Podcast appearances and mentions of Moshe Safdie

Since launching the podcast ten years ago in 2015, hosts George Smart and Tom Guild have had fascinating conversations with over 700 guests, including architects, owners, media, critics, authors, actors, and jazz performers.  USModernist Radio is one of America's top-rated architecture and jazz podcasts, ranked in the past as #1 by Atomic Ranch and #2 by Dwell.  The 400th episode features interviews with actress and Modernist preservationist Kelly Lynch and architecture critic Kate Wagner; the return of comedian Frank King; and special musical guest, Heather Rigdon. It will also include highlights from past episodes, including interviews with Bjarke Ingels; the last living Frank Lloyd Wright client, Roland Reisley; Moshe Safdie, Eric Lloyd Wright, Suzanne Somers, Youtube star Stewart Hicks, Hugh Kaptur; author Chris Rawlins; Daniel Libeskind; Harriet Pattison on Lou Kahn; Harry Bates; Myron Goldfinger; Raleigh's Brian Shawcroft and Lewis Clarke; Mary Schindler; and Modernism opponents David Brussat, Professor J. S. Curl, and classical scholar Catesby Leigh.

“It's quite clear to me that he was trying to recreate the hillside of Haifa with the gardens... It comes from somebody being ripped out from their home.” Syrian Jewish Playwright Oren Safdie, son of world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who designed Habitat 67 along with much of modern Jerusalem, knows loss, regret, and longing. Oren and his father explore their Syrian heritage and their connection to the Jewish state that has developed since Moshe's father left Aleppo, Syria and moved, in the mid-20th century, to what is modern-day Israel. Oren also knows that being Jewish is about stepping up. Describing his frustrations with modern anti-Israel sentiments and protests that harken back to 1943, Oren is passionately combating anti-Israel propaganda in theater and academia.  Abraham Marcus, Associate Professor Emeritus at University of Texas at Austin, joins the conversation with historical insights into Jewish life in Syria dating back to Roman times. —- Show notes: Sign up to receive podcast updates here. Learn more about the series here. Song credits:  Al Fadimem, Bir Demet Yasemen, Fidayda; all by Turku, Nomads of the Silk Road Aleppo Bakkashah  Pond5:  “Desert Caravans”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Tiemur Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Oud Nation”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI); Composer: Haygaz Yossoulkanian (BMI), IPI#1001905418 “Arabic (Middle Eastern Music)”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Andrei Skliarov, Item ID #152407112 “Fields Of Elysium”; Publisher: Mysterylab Music; Composer: Mott Jordan; ID#79549862 “Middle Eastern Dawn”: Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID #202256497 “Ney Flute Melody 01”: Publisher: Ramazan Yuksel; Composer: Ramazan Yuksel; P.R.O. Track: BMI 00712367557 “Uruk”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI); Composer: Marcus Bressler; Item ID: 45886699 “Suspense Middle East” Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID: 196056047 ___ Episode Transcript: OREN SAFDIE:  I've sort of wanted to shine a light on North American Jews being hypercritical of Israel. Because I've spent a lot of time in Israel. And I know what it is. It's not a simple thing. And I think it's very easy for Americans in the comfort of their little brownstones in Brooklyn, and houses in Cambridge to criticize, but these people that live in Israel are really standing the line for them. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-20th century. Welcome to the second season of The Forgotten Exodus, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. This series explores that pivotal moment in history and the little-known Jewish heritage of Iran and Arab nations. As Jews around the world confront violent antisemitism and Israelis face daily attacks by terrorists on multiple fronts, our second season explores how Jews have lived throughout the region for generations despite hardship, hostility, and hatred, then sought safety and new possibilities in their ancestral homeland. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Join us as we explore untold family histories and personal stories of courage, perseverance, and resilience from this transformative and tumultuous period of history for the Jewish people and the Middle East.  The world has ignored these voices. We will not.  This is The Forgotten Exodus. Today's episode: leaving Aleppo. MANYA: Playwright and screenwriter Oren Safdie has had just about enough of the anti-Israel sentiments on stage and screen. And what irks him the most is when it comes from Jewish artists and celebrities who have never spent time in the Middle East's one and only democracy. Remember film director Jonathan Glazer's speech at the 2024 Academy Awards? JONATHAN GLAZER: Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the … [APPLAUSE] MANYA: Yeah, Oren didn't much appreciate his own Jewishness being hijacked in that moment. Drawing a moral equivalence between the Nazi regime and Israel never really sits well with him. OREN: I do feel like they're very selective in their criticism of Israel. You know, it's very easy to say, ‘Oh, well, they didn't do that. They don't do this.' But it's a complicated situation. And to simplify it, is just to me beyond, especially if you're not somebody who has spent a lot of time in Israel. MANYA: Oren Safdie has penned more than two dozen scripts for stages and screens around the world. His latest film, Lunch Hour, starring Alan Cumming, is filming in Minnesota.  Meanwhile, The Man Who Saved the Internet with A Sunflower, another script he co-wrote, is on the festival circuit. And his latest play Survival of the Unfit, made its North American debut in the Berkshires this summer, is headed to Broadway. And by the way, since an early age, Oren Safdie has spent quite a bit of time in Israel. His father Moshe Safdie is the legendary architect behind much of modern Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion International Airport, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum.  Oren's grandfather, Leon, emigrated from Syria. OREN: I'm sort of a synthesis of the two main parts that established Israel because my mother came from Poland, escaped the Holocaust. And my father's family came from Syria. So, I'm a half breed.  I've never been asked about my Sephardic side, even though that was really the dominant side that I grew up with. Because my mother's family was quite small. I grew up in Montreal, it was much more in the Syrian tradition for holidays, food, everything like that. My grandfather was from Aleppo, Syria, and my grandmother was from Manchester, England, but originally from Aleppo. Her family came to Manchester, but two generations before, had been from Aleppo. So, they're both Halabi Jews.  MANYA: Halabi refers to a diverse group of Jews from Aleppo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world that has gone by several names. The oldest? Haleb.  Halabi Jews include Mizrahi Jews -- the name for Jews who call the Middle East or North Africa home; and Sephardi Jews, who fled to the region after being expelled from Spain in the 15th Century.  Jews are believed to have been in what is now Syria since the time of King David and certainly since early Roman times. ABRAHAM MARCUS: It's a community that starts, as far as we can record, in the Greco-Roman period. And we see the arrival of Islam. So the Jews were really the indigenous people when Arabs arrived. MANYA: Abraham Marcus, born to parents from Aleppo, is an internationally renowned authority on the city. He served as director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. For the past 16 years, he has been working on a book about the history of Aleppo's Jews that goes well beyond what has been previously published. As part of his research, he examined thousands of documents from the Syrian national archive and the Ottoman archive in Istanbul. He also did extensive fieldwork on the ground in Aleppo, documenting the synagogues, cemeteries, residential districts, and workplaces.  MARCUS: One of the synagogues, the famous ancient synagogue of Aleppo, which dates to the 5th Century, meaning it predates the arrival of Arabs. It is a remarkable structure. Unfortunately, what is left of it now is really a skeleton. MANYA: Abraham is referring to the Great Synagogue or Central Synagogue of Aleppo, which functioned as the main house of worship for the Syrian Jewish community for more than 1,600 years. For 600 of those years, its catacombs safeguarded a medieval manuscript believed to be the oldest, most complete, most accurate text of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Aleppo Codex. The codex was used by Maimonides as a reference for his magnum opus, the Mishneh Torah, or Jewish religious legal code. In the 7th Century, Aleppo was conquered by Arab Muslims and a Great Mosque was built. For the next four centuries, the Byzantine Empire, Crusaders, and various Muslim rulers fought to gain control of Aleppo and the surrounding region. A savage Mongol invasion, a bout of the Black Death and another invasion took its toll on the city, and its Jews.  For most of this time, Muslim rulers treated them as dhimmis, or second-class citizens.  MARCUS: There were restrictions on dress, which were renewed time and again. They could not carry arms. They could not ride horses. MANYA: After half of Spain's Jews converted to Christianity following the pogroms of 1391, the Catholic monarchs issued the Alhambra Decree of 1492 – an edict that expelled any remaining Jews from the Iberian Peninsula to ensure their descendants didn't revert back to Judaism.  As Jews fled, many made their way to parts of the Ottoman Empire. In 1516, Aleppo became part of that empire and emerged as a strategic trading post at the end of the Silk Road, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq. As was the case in other parts of the Ottoman Empire, Jews lived relatively comfortably, serving as merchants and tax collectors.  MARCUS: The policy of the Ottoman Empire was to essentially welcome the Sephardic Jews. The Sultan at the time is reputed to have said, ‘I don't understand the King of Spain. But if he's thinking at all, giving up all this human capital, essentially, we can take it.'  Many of the successful Jews in Aleppo and Damascus–in business, as leaders, as rabbis–were Sephardic Jews. They revived these communities, they brought new blood and new energy to them, a new wealth. MANYA: This was not always the case throughout Ottoman Syria as persecution and pogroms erupted at times.  By the mid-19th Century, Aleppo's Jewish population was slightly smaller than that of Baghdad, by about 2,000. In 1869, the opening of the Suez Canal shifted trade away from the route through Syria. Aleppo lost much of its commercial edge, motivating many Jews to seek opportunity elsewhere. MARCUS: The story of Aleppo is one of a society gradually hemorrhaging, losing people. They went to Beirut, which was a rising star. And Egypt became very attractive. So they went to Alexandria and Cairo. And many of the rabbis from the 1880s began to move to Jerusalem where there were yeshivot that were being set up. And in effect, over the next several decades, essentially the spiritual center of Aleppo's Jews was Jerusalem and no longer Aleppo.  MANYA: Another turning point for Aleppo came in World War I when the Ottoman Empire abandoned its neutral position and sided with the Central Powers–including Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary and Germany.  Many wealthy Jews had acquired foreign nationalities from countries that were not allies. Now considered enemy citizens, they were deported and never came back. In addition, Jews and Christians up to that point could pay a special tax to avoid serving in the army. That privilege ended in 1909. MARCUS: Because of the Balkan Wars, there was a sense that the empire is going to collapse if they don't essentially raise a large force to defend it. And there was a kind of flight that really decimated the community by 1918, when the war ended. MANYA: Besides those two wartime exceptions, Abraham says the departure of Jews from Syria was almost always motivated by the promise of better opportunities. In fact, opportunity might have been what drew the Safdie family to and from Aleppo. MANYA: Originally from Safed, as their name suggests, the Safdie family arrived in Aleppo sometime during the 16th or 17th centuries. By that time, the Jewish community in Safed, one of the Four Holy Cities in Judaism located in modern-day Israel, had transformed it into a lucrative textile center. So lucrative that the sultan of the ruling Ottoman Empire ordered the forced deportation of 1,000 Jewish families to Cyprus to boost that island's economy.  It's not clear if those deportations or the decline that followed pushed the Safdie family north to Aleppo. Most of them stayed for roughly three centuries–through World War One and France's brief rule during the Interwar period. But in 1936, amid the Great Depression, which affected Syria as well, Leon Safdie, the ninth of ten children born to textile merchants, moved to Haifa and set up his own trading business. Importing textiles, woolens, and cottons from England and fabrics from Japan and India.  A year later, he met his wife Rachel who had sailed from Manchester to visit her sister in Jerusalem. She spoke English and a little French. He spoke Arabic and French. They married a month later. OREN: My grandfather lived in Haifa, he was a merchant like many Syrian Jews were. He imported textiles. He freely went between the different countries, you know, there weren't really so many borders. A lot of his people he worked with were Arab, Druze, Christian, Muslim. Before independence, even though there was obviously some tension, being somebody who is a Syrian Jew, who spoke Arabic, who spoke French, he was sort of just one of the region. MANYA: Moshe Safdie was born in 1938. He says the onset of the Second World War created his earliest memories – hosting Australian soldiers in their home for Shabbat and making nightly trips into air raid shelters. Every summer, the family vacationed in the mountain resorts of Lebanon to visit aunts and uncles that had moved from Aleppo to Beirut. Their last visit to Lebanon in the summer of 1947 culminated with all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins piling into three Chrysler limousines and caravanning from Beirut to Aleppo to visit their grandmother and matriarch, Symbol. MOSHE: I remember sort of the fabric of the city. I have vague memories of the Citadel of Aleppo, because it was an imposing structure. I remember her – a very fragile woman, just vaguely. MANYA: While most of Moshe's memories of Aleppo are vague, one memory in particular is quite vivid. At that time, the United Nations General Assembly was debating the partition plan that would divide what was then the British Mandate of Palestine between Jews and Arabs. Tensions ran high throughout the region. When Moshe's uncles noticed Moshe wearing his school uniform on the streets of Aleppo, they panicked.  MOSHE: They were terrified. We were walking in the street, and we had khaki shirts and khaki pants. And it had stitched on it, as required in our school, the school badge, and it said, ‘Thou shalt be humble' in Hebrew. And they saw that, or at least they noticed we had that, and they said: ‘No, this is very dangerous!' and they ripped it off.' MANYA: It would be the first and last time Moshe Safdie visited Aleppo. On the 29th of November, the UN voted on a resolution to divide Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. The news arrived in Aleppo the following morning. MARCUS: This was New York time, in the evening, when the decision was made. So already, people started planning demonstrations for the next day, in support of the Palestinians. And that next day began with what was a peaceful demonstration of students, and then all kinds of people joined in and before long it became an attack on Jewish property. The synagogues were set ablaze. Many Jewish homes were burned, businesses were looted. And so the day ended with the Jews really in a state of fright.  MANYA: The mob looted the Jewish quarter and burned the Great Synagogue, scattering and desecrating the pages of the Aleppo Codex. The caretaker of the synagogue and his son later returned to the ashes to salvage as much as they could. But most of the community's leadership took a train to Beirut and never looked back.  Of course, as previously mentioned, Aleppo had already witnessed a steep decline in its Jewish population. The numbers vary widely, depending on the source, but by 1947, on the eve of the Jewish exodus from Syria, Iraq, and other Arab countries, Aleppo had anywhere between 6,000 and 15,000 Jews, whereas Baghdad had between 75 and 90,000. MARCUS: More than half the population left within a month. The community after that, in the next two, three weeks, was in a situation in which some people decided that was the end.  They took possessions that they could, got on buses and left for Beirut. That was the safe destination to go to. And there was traffic between the two areas.  Some people decided to stay. I mean, they had business, they had interest, they had property that they didn't want to leave. You can imagine the kind of dilemmas face people suddenly, the world has changed, and what do I do? Which part of the fork do I go?  MANYA: Those who left effectively forfeited their property to the Syrian government. To this day, the only way to reclaim that property and be allowed to sell it is to return and become Syrian citizens. Those who stayed were trapped. Decimated and demoralized, Aleppo's Jews came under severe travel restrictions, unable to travel more than four kilometers from their homes without permission from the government, which tracked their comings and goings. MARCUS: The view was that if they leave, they'll end up in what's called the Zionist entity and provide the soldiers and aid to the enemy. So the idea was to keep them in.  So there's a reality there of a community that is now stuck in place. Unable to emigrate. That remained in place until 1970, when things began to relax. It was made possible for you to leave temporarily for a visit. But you have to leave a very large sum as a deposit. The other option was essentially to hire some smugglers to take you to the Turkish or the Lebanese border, and basically deliver you to another country where Jews had already networked. The Mossad had people who helped basically transfer them to Israel. But that was very risky. If you were caught, it's prison time and torture.  Over the next 45 years, many of the young left gradually, and many of them left without the parents even knowing. They will say ‘I'm going to the cinema and I'll come back'. MANYA: On May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence. But the socialist politics of the new Jewish state did not sit well with Leon Safdie who much preferred private enterprise. He also felt singled out, as did many Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in Israel at the time.  OREN: In some ways, it almost created some tension for him on several fronts, right? First of all, between him and his clients, who he had been doing business with in the Arab world, for many years. All of a sudden, those relationships are called into question. And as my grandfather was an importer of textiles, it was considered a luxury good. And when you're in wartime, there were rations.  The high tariffs really killed my grandfather's business. So, he wanted to stay in Israel. He helped with the war effort. He really loved the country and he knew the people, but really for three years, he sat idle and just did not have work. He was a man that really needed to work, had a lot of pride. MANYA: In 1953, Leon and Rachel sought opportunity once again – this time in Montreal – a move Moshe Safdie would forever resent. When in 1959 he married Oren's mother Nina, an Israeli expat who was trying to return to Israel herself, they both resolved to return to the Jewish state. Life and phenomenal success intervened. While studying architecture at McGill University, Moshe designed a modern urban apartment building [Habitat 67] that incorporated garden terraces and multiple stories. It was built and unveiled during the 1967 World's Fair in Montreal, and Moshe's career took off.  OREN: It's quite clear to me that he was trying to recreate the hillside of Haifa with the gardens. And it's something that has sort of preoccupied him for his whole career. It comes from somebody being ripped out from their home. Those kinds of things I think stay with you. MANYA: Eventually, in 1970, Moshe opened a branch of his architecture firm in Jerusalem and established a second home there. Oren recalls visiting every summer – often with his grandfather Leon.   OREN: And I remember going with him when he'd come to Israel when I was there, because we used to go pretty much every summer. He would love to go down to Jericho. And we'd sit at the restaurants. I mean, there was a period of time, you know, when it was sort of accepted that Jews could travel to the West Bank, to Ramallah and everything. And he loved to just speak with the merchants and everything, he loved that. He felt so at home in that setting. It was not dangerous, as it is today, obviously. I think everyone back then thought it was a temporary situation. And obviously, the longer it goes, and the more things happen, it feels more permanent. And of course, that's where we are today. But that time, in my head, sort of just is a confirmation that Jews and Arabs have a lot more in common and can get along … if the situation was different. MANYA: As the son of an Israeli citizen, Oren is considered an Israeli citizen too. But he concedes that he is not fully Israeli. That requires more sacrifice. In 1982, at the age of 17, he signed up for Chetz V'Keshet, at that time a 10-week program run in conjunction with the Israel Defense Forces for American and Canadian teens and designed to foster a connection to Israel. The program took place during the First Lebanon War, Israel's operation to remove terrorists from southern Lebanon, where they had been launching attacks against Israeli civilians. OREN: So this was a mix of basic training, where we trained with artillery and things and did a lot of war games. And from there, you know, their hope was that you would join the military for three years. And I did not continue.  I guess there's a part of me that regrets that. Even though I'm an Israeli citizen, I can't say I'm Israeli in the way that Israelis are. If the older me would look back, then I would say, ‘If you really want to be connected to Israel, the military is really the only way. I'd say at that young age, I didn't understand that the larger picture of what being Jewish, what being Israeli is, and it's about stepping up. MANYA: Now in his early 50s, Oren tries to step up by confronting the anti-Israel propaganda that's become commonplace in both of his professional worlds: theater and academia. In addition to writing his own scripts and screenplays, he has taught college level playwriting and screenwriting. He knows all too often students fall prey to misinformation and consider anything they see on social media or hear from their friends as an authoritative source.  A few years ago, Oren assigned his students the task of writing a script based on real-life experience and research. One of the students drafted a script about bloodthirsty Israelis killing Palestinian children. When Oren asked why he chose that topic and where he got his facts, the student cited his roommate.  Oren didn't discourage him from pitching the script to his classmates, but warned him to come prepared to defend it with facts. The student turned in a script on an entirely different topic. OREN: You know, there were a lot of plays that came up in the past 10 years that were anti-Israel. You'd be very hard-pressed to find me one that's positive about Israel. No one's doing them. MANYA: Two of his scripts have come close. In 2017, he staged a play at the St. James Theatre in Old Montreal titled Mr. Goldberg Goes to Tel Aviv– a farce about a gay Jewish author who arrives in Tel Aviv to deliver a blistering attack on the Israeli government to the country's left-leaning literati.  But before he even leaves his hotel room, he is kidnapped by a terrorist. Investors lined up to bring it to the silver screen and Alan Cumming signed on to play Mr. Goldberg. But in May 2021, Hamas terrorists launched rockets at Israeli civilians, igniting an 11-day war. The conflict led to a major spike in antisemitism globally.  OREN: The money people panicked and said, ‘We can't put up a comedy about the Middle East within this environment. Somebody is going to protest and shut us down,' and they cut out. MANYA: Two years later, an Israeli investor expressed interest in giving the movie a second chance. Then on October 7 [2023], Hamas launched a surprise attack on 20 Israeli communities -- the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, thousands of rockets have been fired on Israel, and more than 100 hostages are still in captivity. OREN: Mr. Goldberg Goes to Tel Aviv collapsed after October 7th. I don't think anybody would have the appetite for a comedy about a Hamas assassin taking a left-wing Jew hostage in a hotel room. MANYA: Another play titled “Boycott This” was inspired by Oren's visit to a coffee shop in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2011. The walls of the cafe were plastered with posters urging boycotts of Israel and accusing it of blood libel. Oren and his daughter created their own posters and stood outside the coffee shop calling on customers to boycott the cafe instead. But the father and daughter's impromptu protest is just one of three storylines in the play, including one about the 1943 boycott of Jews in Poland–where his mother spent part of her childhood in hiding during the Holocaust.  The third storyline takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where Iran has succeeded in wiping Israel off the map. A Jewish woman has been forced to become one of the enemy's wives – a threat some hostages taken on October 7 have reported hearing from their captors.  OREN: It was really my attempt to try and show how the boycotts of Israel today, in light of, you know, 1943, were really not different.  MANYA:  Even now, Oren has not been able to convince a college or theater to stage “Boycott This,” including the Jewish museum in Los Angeles that hosted his daughter's bat mitzvah on October 7, 2023.    OREN: I've sort of wanted to shine a light on North American Jews being hypercritical of Israel, which I guess ties into BDS. Because I've spent a lot of time in Israel. And I know what it is. It's not a simple thing. And I think it's very easy for Americans in the comfort of their little brownstones in Brooklyn, and houses in Cambridge to criticize, but these people that live in Israel are really standing the line for them. MANYA: When Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton finally secured a legal way for Syrian Jews to leave between 1992 and 1994, most did. The last Jews of Aleppo were evacuated from the city in October 2016. MARCUS: They took all the siddurim and everything, put them in boxes. It was just essentially closing shop for good. They knew they're not coming back. MANYA: The food, liturgy, music, the traditions of hospitality and social welfare endure, but far from the world of which it was part. Walk into any synagogue in the Aleppo tradition after sundown on Shabbat and be treated to a concert until dawn – a custom called baqashot. MANYA: Before Oren's grandmother Rachel passed away, his cousin Rebecca did a piece for Canadian Broadcast News featuring their 95-year-old grandmother in the kitchen.  RACHEL SAFDIE: When we were children, we used to love all these dishes. My mother used to make them all the time and it's very, very tasty. Anything made, Middle East food, is very tasty. OREN: It's 10 minutes for me to see my grandmother again, in video, cooking the mehshi kusa, which is sort of the stuffed eggplant with the apricots and the meat. And there's really a great moment in it, because they're doing it together and they put it in the oven, and at the end of this 10-minute movie, they all come out of the oven, and like they're looking at it and they're tasting, and my grandmother points … RACHEL: I know which ones you did. You did this one.  CBN INTERVIEWER: How do you know?  RACHEL: I know. And this recipe has been handed down from generation to generation. OREN: It's so much like my grandmother because she's sort of a perfectionist, but she did everything without measuring. It was all by feel. The kibbeh, beans and lamb and potatoes and chicken but done in a different way than the Ashkenaz. I don't know how to sort of describe it.  The ka'ake, which were like these little pretzels that are, I'd say they have a taste of cumin in them. MARCUS: Stuffed aubergine, stuffed zucchini, tomatoes, with rice, pine nuts and ground beef and so forth. Meatballs with sour cherries during the cherry season. MANYA: Oren would one day like to see where his ancestors lived. But according to Abraham, few Aleppo Jews share that desire. After the Civil War and Siege of Aleppo in 2012 there's little left to see. And even when there was, Aleppo's Jews tended to make a clean break. MARCUS: People did not go back to visit, the second and third generations did not go back. So you see, for example, here Irish people of Irish origin in the United States, they still have families there. And they go, and they take the kids to see what Ireland is like. Italians, they do the same, because they have a kind of sense, this is our origin.  And with Aleppo, there wasn't. This is a really unusual situation in terms of migrations of people not going back to the place. And I think that probably will continue that way. MANYA: Syrian Jews are just one of the many Jewish communities who, in the last century, left Arab countries to forge new lives for themselves and future generations.  Join us next week as we share another untold story of The Forgotten Exodus. Many thanks to Oren and Moshe for sharing their story. You can read more in Moshe's memoir If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture. Too many times during my reporting, I encountered children and grandchildren who didn't have the answers to my questions because they'd never asked. That's why one of the goals of this project is to encourage you to ask those questions. Find your stories. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jon Schweitzer, Nicole Mazur, Sean Savage, and Madeleine Stern, and so many of our colleagues, too many to name really, for making this series possible.  You can subscribe to The Forgotten Exodus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/theforgottenexodus.  The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC.  You can reach us at theforgottenexodus@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.

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Have you heard of the term biophilia or perhaps biophilic design? If you're an interior designer or you have a lot of interior design videos on your TikTok feed, you likely have. The word was popularized by a 1984 book by Edward O. Wilson, and he defined biophilia as the urge to affiliate with other forms of life. In recent years, designers have taken the word and interpreted it in many ways. Your wallpaper has a pattern that looks like wood grain, that's biophilic. Your glass and steel skyscraper has plants growing on its facade, that's biophilic. In this episode, Metropolis contributor Audrey Gray talks to the renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who has spent his entire career navigating and exploring the relationship between buildings and nature. While he has been working on mega developments—like the legendary Habitat 67 project in Montreal and Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore—he has also been thinking about how nature is integrated into our cities. And that has led to an evolution of ideas about density and urban design. Join us to hear from Safdie about the release of his book, If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture, and how he feels about the term biophilia and how it is being co-opted. Connect with our host Avi Rajagopal on LinkedIn! Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com. This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced and edited by Wize Grazette and Samantha Sager. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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In this bonus episode of Deep Green, host Avi Rajagopal expresses his heartfelt thanks to our dedicated listeners for their support throughout the recently concluded mini season. Rajagopal unveils an impressive roster of upcoming guests planned for our Summer Season, which will kick off with a conversation with renowned architect Carol Ross Barney in an episode recorded live at NeoCon 2023. We also share snippets of discussions with other guests joining us this season, including international architect Moshe Safdie, sustainability trailblazer Katie Ackerly, and community energy advocate Daphany Rose Sanchez. Dive into this episode to bridge the gap between past insights and future dialogues, setting the stage for more captivating conversations on sustainability. Connect with our host Avi Rajagopal on LinkedIn! Discover more shows from SURROUND at surroundpodcasts.com. This episode of Barriers to Entry was produced and edited by SANDOW Design Group. Special thanks to the podcast production team: Wize Grazette, Hannah Viti, Samantha Sager and Rob Schulte. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Le complexe résidentiel Habitat 67 fait partie intégrante du paysage urbain de Montréal. Si on admire encore aujourd'hui son architecture pour son caractère innovant, la version construite demeure inachevée par rapport à la proposition originale de son créateur, Moshe Safdie. On explique comment une technologie créée pour les jeux vidéo donne enfin vie au projet de l'architecte, dans toute son ampleur.Invité : Alain McKenna, journalisteÉquipe :Meeker Guerrier, animateurAlain McKenna, journalisteXavier Kronström Richard, réalisateurMarie-Ève Brassard, recherchisteAlexis Elina, composition musicale originalePour joindre l'équipe du balado : balado@ledevoir.com

Architect Moshe Safdie discusses his illustrious career and latest title. Plus: we head to Savile Row, where a streetwear brand is breaking the mould.

In an interview from October, Matt Galloway speaks with award-winning architect Moshe Safdie about the power of architecture to change the world — and reflects on his new memoir If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture.

Israeli-born, Boston-based architect and urban planner Moshe Safdie, author of the new book “If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture,” discusses approaching architecture with humility and in service to society, the staying power of his Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal, and his vision for creating the Yad Vashem memorial to the victims of the Holocaust in Jerusalem.Episode sponsored by Grand Seiko.

Award-winning architect Moshe Safdie discusses the power of architecture to change the world — and reflects on his new memoir If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture.

Architect Moshe Safdie has experienced an unequaled life in architecture, from his younger years as a radical talent to today as a builder of important projects from Singapore to Idaho. On this episode, Dan speaks with the legend about his new autobiography, what it was like dealing with setbacks on some of his forward-thinking concepts, his time working for Louis Kahn, and his thoughts on how his profession can meet the challenges of the 21st century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moshe Safdie is an architect based in Boston who first came to prominence through his Habitat 67 project, a modular housing prototype constructed for the Montreal Expo in 1967. Safdie's memoir, If Walls Could Speak, has just been published by Atlantic Books.“It's not that I avoid a signature style, I just allow things to mutate […] I marvel in the differences of place, and I bring them out and I enjoy them because I think that I'm making buildings that are more rooted. For me this is the pleasure of design.” Scaffold is an Architecture Foundation production, hosted by Matthew Blunderfield. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moshe Safdie is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. In 1964 he established his own firm to realize Habitat '67, an adaptation of his undergraduate thesis and a turning point in modern architecture. Embracing a comprehensive and humane design philosophy, Safdie is committed to architecture that is informed by the geographic, social, and cultural elements that define a place; and that responds to human needs and aspirations. Over a celebrated 50-year career, Safdie has explored the essential principles of socially responsible design with a distinct visual language. His wide range of completed projects include cultural, educational, and civic institutions; neighborhoods and public parks; housing; mixed-use urban centers and airports; and master plans for existing communities and entirely new cities. Safdie's projects can be found in North and South America, and throughout Asia. Recent projects of note include the Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore, the Albert Einstein Education and Research Center in Brazil, as well as residences in Colombo, Quito, and China that build on and expand his original vision for Habitat '67, presenting a new vision for urban living rooted in the rediscover of the interdependence between nature and society. Safdie's new memoir, “If Walls Could Speak,” will be released this fall. He and Zuckerman discuss starting a firm, abstract memorials, how sites generate design, the role of light in art museums, iconic buildings, the drama of the end, and having conviction!

Today on NOW with Dave Brown, Doug Earle from Fighting Blindness Canada chats about Inherited Eye Disease Awareness Month. Dawn Dickinson chats about a recent article in MacLean's by Brian Bethune about world-renowned architect, Moshe Safdie. And Shaun Preece of Double Tap shares his thoughts on ‘soundcore Frames,' a pair of audio glasses by Anker. This is the September 15, 2022 episode.

Dawn Dickinson chats about a recent article in MacLean's by Brian Bethune about world-renowned architect, Moshe Safdie. She also tell us about an article about the struggles faced by a family physician in small-town British Columbia. From the September 15, 2022 episode.

Moshe Safdie joins the podcast to discuss his new memoir If Walls Could Speak, how he turned his college thesis into Montreal's famed Habitat 67, and redifining how people interact with buildings

This week, we're taking a human-centered approach to architecture discussions with Dr. Tyrone Yang. Tyrone graduated with a Master's in Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2002. He also has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Virginia and a BA in Psychology from Cornell University. Currently, he has recently founded Architectural Health and Yang Architects. Before doing that, he worked as a designer and project manager at Butz + Klug, RIZVI Architects, and also Moshe Safdie and Associates and worked on a large array of projects. Tyrone's academic involvement includes classes in Psychology and Research Methods at the University of Virginia and classes in Human Factors and Sustainable Architecture at Wentworth Institute of Technology. He's also worked as an affiliate researcher and course collaborator at the City Science / Changing Places Group at the MIT Media Lab. Currently, he's teaching Environmental Design Research at the Department of Architecture at Roger Williams University. Tyrone is both a licensed architect and a member of the AIA and the Boston Society of Architects, where he has co-chaired the Small Practices Network. In this conversation, we discuss the overlaps and how Dr. Yang's research into cognitive psychology has underpinned his architectural approach, how that has manifested in his current entrepreneurship ventures and business ventures, and how positioned himself as one of the world's leading, healthy building design consultants.   ► Access your free training at http://SmartPracticeMethod.com/ ► If you want to speak directly to our advisors, book a call at https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/call ► Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for updates: https://www.youtube.com/c/BusinessofArchitecture ******* For more free tools and resources for running a profitable, impactful, and fulfilling practice, connect with me on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/businessofarchitecture Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enoch.sears/ Website: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/BusinessofArch Podcast: http://www.businessofarchitecture.com/podcast/ iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/business-architecture-podcast/id588987926 Android Podcast Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BusinessofArchitecture-podcast ******* Access the FREE Architecture Firm Profit Map video here: http://freearchitectgift.com Download the FREE Architecture Firm Marketing Process Flowchart video here: http://freearchitectgift.com Come to my next live, in-person event: https://www.businessofarchitecture.com/live Carpe Diem!

He’s created buildings from Montreal (Habitat 67) to Singapore (Jewel Changi Airport), but Jerusalem -- the center of three Abrahamic religions, where people have lived for 6,000 years – is different: “It takes an act of real arrogance to build in a city like that. It was quite emotionally wrenching.” Presented by the Center for Architecture.

