‘Humanise is a masterwork.’ Alain de Botton

One of the world’s most prolific designers, Thomas Heatherwick is fighting ‘an epidemic of boringness’ and demands that we put human emotion back at the heart of building design. With Humanise: A Maker’s Guide to Building Our World, Thomas draws on neuroscience and cognitive psychology to shows us how flat, anonymous, serious buildings are making us stressed, sick and lonely. He shares how a single rule – a building should be able to hold your attention for the time it takes to pass it by – could transform our cities into places that are interesting and reflect the diversity, fluidity, history and eccentricity of humans.

Thomas Heatherwick is a designer with over 30 years’ experience. He leads a studio in London from which the team have designed many things including New York City’s ‘Little Island’ park, London’s red Routemaster buses, the cauldron in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games and Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, London. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester.