122 episodes

A podcast about architecture, buildings and cities, from the distant past to the present day. Plus detours into technology, film, fiction, comics, drawings, and the dimly imagined future.

With Luke Jones and George Gingell.

About Buildings + Cities Luke Jones & George Gingell Discuss Architecture, History and Culture

    • Arts
    • 4.7 • 238 Ratings

A podcast about architecture, buildings and cities, from the distant past to the present day. Plus detours into technology, film, fiction, comics, drawings, and the dimly imagined future.

With Luke Jones and George Gingell.

    110 — Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York — 3/3

    110 — Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York — 3/3

    The final part of our series on 'Delirious New York'! We discussed the culture clash between European high modernism and Manhattanism. We also discussed the Appendix at the end of the book, a set of speculative, wry, ironic and beautiful visions of where next for the retroactive manifesto, featuring the work of Madelon Vriesendorp, Zoe Zenghelis, Elia Zenghelis and Richard Perlmutter.

    Hope you enjoy it!

    Watch this episode with images: https://youtu.be/ouVLzj-292s

    Edited by Matthew Lloyd Roberts.

    Support the show on Patreon to receive bonus content for every show.

    Please rate and review the show on your podcast store to help other people find us!

    Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook

    We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org

    • 49 min
    109 — Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York — 2/3

    109 — Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York — 2/3

    In our second episode on Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York, we covered his discussion of three heroic skyscrapers of Manhattanism's golden age: The Empire State Building, The New York Athletic Club and The Rockefeller Centre. We also tried to further explain Koolhaas's unique way of thinking about history, and the particular emphases of his project.

    For images, follow along on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tmOfxCU3dvA

    Edited by Matthew Lloyd Roberts.

    Support the show on Patreon to receive bonus content for every show.

    Please rate and review the show on your podcast store to help other people find us!

    Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook

    We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org

    • 59 min
    108 — Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York — 1/3

    108 — Rem Koolhaas's Delirious New York — 1/3

    In this episode, the first of a 3-parter, we began our discussion of 'Delirious New York' (1978) by Rem Koolhaas, a 'retroactive manifesto' for Manhattan. In this first part we discussed Rem's reputation, his style and his vision of the historical origins of the skyscraper and its formal qualities, a key part of the book's thesis. This takes us from the tabloid sensibilities of the Coney Island funfair to fraudulent 19thC building scams.

    You can watch along to see our slides on YouTube https://youtu.be/XSR2UFpjB-A

    Edited by Matthew Lloyd Roberts.

    Support the show on Patreon to receive bonus content for every show.

    Please rate and review the show on your podcast store to help other people find us!

    Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook

    We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org

    • 1 hr 11 min
    Bonus Unlocked — 97.5 — Neom

    Bonus Unlocked — 97.5 — Neom

    This is an unlocked Patreon bonus episode from last year. To get access to all our bonus content and support the show, please subscribe for just £3 a month: https://www.patreon.com/about_buildings

    In this bonus episode we discussed Neom, the sci-fi project of the Saudi Arabian government to totally reshape the north-west of the country, including a 170km linear city in the desert. We talked a little bit about the history of linear cities from Leonidov to Superstudio, and reflected on what the point of these fantastical publicity projects might be.

    Edited by Matthew Lloyd Roberts.

    Support the show on Patreon to receive bonus content for every show.

    Please rate and review the show on your podcast store to help other people find us!

    Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook

    We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org

    • 56 min
    107 – Stewart Brand's 'How Buildings Learn' — "What Happens After They're Built"

    107 – Stewart Brand's 'How Buildings Learn' — "What Happens After They're Built"

    In this one-off summer episode we discussed 'How Buildings Learn' (1994) by Stewart Brand. The book is concerned with the whole lifespan of buildings, and "What Happens After They're Built?" This is a valuable and necessary agenda in architecture, however Brand's methodology is sometimes a little slapdash, often to comical effect. Come for the timeless wisdom of the Duchess of Devonshire, stay for the reductive account of the sins of architects. We talked through the book, the things we liked about it and raised some critiques, notably Brand's lack of thought about ownership and economics.

    All the images mentioned in this episode are available on YouTube.

    Edited by Matthew Lloyd Roberts.

    Support the show on Patreon to receive bonus content for every show.

    Please rate and review the show on your podcast store to help other people find us!

    Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook

    We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org

    • 1 hr 45 min
    106 — Antoni Gaudí 7 — La Sagrada Familia

    106 — Antoni Gaudí 7 — La Sagrada Familia

    In the final episode of our Antoni Gaudí series, we discussed his magnum opus, one of the most famous buildings in the world: La Sagrada Familia. However, as is always the case, not everything is as it seems. We discuss the complex origins of this remarkable building, Gaudí's work on it over decades, the tragic circumstances of his death, and the life of the building after his death.

    In the next couple of days we will be releasing a reflective episode on our Gaudí series, looking back at Gaudí, his legacy, and what it all means.

    Watch this episode on YouTube to follow along with the images,

    Edited by Matthew Lloyd Roberts.

    Support the show on Patreon to receive bonus content for every show.

    Please rate and review the show on your podcast store to help other people find us!

    Follow us on twitter // instagram // facebook

    We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org

    • 1 hr 18 min

Customer Reviews

4.7 out of 5
238 Ratings

238 Ratings

cassiependino ,

the best architecture podcast in my humble opinion

you guys are sharp!! insightful, engaging, informative, fun! you get into the nitty gritty and you do such a good job of taking a wholistic view of your topic and connecting lots of disparate ideas and making them cohesive. i learn a lot and my architectural vocabulary had benefited greatly. i don’t even listen on the apple podcast app i literally downloaded it just to write this review because spotify doesn’t let you write one. keep it up! i’m tuned in!

Jlbooher ,

Learn About Building Architecture and Architects and Culture

This show is entertaining and engaging. They hosts look at building architecture through case studies of important architects such as GaudÍ and Scarpa. Plus there are book reviews like Gibson’s Neuromancer which focus on the spaces and buildings.

johnBisJohnB ,

Irreverent and deeply informed

One of the best podcasts I have ever listened to.

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