Jaron Lubin is a Principal at Safdie Architects, a frequent writer and lecturer and has years of experience in large-scale projects internationally.  As a Partner at Safdie Architects, Jaron Lubin contributes an unyielding commitment to advancing design and, consequently, the human experience. Lubin’s passion for complex geometry and progressive methodologies is evident in the large, three-dimensional, urban projects Safdie Architects delivers globally. Working closely with Moshe Safdie, Lubin plays a critical role in the research, fellowship, and architectural exploration of the firm. A frequent writer, juror and lecturer, he travels internationally to share the work of the firm, and has taught architecture and urban design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.Do you want to know how we can rethink and redesign tall buildings?Do you want to know what policy makers and cities can learn from Singapore?Do you want to see how such a successful firm runs internally?Listen to find out! Links:Safdie ArchitectsJaron at SafdieHabitat of The FutureCouncil for Tall Buildings LectureMarina Bay Sands - Hotel and Skypark We would absolutely love your feedback (seriously!) Please email humancitypodcast@gmail.com, Tweet at HumanCityPod, or message on InstagramHosted By Stig Terrebonne

Casino resorts are usually filled with wondrous buildings designed by some of the most famous architects around the globe. It's safe to say that casinos in Las Vegas have some of the most beautiful designs. Still, many other venues around the globe look just as great as the resorts in the Entertainment Capital of the World. Interesting Casino Architecture Worldwide We're taking a break from looking at brilliant online platforms like Ultra Casino, and we've decided to make a list of several breathtaking buildings that are home to popular casinos worldwide. Read on! Luxor, Las Vegas Luxor is inspired by ancient Egypt, which is often associated with casinos. Therefore, the architects designed two unique structures — a sphynx and a pyramid, decorating the popular gambling property's exterior. If you prefer innovative and modern design, you might dislike Luxor, as it's created to attract the masses and impress rather than please aesthetic cravings. Nevertheless, it is a unique casino in terms of exterior design. The architect responsible for bringing the piece of Egypt to Nevada was Veldon Simpson. Casino de Monte-Carlo, Monaco One of the most legendary casinos in Europe, the Monte-Carlo Casino, looks like a huge 19th-century castle. It's also one of the oldest gambling houses in Europe, attracting tens of thousands of tourists from all around the globe. The casino was designed by Charles Garnier, who also designed the wonderful Paris Opera. Casino de Montreal, Canada Casino de Montreal is an architectural wonder. You can compare it with the Sydney Opera House in terms of design, and it's breathtaking as the Australian masterpiece. If you happen to be in Montreal, make sure to visit this landmark or at least get near enough to see what it's all about. Jean Faugeron is the architect who designed the casino. Casino Helsinki, Finland Casino Helsinki is neither impressive nor massive. However, its design has a great vintage feeling to it, as the property fits perfectly with the rest of the city. It's one of those casinos that people enjoy visiting because they represent the very heart of the city. We weren't able to find out who designed this casino, but they certainly did an excellent job. Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Singapore is home to one of the most beautiful casinos in the world. In fact, even if you're not a casino enthusiast or an architect, chances are that you already saw this piece of art. The property consists of three separate buildings connected on top with a huge rooftop pool (several other facilities are located on the top). Once you're up there, you'll be able to see the entire city, which is especially beautiful at night. Moshe Safdie is the talented architect who designed this casino, and he is known for a very unusual approach — using Lego pieces. Morpheus Casino, Macau Morpheus Casinos is one of the most beautiful buildings in Macau, thanks to the traditional Chinese design with a modern twist. The building has a hole in the middle of it, which is a very common feature in Chinese architecture. However, the twisting exoskeletal with geometric figures decorating it is definitely something that will take your breath away when you see it up close. The mastermind behind this design is an architect called Zaha Habib, the first female winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Which Country Has the Best Casino Architecture? This is a very difficult question to answer since not all of us like the same things. For example, tourists who are used to visiting Macau casinos may not be impressed with the architecture of Las Vegas, and vice versa, even though both feature architectural wonders. However, if we were to take variety as one of the factors in the process of describing fine architecture, the US would definitely win the race. Why is this so? The answer is simple — there are many more different approaches to designing casinos in the US simply because there are more casinos there...

"I try to think that anything I do--it could be a house, it could be a small kindergarten--must reach for the kind of spiritual in the sense of the uplifting and make you feel better as a human being." To mark the 50th episode of Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk, legendary architect Moshe Safdie joins the program for a wide-ranging discussion and rare look into the depths of one of the world's great visionaries of buildings. What is the role of an architect? What does the intersection of utility and art look like? Can a physical structure ever contain the spiritual power that great music possesses? How does a master architect, who must delegate, inspire, and ultimately empower those around him, resemble a great maestro standing on the podium in front of an orchestra? This is a must-hear conversation for art lovers the world over. Moshe Safdie is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. Over a celebrated 50-year career, Safdie has explored the essential principles of socially responsible design with a distinct visual language. A citizen of Israel, Canada and the United States, Moshe Safdie graduated from McGill University. After apprenticing with Louis I. Kahn in Philadelphia, Safdie returned to Montréal to oversee the master plan for the 1967 World Exhibition. In 1964 he established his own firm to realize Habitat ’67, an adaptation of his undergraduate thesis and a turning point in modern architecture. Author of four books and a frequent essayist and lecturer, Safdie’s global practice includes projects in North and South America, the Middle East, the developing world and throughout Asia and Australia. Projects span a wide range of typologies, including airports, museums, performing arts, libraries, housing, mixed use and entire cities. His honors include the Companion of the Order of Canada, the Gold Medal from both the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the American Institute of Architects, la Medaille du Merité from the Order of Architects of Québec, Canada, and Israel’s Rechter Prize. The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum awarded Mr. Safdie the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2016. -------------------------------------- Please consider supporting Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk via our Patreon: patreon.com/talkingbeats In addition to early episode access, bonus episodes, and other benefits, you will contribute to us being able to present the highest quality substantive, long-form interviews with the world's most compelling people. We believe that providing a platform for individual expression, free thought, and a diverse array of views is more important now than ever.

On episode 102 of The Quarantine Tapes, Paul Holdengräber is joined by architect Moshe Safdie. Moshe shares what he has learned about the limitations of working remotely as an architect over the past few months. They talk about how quarantine is reminding us that access to outdoor space is an essential need for everyone. Then, Paul asks Moshe about some of his most influential projects, including the Habitat 67 housing complex. They talk about what is coming next for architecture, with Moshe offering his thoughts on the relationship between architecture, nature, and consumption.

Recording & interview originally published: April 21, 2019 Lunch With Sumiko Ep 8: "I feel like a semi-citizen of Singapore," says Jewel architect Moshe Safdie 2:35 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times' executive editor Sumiko Tan gets up close with newsmakers over lunch - and a selfie. Over 40 years, architect Moshe Safdie - who designed Jewel Changi Airport - has seen Singapore change even as he helped shape its skyline Read Sumiko's full story and video here: https://str.sg/J29C Follow Lunch With Sumiko podcast and rate us on: Channel: https://str.sg/J6hQ Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/J6hM Spotify: https://str.sg/J6hA Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/J6hd Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recording & interview originally published: April 21, 2019 Lunch With Sumiko Ep 8: "I feel like a semi-citizen of Singapore," says Jewel architect Moshe Safdie 2:35 mins Synopsis: The Straits Times' executive editor Sumiko Tan gets up close with newsmakers over lunch - and a selfie. Over 40 years, architect Moshe Safdie - who designed Jewel Changi Airport - has seen Singapore change even as he helped shape its skyline Read Sumiko's full story and video here: https://str.sg/J29C Follow Lunch With Sumiko podcast and rate us on: Channel: https://str.sg/J6hQ Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/J6hM Spotify: https://str.sg/J6hA Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/J6hd  Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Architect Moshe Safdie discusses the design of the Peabody Essex Museum. Constructed in several phases over the past 200 years, it is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States. The objectives of Safdie's architectural expansion and re-organisation were to create a dramatic addition emblematic of the institution’s new identity as a center of art and culture; to unify a disparate group of buildings and join them with newly doubled gallery space; and to present the museum to visitors as a coherent, welcoming whole. 

Architect Moshe Safdie describes the process of conceptualizing and designing the new Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem. The rebuilding of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum includes a new visitors’ center (Mevoah), a new history museum replacing the existing museum constructed in 1953, a Hall of Names, a synagogue, galleries for Holocaust art, an exhibitions pavilion and a learning and visual center. In addition, new underground parking and facilities for tour buses are located adjacent to a new entrance piazza. The overall program quadruples the permanent exhibition space.

Architect Moshe Safdie describes the Crystal Bridges project, which is both a museum and a cultural center. The project is located in a ravine with a creek fed by Crystal Springs. Two suspended-cable-and-wood buildings span the ravine, creating two ponds. These structures serve as dams as well as bridges. The design aims to protect the natural beauty of the site while emphasizing a strong sense of place, and certain materials – wood, fieldstone and limestone aggregate – are drawn from the region. Building walls are architectural concrete with wood inlays, and the roofs are composed of a system of laminated wood beams. The liberal use of glass throughout the complex provides great transparency and enhances views of the site.

Cathi Bond and Nora Young are back for another physically distant podcast in Nora's backyard.  This time, Cathi has an update on architect Moshe Safdie's eight skyscraper development in Chongqing, topped by a horizontal skyscraper called The Crystal. Now you can go and tour the development and take a 50 second ride to the top. See Cathi's previous look at Raffles City Chongqing here. Find renderings of the development here. Meanwhile, Nora mentions Stacey Higginbotham's podcast and newsletter. Recently, Stacey weighed in with some thoughts on the real use case for Augmented Reality: in the workplace, and in particular, in helping workers in the field do repairs or complete other production processes. The thought is that this can help address the shortage of skilled, experienced older workers by using AR to walk employees through a complex process using the visualization capabilities of AR. Perhaps, in the COVID era, older workers can work from home, coaching younger workers with AR. 

When we talk about Moshe Safdie, I’m sure that he should need no introduction. He is famous for his megastructures, built allover the world. Hamid Hassanzadeh of ParametricArchitecture, sat down with Moshe Safdie during the Covid-19 lockdown and discussed with him about his story of becoming an architect, establishing his practice, his very first project Habitat 67, humanizing the mega-scale, COVID’s impact and more. Moshe Safdie is an architect, urban planner, author, educator, and theorist. Over a celebrated 50-year career, Safdie has explored the essential principles of socially responsible design with a distinct visual language. Moshe Safdie graduated from McGill University and after apprenticing with Louis I. Kahn in Philadelphia, he returned to Montréal to oversee the master plan for the 1967 World Exhibition. In 1964 he established his own firm to realize Habitat ’67, an adaptation of his undergraduate thesis and a turning point in modern architecture. Moshe Safdie is the Author of four books and a frequent essayist and lecturer. Safdie’s global practice includes projects in North and South America, the Middle East, the developing world and throughout Asia and Australia. Some of his projects that I’m sure you all know them, are: Habitat 67 in Montreal Canada, Marina Sands Bay, Art Science Museum, Jewel Changi Airport, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and many more amazing projects. Subscribe to PA Talks podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, and Google Podcast in order not to miss a single episode. Also you can find out more by going to https://parametric-architecture.com/podcasts/ Please share this podcast with the URL. Also you can use #patalks on twitter, Instagram, facebook to give us a feedback about the podcasts. Thank you!

