113 episodes
About Buildings + Cities Luke Jones & George Gingell Discuss Architecture, History and Culture
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- Arts
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4.7 • 222 Ratings
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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.
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102 — Antoni Gaudí 3 — Going Gothic
In our third episode on Antoni Gaudí we discussed some of his work that draws on traditions of Gothic, catholic and medieval architecture. Specifically we discussed his Teresian College of Barcelona, a female residential educational institution built in the rural Sant Gervasi de Cassoles, absorbed into Barcelona in the 20th century. We also discussed the bizarre Episcopal Palace at Astorga, one of Gaudí's strangest works, which we find fairly unsuccessful. We also discussed an unbuilt and sci-fi proposal for a monastery in Tangier and the Bellesguard House.
All of the images for this episode are available in the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iPCrxmud9RI
Edited by Matthew Lloyd Roberts.
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Please rate and review the show on your podcast store to help other people find us!
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We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org -
101 — Antoni Gaudí 2 — Palau Güell
In the second episode of our series on Gaudí we discussed the remarkable Güell Palace, Barcelona, a work of total design with an unlimited budget built 1886–8. We talked about the mixture of cosmopolitan historical references, ornate detailing, and sophisticated urban party house that make up this unique work. We discussed the patron, Eusebi Güell, an industrialist and aristocrat with a reputation as a dandy and a supporter of wayward artists. Lastly we tried to make sense of the house, and some of the totally bizarre design choices which Gaudí made in the process.
You can see all the images we discussed in this episode in the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/KW3LkgzVYh0
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!
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We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org -
100 — Antoni Gaudí 1 — Bad at School
In the first episode of our new series on Antoni Gaudí, we attempt to place him in the history of 19th-century Spain: a time of civil war, booming industry, declining empire and rapid urbanisation. We talked about the complex politics of the time, and movements for devolution and regional autonomy in his native Catalonia. We also discussed the myth of Gaudí, his status as one of the most famous architects in the world, but also the fact that he is considered deeply uncool amongst architects today. We discussed Barcelona's famous urban grid, and the uneven and contested process of urban growth that shaped it. Lastly we talked about some of Gaudí's earliest projects: streetlights for the city of Barcelona, a set of buildings for the Worker's Cooperative of Mataró, Casa Vicens in Barcelona, El Capricho in Comillas and the Güell Pavilions in Barcelona.
Thank you to everyone for following us as far as our 100th episode!
If you want to see images for all the buildings discussed, you can watch this episode 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 -
99 — Philip K. Dick's Ubik — Gnostic Paranoia
In this episode we discussed 'Ubik' (1969) by Philip K. Dick, a piece of iconic science-fiction set in a world of psychic corporate espionage and dead relatives suspended in perpetual "halflife". Throughout the novel Gnostic and Platonic philosophy exude through perpetually inventive interpretations of advertising culture, psychotic mental states and satire of domestic mod cons. We talked about Dick's fixation on material culture as it appears in his other stories 'The Man in the High Castle' (1962) and 'Pay for the Printer' (1956).
Join us for an About Buildings and Cities Social this Saturday 3rd December from 5pm–late at The Kings Arms pub in Bethnal Green London.
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!
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We’re on the web at aboutbuildingsandcities.org -
98 — The Primitive Hut — The Design of the First Building
In this episode we discussed the idea of 'The Primitive Hut' in 18th and 19th century architectural theory. A vision of the first building was used by texts dating back to Vitruvius to imagine architecture's origins. We started with Marc-Antoine Laugier, author of Essai sur l'architecture (1753), which used the image of the Primitive Hut to call for a return to austere and structurally declarative classicism after the excesses of the baroque. We also discussed the idea of the Primitive Hut in the work of Viollet-le-Duc, who was influenced by ethnographic racism and eugenics in his depiction of the origin of architecture. We strongly recommend Joseph Rykwert's book On Adam's House in Paradise: The Idea of the Primitive Hut in Architectural History for an even more in-depth commentary on this subject.
You can watch this episode on YouTube to see the images
Nature soundscape from: https://www.edinburghrecords.com/free-sound-effects/
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 -
97 — Richard Rogers' Reith Lecture — Cities for a Small Planet
In this one-off episode we discussed the late Richard Rogers, particularly his Reith Lectures, given for the BBC in the mid-90s on the subject of the 'Sustainable City'. We compare and contrast his rhetoric and his design work, try to decipher his vision for the future of the city, and think about the ways in which architectural culture has and hasn't changed in the intervening decades.
You can listen to the Reith lectures here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00gxnzz
This is a one-off episode, our first in a little while! Next we'll be talking about the 'Primitive Hut' as voted for by our Patreon subscribers.
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
Customer Reviews
Appreciation
I am a March student in Chicago and have been listening for some time now. Highly recommend for enjoyable content, review of topics, and relevant insights. Their enthusiasm for architecture helps when you feel burnt out.
Heavily Researched and Entertaining
Excellent podcast that is a fun listen. The guys are wildly informed and exceptional in identifying aspects of architecture in which even a non-architect could be interested.
Review based on discussion of Christopher Alexander’s work
Let me preface my comments in disclosing that I am not an architect and it has been some years since I read “A Pattern Language.” I also do not identify as a hippie.
I agree with another reviewer that the commenters appear erudite and I’m sure they are competent within their profession.
I was put off by their examination of Christopher Alexander’s books. They seem to derive pleasure in deriding and sneering at Alexander’s ideas that were put forth in the sixties, instead of approaching the books with an open mind. Yes, perhaps some of Alexander’s humanistic ideas and actual work have not fared well in the intervening years—which might be said of many architects. This is not a reason to discount his and his colleagues’ ideas entirely.
What I got out of “A Pattern Language”—and I don’t believe I am alone—is that there are many ways in which people experience their environment and derive pleasure and joy. It is less about “rules” than identifing patterns that can be combined in many ways, not all at once, as some patterns lean towards more prospect and others are more refuge, for example. There are many patterns used in the design of my own house—I bought a house plan online that naturally incorporated patterns—not by rote, but as a well-designed house—and then modified the plan to suit my way of living and the building site.
While many ideas put forth come from vernacular and historic ways of building and living in communities, I don’t believe Alexander’s ideas are exclusive to only traditional architecture. I see his ideas in the beautiful and spiritual buildings of Tadao Ando, for example, as well, where light and space are considered. There is great modern architecture and mediocre examples as well. The pedestrian examples of modern buildings forget the human element and result in, for example, a big public space where no one lingers.
I was hoping for a more open-minded discussion of a variety of approaches to architecture—otherwise why bother?— instead of the smug and unfunny fare served up.