Buildings is hosted by Joshua Bolchover and Kent Mundle.

Episode Archive:

01
02
03

Andrés Jaque
Go Hasegawa
Hua Li



Desert Island Buildings is a
District Development Unit project.

03   Hua Li



Founder and principal architect of 
Trace Architecture Office (TAO)


Episode will be released on December 01, 2025