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, 2023 • 29min
SuperBloom and the not-so-green credentials of urban trees
In this episode Jaideep Warya, landscape architect at Allies and Morrison and Andrew Grant from Grant Associates, discuss how to steer projects and clients towards long-lasting, sustainable outcomes especially in their choice of materials.Through conversations about SuperBloom (Grant Associate's spectacular landscape in the moat of the Tower of London), and the not-so-green credentials of urban tree planting schemes (researched by Jai in the current edition of Landscape), they delve into issues of biodiversity, carbon sequestration and the profession's progress towards designing for a net zero future.To read their articles and all the others in this edition, you can find an online version of Landscape for free here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 4, 2023 • 34min
The Londown Transport Special
This week we revisit some of our favorite London transport stories we've covered over the past year/Episodes featured:The 15-minute city culture war debate with Denean RoweParis bans rental e-scooters with Neal ShasoreThe opening of Crossrail (the Elizabeth Line) with Deborah SauntThe plight of rail workers with Alpa DepaniThe argument for dismantling road infrastructure with Phin HarperAlternative uses for parking spaces with Deborah DennerClick here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.The C20 Society are offering Londown supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ 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 20, 2023 • 36min
Poor housing costing NHS £1.4 billion each year
This week new host Fran Williams speaks to Melissa York, assistant property editor at The Times and The Sunday Times.|| Poor housing costing NHS £1.4 billion pounds each year || Rishi Sunak scraps housing targets amid pressure from Conservative members || Developers failing to deliver the play spaces London needs || And new data reveals enduring inequalities in the UK’s architecture industry ||Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society. The C20 Society are offering Londown supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ 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 13, 2023 • 34min
Gove admits Coalition policies added to social housing failures
This week Phin Harper speaks to the founder and director of the consultancy Municipal, Claire Bennie.| Gove admits Coalition policies added to social housing failures || Landlords roll out draconian new vetting procedures || UK insulation scheme set to take 300 years to meet targets || And the architecturally acclaimed London college facing demolition |Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ 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 6, 2023 • 35min
Britain's first memorial to the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade
This week Merlin speaks to the writer, architecture historian, and head of the London School of Architecture - Neal Shasore.Paris bans rental e-scooters | A new ‘Superloop’ bus network for suburban London | A memorial to the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade | And a reprieve for Richard Rogers’ iconic Channel 4 HeadquartersClick here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society. If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ 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 1, 2023 • 44min
Petrochemical reliance & the value of indigenous knowledge
Marsha Ramroop speaks to two contributors of the Material Matters edition of Landscape: Claire Thirlwall and Sandeep Balagangadharan Menon. Together they discuss landscape architecture's reliance on petrochemicals, the value found in indigenous knowledge, the industry's response to the climate crisis and thoughts on the types of questions practitioners and educators should be asking.To read their articles and all the others in this edition, you can find an online version of Landscape for free here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 23, 2023 • 48min
the 100th episode of the Londown
In this special bumper 100th episode, Merlin Fulcher takes the guest-pundit hot seat, to answer questions on the housing, cost of living, and climate crises. Guiding him through these meaty topics is new host Sahiba Chadha -- architect and Accelerate tutor.Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal. If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ 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.
Mar 16, 2023 • 30min
A new budget amid a wave of public sector strike disruptions
Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.This week Merlin speaks to Lachlan Anderson-Frank. Lachlan trained as an architect and is a town planner working at the London Borough of Enfield.A new budget amid a wave of public sector strike disruptions | Three London buildings among the UK’ s most at risk of demolition | A fatal fire in an east London flat housing 18 people | And Elon Musk’s vision for a new build ‘utopia’ in Texas The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal. If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ 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.
Mar 11, 2023 • 36min
Leisured City pt2 - a guided walk around the West End
Following on from Merlin's interview with Angus Lockyer on the Londown this week, here is the second leg of the Leisured City guided walk -- part of Angus' new podcast series historicity.This episode,we see how some parts of the West End (like Soho) came down in the world, while others (like St James’s) stayed up.More about the series:Most existing tours either explore particular themes in a city’s history (like crime) or use the city as a stage for other stories (like works of literature and art). Historicity focuses instead on the city itself, weaving its stories together with its connections to the world beyond, and so explaining why we see what we do. Recorded on location and delivered as a podcast, each walk is designed to be followed in real time, at the listeners' own pace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 9, 2023 • 42min
Spotlighting the women written out of London’s built environment history
Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.This week Merlin speaks to the historian, and writer and presenter of the audio walking tours series - historicity - Angus Lockyer.Lambeth pulls the plug on controversial estate demolitions | London’s David Chipperfield wins the Pritzker Prize - architecture’s most coveted title | A UK-wide retrofitting program to unlock 35 billion pounds for the economy | And a new award-winning map spotlighting the women written out of London’s built environment history The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal. If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ 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.
