Open City
Open City
Open City is a charity dedicated to making architecture and built heritage more open, accessible and equitable.Providing you with essential listening, inspiring voices and built environment insights – the Open City Podcast covers news and current events as well as in depth studies of landmark buildings, and cities around the UK and world.At the centre of our line-up is our flagship show The Brief – an award-winning review of the big stories in architecture, planning and housing news – hosted by Sahiba Chadha and Fran Williams on a fortnightly basis.Alongside this is Deconstructed – a monthly podcast hosted by Matthew Lloyd Roberts taking apart the architecture of individual buildings and InterCities – a monthly podcast hosted by Owen Hatherley exploring municipal transformation around the world. All three shows profile new, expert and diverse voices from across industry, journalism, academia and beyond. The Open City Podcast is produced by Hunter Charlton and Paige Reynolds. The commissioning editor is Merlin Fulcher. The Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage. The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend.Photo credit: Owen Hatherley portrait © Antonio Olmos Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 6, 2021 • 34min
What does Sadiq Khan mean for London? With Owen Hatherley
Sadiq Khan set for landslide victory winning a second term as London mayor, Open City trustees win job to design 8 billion pound Thamesmead redevelopment, Serpentine Pavilion criticised over un-sustainable concrete foundations, and NEO Bankside residents take Tate Modern to the Supreme Court. Join Zoe Cave and writer, journalist, and author Owen Hatherley as they dissect this week’s top architecture news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 3, 2021 • 39min
The Alternative Mayoral Election
Public fruit orchards in the Royal Parks. A ban on politicians standing for mayor of London. Libraries to serve pints of beer and the decriminalisation of soft drugs. This is the mayoral manifesto of the late musician, artist and manager of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren who stood for mayor at the turn of the millennium with a truly remarkable campaign.Rather than talk more about this year’s election, today we’re dedicating the whole show to the story of Malcolm’s bid to be mayor. As he said at the time, "It’s the biggest job in London, don’t give it to a politician". Zoë Cave speaks to McLaren's biographer, Paul Gorman, artist and designer, Scott King and campaign manager, Peter Culshaw.Listen out for our Thursday morning news show, The Londown, where we will be discussing the 2021 Mayoral Election with Owen Hatherley.You can support Open City and keep this podcast free and accessible for others to listen to by donating and supporting us, go to open-city.org.uk/support Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 29, 2021 • 30min
Skyscrapers and the Silvertown Tunnel. With Will Ing
City of London opens the way for more skyscrapers, academics demand an ‘emergency review’ of Silvertown Tunnel, London Festival of Architecture boss leaves for Scotland, and an exciting new generation of British architects showcased in the AJ Small Projects prize and the Architecture Foundation’s New Architects 4 book – Merlin Fulcher and special guest Will Ing round up this week’s top London architecture newsIf you enjoy The Londown we recommend subscribing to the Architects’ Journal – for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 22, 2021 • 31min
The Londown | 22 April | Dave Hill
An in-depth comparison of the election manifestos of London's mayoral election candidates, studies shows no slowdown in skyscraper approvals despite the pandemic, and why drivers so often seem grumpy – could it be down to how cars taint perceptions of the environment around us? Merlin Fulcher and special guest Dave Hill of OnLondon give you the rundown on this week's top London architecture news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 19, 2021 • 33min
Slavery and the City | the Jamaica Wine House | Episode 3
In this third and final episode, Selasi is joined by Akil Scafe-Smith, a member of the interdisciplinary design team Resolve. In this round table discussion, they explore how informal spaces such as pubs and coffee shops in our cities can be sites for establishing power, and become places of resistance. Through an in depth analysis of the Jamaica Wine House on St Michael's Alley, we question what we mean by informal spaces and examine the myths and rituals that mobilise power in these spaces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 15, 2021 • 31min
The Londown | 15 April | Amanda Baillieu
Six finalists vying to upgrade the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing, two winners announced for this year’s Antepavilion, campaigners urge London’s mayor to block Ealing Council’s town hall redevelopment, and the future of nightclubs called into question – Merlin Fulcher and special guest Amanda Baillieu round up this week’s top London architecture news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 12, 2021 • 46min
Slavery and the City | Guildhall & the Zong massacre | Episode 2
In this episode we speak with academic Anita Rupprecht from the University of Brighton, specialising in interconnected histories and representations of British transatlantic slavery, and Dalia Gebrial, a Rhodes must fall campaigner and PhD student of race, work & digital economy.In the second episode of this series, through an analysis of London’s Guildhall in relation to the Zong massacre, we explore collective amnesia, how society processes guilt with regards to our colonial past, how we can move forward, and what role - if any - does our city's architecture play in this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 7, 2021 • 32min
The Londown | 08 April | Phineas Harper
London architect hit with online abuse for criticising Georgian new builds, Square Mile skyscraper set for record £1.8bn sale despite the Work from Home boom, architecture organisations left with slim pickings from the Government’s cultural recovery fund, the Barbican Centre announces a new exhibition on radical 1980s feminist architecture cooperative Matrix, and a new National Covid Memorial takes shape on the Southbank. Zoe Cave and special guest Phineas Harper round up this week’s top London architecture news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 5, 2021 • 29min
Slavery and the City | Royal Exchange | Episode 1
In this episode, we speak to Kehinde Andrews, Professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University and the author of ‘The new age of empire: how racism and colonialism still rule the world’, and Professor Ola Uduku, research professor at the Manchester school of architecture. Through an analysis of the Royal Exchange, we explore how architecture and the built environment can symbolise and embody the legacies of slavery, empire, and colonialism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 31, 2021 • 33min
The Londown | 1 April | With Ewa Effiom
Parliament launches a major inquiry into whole life carbon, the slavery links of City landmarks explored in a new Open City Podcast, Stirling Prize winner Haworth Tompkins designs an industrial estate, and reflecting on Zaha Hadid’s legacy five years since she died. Merlin Fulcher and special guest Ewa Effiom round up this week’s top London architecture news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
