About Buildings + Cities

Adolf Loos’s essay ‘Ornament and Crime’ (1910) is considered the classic modernist polemic against the frills and folderols of the established arts of the day. We're in the city of Freud — and the neurotic subtext is very close to the surface. We discuss a little of Loos’s career as an architectural iconoclast, jersey fanatic, and pervert :-/ Then we go on to a more freeform discussion of ornament in the contemporary, during which we massively contradict ourselves several times. We discussed —  Freud Nietzsche Hegel Darwin Louis Sullivan Mrs Beeton English Free Building — Hermann Muthesius Peter Behrens Karl Friedrich Schinkel Joseph Maria Olbrich Henry van der Velde Joseph Hoffmann Josephine Baker’s 'Banana Dance' The black granite bathroom at Villa Karma (On the subject of reprehensible characters) Albert Speer Contemporary ornamenters —  Caruso St John Farshid Moussavi & her book on facades Music —  Victor Sylvester and his Ballroom Orchestra ‘Vienna, City of my Dreams’ The Three Suns ‘Alt Wien’ (1949) Philharmonic Orchestra Berlin ‘Von Wien durch die Welt' Oldbrig's zither trio ‘Wien bliebt Wien’ All from archive.org Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

In this episode we explore in two early schemes for mass housing, at Pessac and in Stuttgart. Among many other things, we talked about — Bourneville New Lanark - Arnold circus - Bruno taut’s horseshoe estate - Pessac - Henri Frugès - The Weissenhofseidlung - Margarete Schutte-Lihotsky - Hannes Meyer’s essay ‘The New World’ Music & Interlude — Harry Ross ‘Get Me an Apartment - Part 1’ from archive.org Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

The concluding part of our discussion of ‘Urbanism’ (1925) — we look at the proposals for a Contemporary City for Three Million (1923), and the notorious Plan Voisin (1925). For Le Corbusier’s detractors, these are really the crimes of the century. We did our best to think of something nice to say about them. Music — Dave Gabriel ‘Midst of their morning chimes’ Oneohtrix Point Never ‘Nobody Here’ Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

The first of a two part episode exploring Le Corbusier’s infamous and much-derided urban proposals, exhibited in the Esprit Nouveau Pavilion in 1925. In this part, we’re conducting a close reading of ‘Urbanism’ (sometimes known as ‘The City of Tomorrow and its Planning’). We mostly stayed on topic but there are allusions to Camillo Sitte Augustus Welby Pugin’s ‘Comparisons’ Music — Glass Boy ‘WELP’ Lovira ‘All Things Considered’ Loyalty Freak Music ‘Once More With You’ and ‘Waiting TTTT’ Three Chain Links ‘Heavy Traffic’ All from the Free Music Archive Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Franz Kafka’s first, and least-finished, novel is an imaginary journey around the USA (a country he never visited). Written in 1912, it’s a fantasy of America at a time when seemed, to Europeans at least, to be the most futuristic (and mysterious) place on Earth. Kafka’s fascination with machinery, technology and engineering is on display in ‘Amerika’, in which the young Karl Rossmann finds himself cut adrift in a land of glass elevators, miles-long traffic jams, endless hotels, filled with delirious extremes of luxury, poverty and inventiveness. The edition we read is the current Penguin translation by Michael Hoffman. We made brief reference to Joseph Roth, and to Neuromancer’s ‘Villa Straylight’. Thanks for listening and Happy New Year! Music: David Rose and his Orchestra / Anton Dvorak ‘Humoresque’ (1946) archive.org Felix Arndt / Anton Dvorak ‘Humoresque’ (1917) at archive.org Dvorak, Casals, Szell, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra ‘Cello Concerto’ I / II (1937) archive.org Dvorak, Szell, Cleveland Orchestra ’Slavonic Dances’ 2, 4 & 5 (1947) archive.org Efrem Zimbalist; Sam Chotzinoff; Zimbalist ‘Hebrew Melody and Dance’ (1912) archive.org Riccardo Martin; Dvorak; Victor Orchestra ‘Als die alte Mutter’ (1910) archive.org Ukrainska Orchestra Pawla Humeniuka ‘Kozak-Trepak’ from the Free Music Archive Jack Perry & the Light Crust Doughboys ‘Oklahoma Waltz’ (1947) youtube Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

