The Consequences of Architecture

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Architects want to be associated with it and pretend that they are kind of participating in this process of making the world a better place as, you know, the tech industry and some of these PR folks would put it right. Meanwhile, we're contributing to things like gentrification, making cities less livable for people who drive them basically. And so these kinds of harms get covered up by the PR that is behind these projects,. Yeah, definitely.

Paris Marx is joined by Kate Wagner to discuss the goals behind Saudi Arabia’s architectural megaprojects, the incentives for major architects to work on projects for despotic regimes, and how architecture’s relationship to tech is driven by profits and PR.

Kate Wagner is an architecture critic and journalist. She’s also the creator of McMansion Hell. Follow Kate on Twitter at @mcmansionhell.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode: