Form versus function: How to build a humane city?

Invited experts

Rowan Moore

Thomas Heatherwick

What does it mean to create urban environments that not only serve practical needs but inspire - and nurture - the communities within them? Visionary designer Thomas Heatherwick, whose career straddles art, architecture, and public space, has become a lightning rod for those determined to “humanise” our cities. But as influential as this rallying cry has become, the routes to achieving such humane spaces remain fraught with disagreement. Most architects aspire to make cities more livable and emotionally rich, but practical realities - sustainability, visual complexity, cost, planning, and even creative risk-taking - compete for attention. Is it truly possible to balance ecological responsibility with creative playfulness and meaning? Where do ornamentation and experimentation fit in, and can these qualities stand up to budget constraints and rigorous city planning? Join The Observer and architecture critic Rowan Moore for a live conversation with Thomas Heatherwick in the heart of King’s Cross, surrounded by the reimagined Victorian granaries and industrial buildings of Coal Drops Yard — a district that itself embodies the tensions between preservation, reinvention and modern urban life. Together, before a guided walk to see these principles in action, we’ll ask a central question: how can we build a city that is not just functional, but genuinely humane?