When the economy eventually fully reopens—A/E/C firms must be ready to hit the ground running. Those who prepare well will be able to experience a business reawakening. But what will separate those firms that are ready for business to take off on day one from those firms that may never see a full return of business? Post-COVID business will most likely not be business as usual. You will not be able to just pick up where you left off. So how best to develop a plan to navigate the now and be prepared for what will come later? Use the tool you have, update your strategic plan and help your leadership. If you don’t have a plan, there was never a time when you needed one more. Join us and learn how to: • Make decisions that align with your core values • Take advantage of new opportunities • Avoid wasting time on lost causes • Be ready when everything reopens About the Presenter: Susan Israel, AIA, LEED AP, has deep expertise in architecture, strategic planning, sustainability, leadership training, and organizational change. Before joining PSMJ, she founded and led two architecture practices for over 20 years that focused on delivering high end design and architectural services. Susan began her architecture career working for Moshe Safdie, Graham Gund, Finegold Alexander, among other architecture firms. Susan holds an A.B. from Harvard College, Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and attended the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston.

This week on Unorthodox, we're talking about why everyone seems to be talking about Anne Frank these days. Our first guest is comedian Ophira Eisenberg, who tells us about hosting NPR's usually-live game show Ask Me Another remotely, and how humor is helping her through these strange and scary times. Stephanie talks with Israel Story host Mishy Harmon about Israpalooza, the day-long virtual celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut. Log on Wednesday, April 29 to hear from Itkhak Perlman, David Broza, Joan Nathan, Moshe Safdie, and more. More info at israpalooza.org/. Then, we talk to our super secret special guest. It's ... Liel! He joins us to discuss his brand new book, Stan Lee: A Life in Comics. This wonderful book offers a spiritual biography of the Marvel Comics legend, and makes a compelling case for just how deeply spiritual—and deeply Jewish—Lee's work was. Plus he tells us which Marvel character was inspired by which biblical figure. (P.S. Get 25 percent off the book price and free shipping when you use the code STAN LEE at www.jewishlives.org) We've got (virtual) events! Join us for Tablet Live, a series of Zoom conversations with some of the most interesting artists, writers, and thinkers around. The series kicks off Thursday, April 23 7 p.m. at bit.ly/tabletlive with hear Liel talk to Israeli-born musician Eef Barzelay, the lead singer and songwriter of the band Clem Snide. Stephanie will be in conversation with Keith Gessen and Esther Safran Foer on Thursday, April 20th at 7 p.m. as part of the Unpacking the Book Series with the Jewish Book Council and The Jewish Museum. RSVP and get the Zoom info at https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/events. Be part of our upcoming special episodes! Do you have a story to share about conversion, and what books or movies helped you along the way? Want to tell us about a lesser-known Jewish community for our Jews Around the World episode? Send us your story as a voicemail at (914) 570-4869, or record a voice memo on your phone and email it to unorthodox@tabletmag.com. Our tour events for Spring 2020 have been postponed. Stay tuned for updates on rescheduled dates, and join our Facebook group to see much more of us and connect with other listeners. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram. Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, sweatshirts, and baby onesies here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus show, George gets locked out of Tom's studio but still manages to record and edit an interview with PJ Letofsky, producer of the documentary Neutra:  Survival Through Design.  Featuring historian Barbara Lamprecht, son Raymond Neutra, son Dion Neutra who just passed away, Norman Foster, Moshe Safdie, and of course -- Alan Hess.  Neutra's houses are still highly prized 50 to 90 years later, and his legacy of incredibly beautiful and functional design is still wildly popular.  George kicks off things with PJ talking about his publicity tour for the movie.

Safdie Architects Managing Principal, Chris Mulvey, joins the podcast to discuss their Raffles City project in Chongqing, working closely with Moshe Safdie, and Safdie Architect’s unique approach to design around the world

When last we followed our pugnacious-leaning zombie trio through the Great Salty City, Adam, Jeremy and Joan were touring the mind-expanding library designed by internationally acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie..... Content written and produced by Jim Sawyer Narration by Jim Sawyer Video produced and edited by Quincy L. Lewis --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/longmonsterllc/support

Paul Schofer is the CEO of the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts in Kansas City, a facility that opened in 2011 and houses two concert halls and welcomes 500,000 patrons a year for more than 350 performances in a building designed by architect Moshe Safdie.  The Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet and Lyric Opera all are resident performers.  The building was ranked as one of the world's 15 most beautiful concert halls, one of only two in the U.S.  His background is in accounting.  Paul worked at Hallmark and Marion Laboratories.  He wanted to move into the nonprofit sector and began working for Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation before becoming CFO and then CEO of the Performing Arts Center. Calls the secret sauce of  Center the volunteers. Vision is diverse and extraordinary performing arts experiences for everyone. Website: www.kauffmancenter.org  

Jewel Changi Airport อัญมณีแห่งใหม่ในสนามบินสิงคโปร์ . Jewel Changi Airport เป็นอาคารใหม่ภายในสนามบินสิงคโปร์ มีพื้นที่กว่า 135,700 ตารางเมตร ที่นำธรรมชาติ เทคโนโลยี และห้างร้านต่าง ๆ มารวมไว้ในสถานที่เดียวกันได้อย่าลงตัว ด้วยฝีมือการออแบบ Moshe Safdie สถาปนิกชื่อดังระดับโลก ที่เคยออกแบบตึก Marina Bay Sands หรืออาหารไพ่สามสำรับ ที่มีเรืออยู่ด้านบน ชื่อดังของสิงคโปร์ . ไฮไลท์ของ Jewel คือ น้ำตก HSBC Rain Vortex ที่ตั้งอยู่ใจกลางอาคาร มีความสูงกว่า 40 เมตร และได้ชื่อว่าเป็นน้ำตกในร่มที่สูงที่สุดในโลก ในตอนกลางวัน น้ำตกจะส่งเสียงซู่ซ่าเรียกความสนใจ พร้อมมีละอองน้ำเย็น ๆ ให้ความรู้สึกสดชื่นตลอดเวลา ส่วนช่วงกลางคืน น้ำตกจะเปลี่ยนเป็นเวทีการแสดงแสงสีขนาดใหญ่ ด้วยการเพิ่มไฟดูสวยงามแปลกตา . . นอกจากไฮไลท์ที่ไม่ว่าใครก็ต้องอยากไปเห็นด้วยตาตัวเองซักครั้ง jewel แห่งนี้ยังมี Canopy park, Manulife sky nets, Canopy maze, Changi Experience Studio ซึ่งล้วนน่าสนใจไม่แพ้กัน . . - Jewel น้ำตกกลางห้าง Land mark แห่งใหม่ใกล้สนามบินสิงคโปร์ - Garden by the Bay ยกป่ามาไว้ในเมือง - นิสัยรักการปิกนิกของคนสิงคโปร์ - เขาวงกตที่ต้องไป สำหรับคนชอบความท้าทาย . ฟังกันจบแล้ว มีความคิดเห็นอย่างไร มาร่วมแชร์ พูดคุย ติชม แนะนำกันได้ที่คอมเมนต์นะครับ . . กับผม ผศ.ดร. วีรณัฐ โรจนประภา นักนวัตกรรมทางความคิด ที่จะชวนคุณมาลองมองมุมใหม่ในสถานที่ใหม่ไปพร้อมกัน . สำหรับท่านที่ชื่นชอบในการฟังเรื่องเล่าของเรื่องราวต่าง ๆ กด follow Podcast ผมไว้ แล้วผมจะพาคุณเดินทางไปพร้อม ๆ กัน

This time around, Cathi Bond talks about this project by celebrated Canadian architect, Moshe Safdie (you can read more about it in this release). Nora Young raises this article in The Verge on the use of AI in the design of Hollywood film. Over the summer, we'll be releasing new episodes once a month, and then back to a proper bi-weekly schedule after Labour Day. Have a great summer!

The museum was designed by Moshe Safdie and embodies the mission to connect visitors with the power of art and the beauty of nature. But HOW did we build a 200,000 square-foot art museum in the middle of a natural forest and ravine? Today, we talk to Ken Robinson, Facilities Engineer, who was on-site from the very beginning of the construction process for Crystal Bridges. Learn about the infamous "Thelma and Louise" Tulip Trees, and all the ways the museum took great care to not disrupt the natural setting, to re-purpose materials after the museum opened, and how to maintain the integrity and beauty of the building today. Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to the Elevator World News Podcast. This week’s news podcast is sponsored by elevatorbooks.com: www.elevatorbooks.com BIG DOUBLES DOWN ON QUITO WITH INSPIRED MIXED-USE TOWER Following the under-construction, mixed-use IQON tower in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has unveiled a second project there: a 24-story mixed-use tower called EPIQ that takes inspiration from the city’s historic red herringbone sidewalks and the landscaped park it faces, dezeen reports. Designed in collaboration with Quito’s Uribe & Schwarzkopf, EPIQ consists of two curved blocks clad in a red herringbone façade with pockets of greenery. It will incorporate numerous sustainable features and have amenities such as an outdoor swimming pool, a cinema, bowling alley and arty areas. Slated for completion in 2022, EPIQ will rise from site near Quito’s Old City in the Parque La Carolina neighborhood and join projects by architects such as Moshe Safdie. Image credit: BIG To read the full transcript of today's podcast, visit: elevatorworld.com/news Subscribe to the Podcast: iTune s│Google Play|SoundCloud│Stitcher│TuneIn

Today we kick off Modernism Week coverage with internationally known architect Moshe (mo-shay) Safdie. He’s been famous for over 50 years for many brilliant buildings; first as architect for Habitat 67 in Montreal, in the 2000’s as architect for the Marina Bay Sands, that crazy rich Singapore hotel featured in the movie Crazy rich Asians; and for a special small chapel you might not know about. Safdie won the 2019 Wolf Prize in Architecture and his other honors include the AIA Gold Medal, Canada’s Royal Architectural Institute Gold Medal, and The Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement.  Host George Smart talked with Safdie from the somewhat noisy atrium lobby of the Hyatt Palm Springs.

Late on a Thursday evening in February 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plane landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland for his first visit with President Donald Trump. A few hours earlier, the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson’s Boeing 737, which is so large it can seat 149 people, touched down at Reagan National Airport after a flight from Las Vegas. Adelson dined that night at the White House with Trump, Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, were among Trump’s biggest benefactors, writing checks for $20 million in the campaign and pitching in an additional $5 million for the inaugural festivities. Adelson was in town to see the Japanese prime minister about a much greater sum of money. Japan, after years of acrimonious public debate, has legalized casinos. For more than a decade, Adelson and his company, Las Vegas Sands, have sought to build a multibillion-dollar casino resort there. He has called expanding to the country, one of the world’s last major untapped markets, the “holy grail.” Nearly every major casino company in the world is competing to secure one of a limited number of licenses to enter a market worth up to $25 billion per year. “This opportunity won’t come along again, potentially ever,” said Kahlil Philander, an academic who studies the industry. The morning after his White House dinner, Adelson attended a breakfast in Washington with Abe and a small group of American CEOs, including two others from the casino industry. Adelson and the other executives raised the casino issue with Abe, according to an attendee. Adelson had a potent ally in his quest: the new president of the United States. Following the business breakfast, Abe had a meeting with Trump before boarding Air Force One for a weekend at Mar-a-Lago. The two heads of state dined with Patriots owner Bob Kraft and golfed at Trump National Jupiter Golf Club with the South African golfer Ernie Els. During a meeting at Mar-a-Lago that weekend, Trump raised Adelson’s casino bid to Abe, according to two people briefed on the meeting. The Japanese side was surprised. “It was totally brought up out of the blue,” according to one of the people briefed on the exchange. “They were a little incredulous that he would be so brazen.” After Trump told Abe he should strongly consider Las Vegas Sands for a license, “Abe didn’t really respond, and said thank you for the information,” this person said. Trump also mentioned at least one other casino operator. Accounts differ on whether it was MGM or Wynn Resorts, then run by Trump donor and then-Republican National Committee finance chairman Steve Wynn. The Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported the president also mentioned MGM and Abe instructed an aide who was present to jot down the names of both companies. Questioned about the meeting, Abe said in remarks before the Japanese legislature in July that Trump had not passed on requests from casino companies but did not deny that the topic had come up. The president raising a top donor’s personal business interests directly with a foreign head of state would violate longstanding norms. “That should be nowhere near the agenda of senior officials,” said Brian Harding, a Japan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “U.S.-Japan relations is about the security of the Asia-Pacific, China and economic issues.” Adelson has told his shareholders to expect good news. On a recent earnings call, Adelson cited unnamed insiders as saying Sands’ efforts to win a place in the Japanese market will pay off. “The estimates by people who know, say they know, whom we believe they know, say that we're in the No. 1 pole position,” he said. After decades as a major Republican donor, Adelson is known as an ideological figure, motivated by his desire to influence U.S. policy to help Israel. “I’m a one-issue person. That issue is Israel,” he said last year.  On that issue — Israel — Trump has delivered. The administration has slashed funding for aid to Palestinian refugees and scrapped the Iran nuclear deal. Attending the recent opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Adelson seemed to almost weep with joy, according to an attendee. But his reputation as an Israel advocate has obscured a through-line in his career: He has used his political access to push his financial self-interest. Not only has Trump touted Sands’ interests in Japan, but his administration also installed an executive from the casino industry in a top position in the U.S. embassy in Tokyo. Adelson’s influence reverberates through this administration. Cabinet-level officials jump when he calls. One who displeased him was replaced. He has helped a friend’s company get a research deal with the Environmental Protection Agency. And Adelson has already received a windfall from Trump’s new tax law, which particularly favored companies like Las Vegas Sands. The company estimated the benefit of the law at $1.2 billion. Adelson’s influence is not absolute: His company’s casinos in Macau are vulnerable in Trump’s trade war with China, which controls the former Portuguese colony near Hong Kong. If the Chinese government chose to retaliate by targeting Macau, where Sands has several large properties, it could hurt Adelson’s bottom line. So far, there’s no evidence that has happened. The White House declined to comment on Adelson. The Japanese Embassy in Washington declined to comment. Sands spokesman Ron Reese declined to answer detailed questions but said in a statement: “The gaming industry has long sought the opportunity to enter the Japan market. Gaming companies have spent significant resources there on that effort and Las Vegas Sands is no exception.” Reese added: “If our company has any advantage it would be because of our significant Asian operating experience and our unique convention-based business model. Any suggestion we are favored for some other reason is not based on the reality of the process in Japan or the integrity of the officials involved in it.” With a fortune estimated at $35 billion, Adelson is the 21st-richest person in the world, according to Forbes. In August, when he celebrated his 85th birthday in Las Vegas, the party stretched over four days. Adelson covered guests’ expenses. A 92-year-old Tony Bennett and the Israeli winner of Eurovision performed for the festivities. He is slowing down physically; stricken by neuropathy, he uses a motorized scooter to get around and often stands up with the help of a bodyguard. He fell and broke three ribs while on a ferry from Macau to Hong Kong last November. Yet Adelson has spent the Trump era hustling to expand his gambling empire. With Trump occupying the White House, Adelson has found the greatest political ally he’s ever had. “I would put Adelson at the very top of the list of both access and influence in the Trump administration,” said Craig Holman of the watchdog group Public Citizen. “I’ve never seen anything like it before, and I’ve been studying money in politics for 40 years.” ***** Adelson grew up poor in Boston, the son of a cabdriver with a sixth-grade education. According to his wife, Adelson was beaten up as a kid for being Jewish. A serial entrepreneur who has started or acquired more than 50 different businesses, he had already made and lost his first fortune by the late 1960s, when he was in his mid-30s. It took him until the mid-1990s to become extraordinarily rich. In 1995, he sold the pioneering computer trade show Comdex to the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank for $800 million. He entered the gambling business in earnest when his Venetian casino resort opened in 1999 in Las Vegas. With its gondola rides on faux canals, it was inspired by his honeymoon to Venice with Miriam, who is 12 years younger than Adelson. It’s been said that Trump is a poor person’s idea of a rich person. Adelson could be thought of as Trump’s idea of a rich person. A family friend recalls Sheldon and Miriam’s two sons, who are now in college, getting picked up from school in stretch Hummer limousines and his home being so large it was stocked with Segway transporters to get around. A Las Vegas TV station found a few years ago that, amid a drought, Adelson’s palatial home a short drive from the Vegas Strip had used nearly 8 million gallons of water in a year, enough for 55 average homes. Adelson will rattle off his precise wealth based on the fluctuation of Las Vegas Sands’ share price, said his friend the New York investor Michael Steinhardt. “He’s very sensitive to his net worth,” Steinhardt said. Trump entered the casino business several years before Adelson. In the early 1990s, both eyed Eilat in southern Israel as a potential casino site. Neither built there. Adelson “didn’t have a whole lot of respect for Trump when Trump was operating casinos. He was dismissive of Trump,” recalled one former Las Vegas Sands official. In an interview in the late ’90s, Adelson lumped Trump with Wynn: “Both of these gentlemen have very big egos,” Adelson said. “Well, the world doesn't really care about their egos.” Today, in his rare public appearances, Adelson has a grandfatherly affect. He likes to refer to himself as “Self” (“I said to myself, ‘Self …’”). He makes Borscht Belt jokes about his short stature: “A friend of mine says, ‘You’re the tallest guy in the world.’ I said, ‘How do you figure that?’ He says, ‘When you stand on your wallet.’” By the early 2000s, Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands had surpassed Trump’s casino operations. While Trump was getting bogged down in Atlantic City, Adelson’s properties thrived. When Macau opened up a local gambling monopoly, Adelson bested a crowded field that included Trump to win a license. Today, Macau accounts for more than half of Las Vegas Sands’ roughly $13 billion in annual revenue. Trump’s casinos went bankrupt, and now he is out of the industry entirely. By the mid-2000s, Trump was playing the role of business tycoon on his reality show, “The Apprentice.” Meanwhile, Adelson aggressively expanded his empire in Macau and later in Singapore. His company’s Moshe Safdie-designed Marina Bay Sands property there, with its rooftop infinity pool, featured prominently in the recent hit movie “Crazy Rich Asians.” While their business trajectories diverged, Adelson and Trump have long shared a willingness to sue critics, enemies and business associates. Multiple people said they were too afraid of lawsuits to speak on the record for this story. In 1989, after the Nevada Gaming Control Board conducted a background investigation of Adelson, it found he had already been personally involved in around 100 civil lawsuits, according to the book “License to Steal,” a history of the agency. That included matters as small as a $600 contractual dispute with a Boston hospital. The lawsuits have continued even as Adelson became so rich the amounts of money at stake hardly mattered. In one case, Adelson was unhappy with the quality of construction on one of his beachfront Malibu, California, properties and pursued a legal dispute with the contractor for more than seven years, going through a lengthy series of appeals and cases in different courts. Adelson sued a Wall Street Journal reporter for libel over a single phrase — a description of him as “foul-mouthed” — and fought the case for four years before it was settled, with the story unchanged. In a particularly bitter case in Massachusetts Superior Court in the 1990s, his sons from his first marriage accused him of cheating them out of money. Adelson prevailed. Adelson rarely speaks to the media any more, with occasional exceptions for friendly business journalists or on stage at conferences, usually interviewed by people to whom he has given a great deal of money. “He keeps a very tight inner circle,” said a casino industry executive who has known Adelson for decades. Adelson declined to comment for this story. ******* Adelson once told a reporter of entering the casino business late in life, “I loved being an outsider.” For nearly a decade he played that role in presidential politics, bankrolling the opposition to the Obama administration. As with some of his early entrepreneurial forays, he dumped money for little return, his political picks going bust. In 2008, he backed Rudy Giuliani. As America’s Mayor faded, he came on board late with the John McCain campaign. In 2012, he almost single-handedly funded Newt Gingrich’s candidacy. Gingrich spent a few weeks atop the polls before his candidacy collapsed. Adelson became a late adopter of Mitt Romney. In 2016, the Adelsons didn’t officially endorse a candidate for months. Trump used Adelson as a foil, an example of the well-heeled donors who wielded outsized influence in Washington. “Sheldon or whoever — you could say Koch. I could name them all. They’re all friends of mine, every one of them. I know all of them. They have pretty much total control over the candidate,” Trump said on Fox News in October 2015. “Nobody controls me but the American public.” In a pointed tweet that month, Trump said: “Sheldon Adelson is looking to give big dollars to [Marco] Rubio because he feels he can mold him into his perfect little puppet. I agree!” Despite Trump’s barbs, Adelson had grown curious about the candidate and called his friend Steinhardt, who founded the Birthright program that sends young Jews on free trips to Israel. Adelson is now the program’s largest funder. “I called Kushner and I said Sheldon would like to meet your father-in-law,” Steinhardt recalled. “Kushner was excited.” Trump got on a plane to Las Vegas. “Sheldon has strong views when it comes to the Jewish people; Trump recognized that, and a marriage was formed.” Trump and his son-in-law Kushner courted Adelson privately, meeting several times in New York and Las Vegas. “Having Orthodox Jews like Jared and Ivanka next to him and so many common people in interest gave a level of comfort to Sheldon,” said Ronn Torossian, a New York public relations executive who knows both men. “Someone who lets their kid marry an Orthodox Jew and then become Orthodox is probably going to stand pretty damn close to Israel.” Miriam Adelson, a physician born and raised in what became Israel, is said to be an equal partner in Sheldon Adelson’s political decisions. He has said the interests of the Jewish state are at the center of his worldview, and his views align with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-of-center approach to Iran and Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. Adelson suggested in 2014 that Israel doesn’t need to be a democracy. “I think God didn’t say anything about democracy,” Adelson said. “He didn’t talk about Israel remaining as a democratic state.” On a trip to the country several years ago, on the eve of his young son’s bar mitzvah, Adelson said, “Hopefully he’ll come back; his hobby is shooting. He’ll come back and be a sniper for the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces. On domestic issues, Adelson is more Chamber of Commerce Republican than movement conservative or Trumpian populist. He is pro-choice and has called for work permits and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, a position sharply at odds with Trump’s. While the Koch brothers, his fellow Republican megadonors, have evinced concern over trade policy and distaste for Trump, Adelson has proved flexible, putting aside any qualms about Trump’s business acumen or ideological misgivings. In May 2016, he declared in a Washington Post op-ed that he was endorsing Trump. He wrote that Trump represented “a CEO success story that exemplifies the American spirit of determination, commitment to cause and business stewardship.” The Adelsons came through with $20 million in donations to the pro-Trump super PAC, part of at least $83 million in donations to Republicans. By the time of the October 2016 release of the Access Hollywood tape featuring Trump bragging about sexual assault, Adelson was among his staunchest supporters. “Sheldon Adelson had Donald Trump's back,” said Steve Bannon in a speech last year, speaking of the time after the scandal broke. “He was there.” In December 2016, Adelson donated $5 million to the Trump inaugural festivities. The Adelsons had better seats at Trump’s inauguration than many Cabinet secretaries. The whole family, including their two college-age sons, came to Washington for the celebration. One of his sons posted a picture on Instagram of the event with the hashtag #HuckFillary. The investment paid off in access and in financial returns. Adelson has met with Trump or visited the White House at least six times since Trump’s election victory. The two speak regularly. Adelson has also had access to others in the White House. He met privately with Vice President Mike Pence before Pence gave a speech at Adelson’s Venetian resort in Las Vegas last year. “He just calls the president all the time. Donald Trump takes Sheldon Adelson’s calls,” said Alan Dershowitz, who has done legal work for Adelson and advised Trump. Adelson’s tens of millions in donations to Trump have already been paid back many times over by the new tax law. While all corporations benefited from the lower tax rate in the new law, many incurred an extra bill in the transition because profits overseas were hit with a one-time tax. But not Sands. Adelson’s company hired lobbyists to press Trump’s Treasury Department and Congress on provisions that would help companies like Sands that paid high taxes abroad, according to public filings and tax experts. The lobbying effort appears to have worked. After Trump signed the tax overhaul into law in December, Las Vegas Sands recorded a benefit from the new law the company estimated at $1.2 billion. The Adelson family owns 55 percent of Las Vegas Sands, which is publicly traded, according to filings. The Treasury Department didn’t respond to requests for comment. Now as Trump and the Republican Party face a reckoning in the midterm elections in November, they have once again turned to Adelson. He has given at least $55 million so far. ***** In 2014, Adelson told an interviewer he was not interested in building a dynasty. “I want my legacy to be that I helped out humankind,” he said, underscoring his family’s considerable donations to medical research. But he gives no indication of sticking to a quiet life of philanthropy. In the last four years, he has used the Sands’ fleet of private jets, assiduously meeting with world leaders and seeking to build new casinos in Japan, Korea and Brazil. He is closest in Japan. Japan has been considering lifting its ban on casinos for years, in spite of majority opposition in polls from a public that is wary of the social problems that might result. A huge de facto gambling industry of the pinball-like game pachinko has long existed in the country, historically associated with organized crime and seedy parlors filled with cigarette-smoking men. Opposition to allowing casinos is so heated that a brawl broke out in the Japanese legislature this summer. But lawmakers have moved forward on legalizing casinos and crafted regulations that hew to Adelson’s wishes. “Japan is considered the next big market. Sheldon looks at it that way,” said a former Sands official. Adelson envisions building a $10 billion “integrated resort,” which in industry parlance refers to a large complex featuring a casino with hotels, entertainment venues, restaurants and shopping malls. The new Japanese law allows for just three licenses to build casinos in cities around the country, effectively granting valuable local monopolies. At least 13 companies, including giants like MGM and Genting, are vying for a license. Even though Sands is already a strong contender because of its size and its successful resort in Singapore, some observers in Japan believe Adelson’s relationship with Trump has helped move Las Vegas Sands closer to the multibillion-dollar prize. Just a week after the U.S. election, Prime Minister Abe arrived at Trump Tower, becoming the first foreign leader to meet with the president-elect. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were also there. Abe presented Trump with a gilded $3,800 golf driver. Few know the details of what the Trumps and Abe discussed at the meeting. In a break with protocol, Trump’s transition team sidelined the State Department, whose Japan experts were never briefed on what was said. “There was a great deal of frustration,” said one State Department official. “There was zero communication from anyone on Trump’s team.” In another sign of Adelson’s direct access to the incoming president and ties with Japan, he secured a coveted Trump Tower meeting a few weeks later for an old friend, the Japanese billionaire businessman Masayoshi Son. Son’s company, SoftBank, had bought Adelson’s computer trade show business in the 1990s. A few years ago, Adelson named Son as a potential partner in his casino resort plans in Japan. Son’s SoftBank, for its part, owns Sprint, which has long wanted to merge with T-Mobile but needs a green light from the Trump administration. A beaming Son emerged from the meeting in the lobby of Trump Tower with the president-elect and promised $50 billion in investments in the U.S. When Trump won the election in November 2016, the casino bill had been stalled in the Japanese Diet. One month after the Trump-Abe meeting, in an unexpected move in mid-December, Abe’s ruling coalition pushed through landmark legislation authorizing casinos, with specific regulations to be ironed out later. There was minimal debate on the controversial bill, and it passed at the very end of an extraordinary session of the legislature. “That was a surprise to a lot of stakeholders,” said one former Sands executive who still works in the industry. Some observers suspect the timing was not a coincidence. “After Trump won the election in 2016, the Abe government’s efforts to pass the casino bill shifted into high gear,” said Yoichi Torihata, a professor at Shizuoka University and opponent of the casino law. On a Las Vegas Sands earnings call a few days after Trump’s inauguration, Adelson touted that Abe had visited the company’s casino resort complex in Singapore. “He was very impressed with it,” Adelson said. Days later, Adelson attended the February breakfast with Abe in Washington, after which the prime minister went on to Mar-a-Lago, where the president raised Las Vegas Sands. A week after that, Adelson flew to Japan and met with the secretary general of Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo. The casino business is one of the most regulated industries in the world, and Adelson has always sought political allies. To enter the business in 1989, he hired the former governor of Nevada to represent him before the state’s gaming commission. In 2001, according to court testimony reported in the New Yorker, Adelson intervened with then-House Majority Whip Rep. Tom DeLay, to whom he was a major donor, at the behest of a Chinese official over a proposed House resolution that was critical of the country’s human rights record. At the time, Las Vegas Sands was seeking entry into the Macau market. The resolution died, which Adelson attributed to factors other than his intervention, according to the magazine. In 2015, he purchased the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the state’s largest newspaper, which then published a lengthy investigative series on one of Adelson’s longtime rivals, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which runs a convention center that competes with Adelson’s. (The paper said Adelson had no influence over its coverage.) In Japan, Las Vegas Sands’ efforts have accelerated in the last year. Adelson returned to the country in September 2017, visiting top officials in Osaka, a possible casino site. In a show of star power in October, Sands flew in David Beckham and the Eagles’ Joe Walsh for a press conference at the Palace Hotel Tokyo. Beckham waxed enthusiastic about his love of sea urchin and declared, "Las Vegas Sands is creating fabulous resorts all around the world, and their scale and vision are impressive.” Adelson appears emboldened. When he was in Osaka last fall, he publicly criticized a proposal under consideration to cap the total amount of floor space devoted to casinos in the resorts that have been legalized. In July, the Japanese Diet passed a bill with more details on what casinos will look like and laying out the bidding process. The absolute limit on casino floor area had been dropped from the legislation. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has made an unusual personnel move that could help advance pro-gambling interests. The new U.S. ambassador, an early Trump campaign supporter and Tennessee businessman named William Hagerty, hired as his senior adviser an American executive working on casino issues for the Japanese company SEGA Sammy. Joseph Schmelzeis left his role as senior adviser on global government and industry affairs for the company in February to join the U.S. Embassy. (He has not worked for Sands.) A State Department spokesperson said that embassy officials had communicated with Sands as part of “routine” meetings and advice provided to members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. The spokesperson said that “Schmelzeis is not participating in any matter related to integrated resorts or Las Vegas Sands.”  Japanese opposition politicians have seized on the Adelson-Trump-Abe nexus. One, Tetsuya Shiokawa, said this year that he believes Trump has been the unseen force behind why Abe’s party has “tailor-made the [casino] bill to suit foreign investors like Adelson.” In the next stage of the process, casino companies will complete their bids with Japanese localities. ****** Adelson’s influence has spread across the Trump administration. In August 2017, the Zionist Organization of America, to which the Adelsons are major donors, launched a campaign against National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. ZOA chief Mort Klein charged McMaster “clearly has animus toward Israel.” Adelson said he was convinced to support the attack on McMaster after Adelson spoke with Safra Catz, the Israeli-born CEO of Oracle, who “enlightened me quite a bit” about McMaster, according to an email Klein later released to the media. Adelson pressed Trump to appoint the hawkish John Bolton to a high position, The New York Times reported. In March, Trump fired McMaster and replaced him with Bolton. The president and other cabinet officials also clashed with McMaster on policy and style issues. For Scott Pruitt, the former EPA administrator known as an ally of industry, courting Adelson meant developing a keen interest in an unlikely topic: technology that generates clean water from air. An obscure Israeli startup called Watergen makes machines that resemble air conditioners and, with enough electricity, can pull potable water from the air. Adelson doesn’t have a stake in the company, but he is old friends with the Israeli-Georgian billionaire who owns the firm, Mikhael Mirilashvili, according to the head of Watergen’s U.S. operation, Yehuda Kaploun. Adelson first encountered the technology on a trip to Israel, Kaploun said. Dershowitz is also on the company’s board. Just weeks after being confirmed, Pruitt met with Watergen executives at Adelson’s request. Pruitt promptly mobilized dozens of EPA officials to ink a research deal under which the agency would study Watergen’s technology. EPA officials immediately began voicing concerns about the request, according to hundreds of previously unreported emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. They argued that the then-EPA chief was violating regular procedures. Pruitt, according to one email, asked that staffers explore “on an expedited time frame” whether a deal could be done “without the typical contracting requirements.” Other emails described the matter as “very time sensitive” and having “high Administrator interest.” A veteran scientist at the agency warned that the “technology has been around for decades,” adding that the agency should not be “focusing on a single vendor, in this case Watergen.” Officials said that Watergen’s technology was not unique, noting there were as many as 70 different suppliers on the market with products using the same concept. Notes from a meeting said the agency “does not currently have the expertise or staff to evaluate these technologies.” Agency lawyers “seemed scared” about the arrangement, according to an internal text exchange. The EPA didn’t respond to requests for comment. Watergen got its research deal. It’s not known how much money the agency has spent on the project. The technology was shipped to a lab in Cincinnati, and Watergen said the government will produce a report on its study. Pruitt planned to unveil the deal on a trip to Israel, which was also planned with the assistance of Adelson, The Washington Post reported. But amid multiple scandals, the trip never happened. Other parts of the Trump administration have also been friendly to Watergen. Over the summer, Mirilashvili attended the U.S. Embassy in Israel’s Fourth of July party, where he was photographed grinning and sipping water next to one of the company’s machines on display. Kaploun said U.S. Ambassador David Friedman’s staff assisted the company to help highlight its technology.  A State Department spokesperson said Watergen was one of many private sponsors of the embassy party and was “subject to rigorous vetting.” The embassy is now considering leasing or buying a Watergen unit as part of a “routine procurement action,” the spokesperson said. A Mirilashvili spokesman said in a statement that Adelson and Mirilashvili “have no business ties with each other.” The spokesman added that Adelson had been briefed on the company’s technology by Watergen engineers and “Adelson has also expressed an interest in the ability of this Israeli technology to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans who are affected by water pollution.” ***** Even as the casino business looks promising in Japan, China has been a potential trouble spot for Adelson. Few businesses are as vulnerable to geopolitical winds as Adelson’s. The majority of Sands’ value derives from its properties in Macau. It is the world’s gambling capital, and China’s central government controls it. “Sheldon Adelson highly values direct engagement in Beijing,” a 2009 State Department cable released by WikiLeaks says, “especially given the impact of Beijing's visa policies on the company's growing mass market operations in Macau.” At times, Sands’ aggressive efforts in China crossed legal lines. On Jan. 19, 2017, the day before Trump took office, the Justice Department announced Sands was paying a nearly $7 million fine to settle a longstanding investigation into whether it violated a U.S. anti-bribery statute in China. The case revealed that Sands paid roughly $60 million to a consultant who “advertised his political connections with [People’s Republic of China] government officials” and that some of the payments “had no discernible legitimate business purpose.” Part of the work involved an effort by Sands to acquire a professional basketball team in the country to promote its casinos. The DOJ said Sands fully cooperated in the investigation and fixed its compliance problems. A year and a half into the Trump administration, Adelson has a bigger problem than the Justice Department investigation: Trump’s trade war against Beijing has put Sands’ business in Macau at risk. Sands’ right to operate expires in a few years. Beijing could throttle the flow of money and people from the mainland to Macau. Sands and the other foreign operators in Macau “now sit on a geopolitical fault line. Their Macau concessions can therefore be on the line,” said a report from the Hong Kong business consultancy Steve Vickers & Associates. A former Sands board member, George Koo, wrote a column in the Asia Times newspaper in April warning that Beijing could undercut the Macau market by legalizing casinos in the southern island province of Hainan. “A major blow in the trade war would be for China to allow Hainan to become a gambling destination and divert visitors who would otherwise be visiting Macau,” Koo wrote. “As one of Trump’s principal supporters, it’s undoubtedly a good time for Mr. Adelson to have a private conversation with the president.” It’s not clear if Adelson has had that conversation. According to The Associated Press, Adelson was present for a discussion of China policy at the dinner he attended with Trump at the White House in February 2017. In September, Trump escalated his trade war with China. He raised tariffs on $200 billion Chinese imports. China retaliated with tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. products. Adelson has said privately that if he can be helpful in any way he would volunteer himself to do whatever is asked for either side of the equation — the U.S. or China, according to a person who has spoken to him. ****** Torossian, the public relations executive, calls Adelson “this generation’s Rothschild” for his support of Israel. In early May, the Adelsons gave $30 million to the super PAC that is seeking to keep Republican control of the House for the remainder of Trump’s term. A few days later, Trump announced he was killing the Iran nuclear deal, a target of Adelson’s and the Netanyahu government’s for years. The following day, Adelson met with the president at the White House. Five days later, Adelson was in Israel for another landmark, the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem marked a major shift in U.S. foreign policy, long eschewed by presidents of both parties. Besides dealing a major blow to Palestinian claims on part of the city, which are recognized by most of the world, it was the culmination of a more than 20-year project of the Adelsons. Sheldon and Miriam personally lobbied for the move on Capitol Hill as far back as 1995. In an audience dotted with yarmulkes and MAGA-red hats, the Adelsons were in the front now, next to Netanyahu and his wife, the Kushners and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. A beaming Miriam, wearing a dress featuring an illustration of the Jerusalem skyline, filmed the event with her phone. She wrote a first-person account of the ceremony that was co-published on the front page of the two newspapers the Adelsons own, Israel Hayom and the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “The embassy opening is a crowning moment for U.S. foreign policy and for our president, Donald Trump. Just over a year into his first term, he has re-enshrined the United States as the standard-bearer of moral clarity and courage in a world that too often feels adrift.” Adelson paid for the official delegation of Guatemala, the only other country to move its embassy, to travel to Israel. “Sheldon told me that any country that wants to move its embassy to Jerusalem, he’ll fly them in — the president and everyone — for the opening,” said Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce CEO Duvi Honig, who was in attendance. Klein, the Zionist Organization of America president, was also there. The Adelsons, he said, “were glowing with a serene happiness like I’ve never seen them. Sheldon “said to me, ‘President Trump promised he would do this and he did it.’ And he almost became emotional. ‘And look, Mort, he did it.’

