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Upside Down

Bats, burlesque and inverted buildings in a world turned upside down. With structural engineer Hanif Kara, cabaret artist Fez Faanana and bat researcher Kirsty Park.

Bridget Kendall and her guests step into a world turned upside down. Inverted buildings are a passion of structural engineer Hanif Kara. Cabaret artist Fez Faanana subverts gender stereotypes in his entertaining and subversive show and Dr Kirsty Park explains why bats spend so much of their lives hanging from their toes.

(Photo: A Sloth hanging upside down. Credit: Getty Images)

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41 minutes

Last on

Wed 16 Sep 2015 01:06GMT

Clip

Hanif Kara

Hanif Kara is a British structural engineer who was born in Uganda, teaches at Harvard and helps to realise the visions of some of the world's leading architects. Hanif talks about the trend for upside-down buildings, discusses pioneering projects in London and Baghdad and tells us why inverted buildings are so suited to today's over-crowded cities.Β 

Fez Faanana

Fez Faanana is a cabaret artist and compere of the all-male Australian burlesque and circus ensemble, Briefs. From aerial acrobatics to drag acts, Fez tells us how the show turns people and their expectations upside down as he traces the subversive roots of cabaret back through the centuries.Β Β 

Kirsty Park

Dr Kirsty Park is a Reader in Conservation Studies at the University of Stirling in Scotland and an expert on bats. She explains why and how bats hang upside down and why bat species around the world are under threat.Β Β 

Sixty Second Idea to Change the World

Sixty Second Idea to Change the World

Structural Engineer Hanif Kara believes that if we could find a way of adapting the human body to sleep vertically, we would eliminate a lot of the world’s pressing problems. A single adult takes about 7m2 of bedroom space to be comfortable, so 70 adults could stand shoulder to shoulder in the same volume. If we halve this number to increase comfort, then 35 adults could sleep in a space that sleeps one today. This 35 fold reduction in footprint means less building, less cooling and less heating, even if all other areas of the home such as corridors and kitchens remain the same.  We would need strapping in to our new vertical beds though, as in deep sleep our muscles turn to jelly! 

(Photo credit: Shan Pillay)

Broadcasts

  • Mon 14 Sep 2015 01:06GMT
  • Tue 15 Sep 2015 08:06GMT
  • Wed 16 Sep 2015 01:06GMT

Do you think political or business leaders need to be charismatic? Or do you prefer highly competent but somewhat stern people?

Do you think political or business leaders need to be charismatic? Or do you prefer highly competent but somewhat stern people?

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