'Emotion is a function': Thomas Heatherwick on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme

A group of residents from Bristol’s Dove Street estate were the guest editors on an August 2023 edition of the Today programme. Called the ‘Friendly Neighbours’, they want to start a conversation about how we can build towns and cities which put people first.

They invited Thomas Heatherwick to share his ideas on the role design can play.

The Friendly Neighbours have been reimagining their own 1960s modernist block to better foster a sense of community. In an area where fly tipping was a problem, they’ve added vegetable planters that residents care for. In an empty grey courtyard, they’ve introduced picnic tables. And in the eaves of the building, they’ve added basketball hoops, creating a space for play. They believe that everyone can play their part in making their everyday environment feel more human.

On the Today programme, Pol, one of the residents, said: “I think we take our feelings with us wherever we go. [Imagine when] you open your front door, and somebody smiles at you. Your building helps you have relationships. It’s about neighbourhood and how you can relate to one another and how the overall setting helps you feel you belong. Everything builds from there.”