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DESIGN:ED Podcast: Charlie Dolman

The Man at Dawn, 2024. *Photo © Mark Fromson*

Burning Man director of event operations Charlie Dolman joins Architectural Record’s DESIGN:ED Podcast to discuss how grassroots design efforts contribute to the success of the annual event, his team’s dedication to land preservation and sustainability, and the infrastructural and urban planning requirements that go into creating the ephemeral desert town of Black Rock City.

“It is truly staggering what some people dream up— I can’t begin to describe it. The most amazing part of it for me is the humanity behind it. A vast majority of them are doing it as pure art—for the joy of creation. It’s the experience of seeing and feeling, and then realizing that all that work took months. These things don't just pop up. It takes time and money to bring an art piece to the desert. That effort is phenomenal to me.”

- Charlie Dolman

Hosted by Austin, Texas–based architect Aaron Prinz, Architectural Record’s DESIGN:ED podcast has featured the most renowned architects of our time—such as Art Gensler, Kengo Kuma, and Glenn Murcutt, as well as rising professionals in the next generation, such as Pascale Sablan, Michael Murphy, and Jenny Wu, all available in our library.