For our Christmas episode, we're discussing the early Purist villas! Knowing the right people, and a relentless programme of self-publicity yielded a steady stream of clients for Le Corbusier in the early 1920s, and allowed him to explore an architectural complement to Purism, most notably in a pair of houses for art-loving ‘batchelors’ — the Ozenfant Studio and Villa La Roche. We found time to discuss (probably with unwarranted levity, sorry) the death of Le Corbusier’s father George, and his troubled marriage to Yvonne Gallis. Topics include —  - Maison Citrohan - Villa Ker-ka-re - Studio Ozenfant Villa La Roche - Allusions to the English House and Pliny episodes 01 & 05, and 02 Strawberry Hill (Horace Walpole) The Architectural promenade - The Hôtel Particulier - CN Ledoux - Ryue Nishizawa & SANAA - Domesticity, Layered Space and the ‘Buffer Zone’ Villa Le Lac in Corseaux - The 'involuntary euthanasia' of his father George - Luigi Snozzi Yvonne Gallis Music — Emile Petti and his cosmopolitans — Cocktail Hour at the Savoy Plaza Joseph C Smith’s Orchestra ‘Oh, Frenchy!’ Charles Trenet ‘En ecoutant mon cour chanter’ Jean Sablon ‘J’attendrai’ all from archive.org Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Explore the exciting intersection of architecture and the machine age, as Le Corbusier proposes that modern design should merge timeless values with contemporary technology. Discover fascinating contrasts, like sports cars alongside the Parthenon, and delve into the critique of modern architecture's clarity versus the complexity often found in design today. The conversation touches on historical influences from cubism to Greek temples, and reveals how engineering principles can reshape our living environments for a better future.

Dive into the vibrant world of Paris in 1917 with Le Corbusier, as he navigates a mix of financial strife and groundbreaking creativity. Discover his intriguing ventures—from mechanized abattoirs to innovative art magazines. The conversation highlights his impactful collaborations with Amedée Ozenfant and the artistic evolution of Purism. Amidst the chaos of wartime Paris, witness the complexities of love and ambition, all while exploring the architectural marvels like the breeze block plant and a unique water tower project.

Discover the intriguing early life of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier, from his modest Swiss upbringing to his groundbreaking architectural ideas. Explore his influential mentors, early projects, and pivotal travels that shaped his vision. The discussion also highlights the tension he faced between simplicity and hedonism, and draws parallels to significant historical figures in architecture. Tune in for a deep dive into the contradictions and lasting impact of one of the 20th century's most pivotal architects.

First announced in 1931, the project for the Palace of the Soviets in Moscow evolved into a staggeringly vast and bizarre proposal which stalled during WWII when only the foundations had been completed. A 400m tall neoclassical fantasy topped with a vast statue of Lenin; the Palace would probably, if completed, have still been the tallest building in the world in the year 2000. Forming a counterpart of sorts to our discussion of the Chicago Tribune — the Palace is another worldwide competition of the interwar period in which the battle over architectural style and ideology played out in the process of selection and development, as the old 1920s avant grade felt the ground shift under them and the ideology of Stalinist architecture began to solidify. A couple of helpful listener corrections (here)[https://www.instagram.com/p/BbUxAq2FLaj/] (and here)[https://www.instagram.com/p/BbUxB0vlmnJ/] We discussed — Joze Pleçnik Edwin Lutyens (neither in the competition) Russian Avant-gardists — Ivan Leonidov Konstantin Melnikov Mosei Ginzburg The League of Nations Competition entries of Le Corbusier & Hannes Meyer Foreign modernists in Russia Ernst May And the entries of —  Le Corbusier Walter Gropius Erich Mendehlson Hans Pölzig Auguste Perret The winners —  Boris Iofan Vladimir Shchuko Hector Hamilton Plus the later designs of — Ilya Golosov’s Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Gelfreikh Alabian, Kochar and Mordvinov’s Simbirtsev Alexander Brodsky’s Reminiscences Anatole Kopp ‘Foreign architects in the Soviet Union during the first two five-year plans’ Sonia Hoisington ‘Even Higher: The Evolution of the Palace of the Soviets’ Music —  ‘A1’ from the album ‘ΝΕΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΚΟΚΚΑΛΑ’ by Kοκκαλα, from the Free Music Archive ‘Bolshevik Leaves Home’ (1918) by D. Vasilev-Buglay, Demyan Bedniy Soviet National Anthem, Stalin version Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org This podcast is powered by Pinecast.