World-renowned architect Moshe Safdie has been commissioned to design the new Boise Library main branch. Boise State Public Radio's Matt Guilhem had the opportunity to sit down and discuss design with the designer and find out more about his ongoing fascination with libraries.

Plans for a new Boise Public Library were unvieled last week, we talk about architect Moshe Safdie's design and how it will expand the library's services.

Moshe Safdie, the architect behind Singapore's Marina Bay Sands, reveals how feng shui influenced its design.

This week Duncan and Dana interview former Chicagoan David Hartt on the occasion of the opening of his latest commission, in the forest, on location at The Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. David and Duncan talk Canada stuff, and Hartt walks our hosts through his investigation into architect Moshe Safdie’s unfinished 1968 Habitat project in Puerto Rico. The multi-part installation is on view at the Graham Foundation until January 6, 2018. http://davidhartt.net/ http://www.corbettvsdempsey.com/artists/david-hartt/ http://www.grahamfoundation.org/

Crystal Bridges architect Moshe Safdie reflects on his many projects, as well as architectural elements at Crystal Bridges including Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome and the Frank Lloyd Wright Bachman-Wilson House that collectively tell a story of American architecture.

This year’s American Institute of Architects Gold Medal winner, Moshe Safdie, has devoted a lifetime to the issue of dense urbanism beginning with Habitat, his low-rise, high-density housing complex introduced at the 1967 Montreal World’s Fair. Today, megascale projects seem to defy human scale, but Safdie believes architects can create the conditions for a high quality of life in megacities and has done so in several enormous projects. Safdie will present his ideas, after which he and architecture critic Sarah Goldhagen will discuss the challenges posed by dense urbanism and the desire to humanize the megascale. Sponsored by Ann and Graham Gund.

Milan, Mario Batali, Michelle Obama, Moshe Safdie, Modernism, MOO (our sponsor), Michael Erard, metaphor design, Macintosh icons, Massimo Vignelli....

This week: We talk about Focus. James’ Soylent arrived, and a little about Typography. links: Soylent Garden of life Exo bars made with cricket flour Moshe Safdie’s TED talk, How to reinvent the apartment building Paul Graham: Before the Startup Simon Sinek: Start with Why Elon Musk article on Aeon Magazine Book recommendations: M. Scott Peck: The Road Less Traveled Ellen Lupton: Thinking With Type Ellen Lupton: Type on Screen (music: “So Fine” by Shenandoah and the Night)

In 1967, Moshe Safdie reimagined the monolithic apartment building, creating “Habitat ’67,” which gave each unit an unprecedented sense of openness. Nearly 50 years later, he believes the need for this type of building is greater than ever. In this short talk, Safdie surveys a range of projects that do away with the high-rise and let light permeate into densely-packed cities.

Em 1967, Moshe Safdie reimaginou o prédio residencial monolítico, criando o "Habitat 67", que deu a cada unidade um senso de abertura sem precedentes. Quase 50 anos mais tarde, ele acredita que a necessidade por esse tipo de prédio é maior que nunca. Nesta breve palestra, Safdie pesquisa uma gama de projetos que prescindem de arranha-céus e permite que a luz permeie cidades de grande densidade populacional.

1967년 모쉐 사프디는 각 세대에 전에 없던 개방감을 선사한 "Habitat 67"을 지음으로 일체형 아파트 건물을 재해석 했습니다. 약 50년이 지난 지금, 그는 이런 형태의 건물에 대한 필요가 그 어느때보다 강하다고 믿습니다. 이 짧은 강연에서 모쉐 사프디는 고층건물을 제거하고 밀집된 도시에 빛을 투과시키는 다양한 프로젝트들을 소개합니다.

1967 erdachte Moshe Safdie eine neue Form des Wohnhochhauses und erschuf "Habitat '67", das jeder Wohneinheit einen noch nie dagewesenen Eindruck von Offenheit gab. Fast 50 Jahre später ist der Bedarf an dieser Art von Gebäuden seiner Meinung nach größer als je zuvor. In diesem kurzen Vortrag umreißt Safdie eine Reihe von Projekten, die das Hochhaus abschaffen und Licht in die dicht bevölkerten Städte dringen lassen.

En 1967, Moshe Safdie a repensé le bloc appartement monolithique en créant « Habitat ‘67 », qui donne à chaque logement un sens d’ouverture sans précédent. Presque 50 ans après, il croit que le besoin pour ce type d’immeuble est plus grand que jamais. Dans ce court discours, Safdie fait le survol de plusieurs projets qui s’éloignent du concept de gratte-ciel et laissent pénétrer la lumière dans les villes à forte densité.

En 1967, Moshe Safdie reimaginó el edificio monolítico de apartamentos, creando el "Habitat '67", que le ofreció a cada unidad un sentido de apertura sin precedentes. Casi 50 años después, él cree que la necesidad de eso tipo de edificio es mayor que nunca. En esta charla corta, Safdie pasa por una serie de proyectos que acaban con los edificios elevados y dejan la luz penetrar adentro de ciudades densamente compactadas.

Habitat 67 designer on his mentor Louis Khan and the creating of memorial buildings. Architect, urban planner, theorist and author Moshe Safdie's buildings are committed to responding to 'human needs and aspirations'

Architect of Crystal Bridges, Moshe Safdie, shares the inspiration for his design of the Museum, as well as an overview of his life’s work. Over the past 50 years, Safdie has realized large-scale projects all over the world, including Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; United States Institute of Peace Headquarters, Washington, DC; and Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, Singapore.

Alice Walton and Moshe Safdie talk about intergrating nature into the design of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Crystal Bridges founder, Alice Walton, discusses with architect Moshe Safdie how the design of the Museum's building tells the story of American Art.

Moshe Safdie and Alice Walton chat about the desire to create a museum with a sense of community.

This week, Property Report spoke with Israeli-Canadian “starchitect” Moshe Safdie of Safdie Architects. Safdie illustrates his vision and discusses how his contemporary designs have achieved the goal of ‘humanising the mega-scale’ especially in the world’s most densely-populated urban areas.

Yo-Yo Ma investigates the relationship between music and visual art. In this film, the talented cellist plays the music of Bach in a virtual prison based on the Carceri, the imaginary prisons found in the etchings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Along the way, audiences hear from architect Moshe Safdie and others while learning of Piranesi's only built church project, the Santa Maria del Priorato. The exhibition, Piranesi, Rome, and the Arts of Design, includes a complete set of the prison etchings as well as an innovative 3-D video projection based on them. Before the film, Dr. John Marciari, Curator of European Art and Head of Provenance Research, will give a lecture about the haunting, nightmarish world of Piranesi's prisons, architectural fantasies that demonstrate the dark side of Piranesi's imagination. Prefiguring the dark imagining of the Romantic era, the Carceri are thought to have been the later model for everything from M.C. Escher's designs, to the city of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, to the moving staircases of Harry Potter's Hogwarts. www.TheSanDiegoMuseumofArt.org Video produced by Balboa Park Online Collaborative

Discover how the architectural design of Safdie affects your perception of space & navigation. Deputy Director of Operations Rod Bigelow and Director of Guest Services & Membership Kathryn Roberts share behind-the-scenes details of the Museum’s design.