What brings you to MIPIM?
Jude Barber This is the first time we’ve been. To be frank, historically I felt a degree of discomfort about MIPIM. I think many of the stands are lacking in content. But all the workshops and events I’ve taken part in, from engaging with Regeneration Brainery at the Circ-It session and the EY team to Swim MIPIM, which is thinking about clean water, has felt  healthy and challenging and provocative.

Gerry Hogan We’re here with different delegations. Jude is part of the RIAS delegation and I’m here with Scotland at MIPIM organised by Place Media Group. So we’re both here representing Scotland as well as the practice. We’ve started to think not just about what we’re interested in, but about what we can do, and the just the really basic idea of trying to provide inward investment for Scotland. Obviously Scotland’s a really good place to invest, and we take the view that a rising tide lifts all boats

So what’s the key to selling Scotland?
Jude Barber For me, it’s quite interesting thinking about the way people as a nation present themselves. Thinking about what makes living in Scotland so special, if you’re thinking about working there or bringing a business there. It has a workforce that can afford housing, it has good parks, you can live a healthy life – so there’s something there about selling the story of what it’s like to live there. So maybe if you have a young family and you’re looking at the opportunities and thinking actually, my daughter can shape this city. There are representatives here from Edinburgh and Glasgow and Dundee. Each of these places has got their own story. Greater Glasgow has it’s Greater Glasgow regional metropolitan thing going on; Edinburgh is connected to the water front. There are some big opportunities in the cities, but it’s also about remembering that Scotland’s not just about the cities – there are all these amazing coastal communities, and incredible towns, and we all move between them in a very connected way.

What’s been the highlight of MIPIM for you?
Jude Barber One thing I have loved is the MIPIM Challengers. They have this scheme where they give young professionals complimentary tickets to MIPIM and invitations to events and they encourage them to critique what’s going on. There’s a cohort of around 40 of them. Scotland had one of its events, with all the cities on stage, and one one of the MIPIM Challengers, Becky Rayner of Savills, said that she had come to the Scotland event specifically because Glasgow had declared itself a feminist city. She wanted to meet those enacting the changes and hear more about it. It’s so encouraging to hear that from the next generations of leaders and architects.