Open City

Protestors clash with police over immigration arrests in Dalston, Bitter row erupts over last-minute changes to RIBA election rules, Design competition for a memorial at Grenfell tower announced, And could a National Housing Pan be the REAL solution to the housing crisis? The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives off...

Key London councils swing left ending decades of Conservative dominance, Sadiq Khan calls for rent freezes as Bank of England hints at looming recession, New levelling up and planning reforms outlined in the state opening of parliament, And a little known Islington Council architect wins the prestigious MJ Long prize The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau....

Cost of living crisis set to dominate London’s local elections, contentious plans to extend Right to Buy are dusted off once again, new data reveals the sickening scale of air pollution in the capital, and the all-party Suburban Taskforce calls for new limits on permitted development rights. This week the Londown was recorded live from the London Communications Agency offices in Covent Garden with...

Michael Gove puts the brakes on Marks and Spencers’ controversial Oxford Street redevelopment, new questions over Secured by Design allowing the police to reshape our cities, fewer new London skyscrapers coming forward despite record approvals, and Thomas Heatherwick’s tree sculpture for the Jubilee. The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-wo...

We recorded this episode at Architect@Work at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane. This week our host Phin Harper is joined by Open House Festival Chief Curator Zoe Cave, and Hafsa Adan who is a curatorial assistant at Open City. 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,...

This episode of the Londown was recorded live at Kingston University with Open City's Siraaj Mitha, the writer and historian Tom Wilkinson, and architect and senior lecturer at Kingston Laura Evans. We experienced some technical difficulties during the recording, so our apologies for the audio quality in this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Controversial plans to replace ITV’s Southbank studios with new skyscrapers approved. MIPIM: the global property fair where London’s public housing is bought and sold. A conservation row erupts over plans to demolish the 1980s Angel Square in Islington. And the Royal Institute of British Architects seeks a new head of culture just as its diversity chief resigns only one year into the role. Hattie...

This week Merlin catches up with the architect and co-founder of Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN), Joe Giddings. On the menu: Stratford Sphere – a colossal 90m-high LED clad orb – wins planning approval // An unbuilt skyscrapers development in London’s troubled Vauxhall Nine Elms regeneration zone changes hands at a colossal loss // Waterloo, the UK’s busiest station seeks a masterplanner...

This week Rachel catches up with author of new book 'Iconicon: A Journey Around the Landmark Buildings of Contemporary Britain', John Grindrod. Join us for a discussion all about the squatters who tried to create a refugee centre inside an oligarch mansion, two London developments being hampered by cars, the plans to redevelop London's once iconic Euston Station, and much more... Hosted on Acast....

This special episode is a collaboration between  Sustrans  and the Open City podcast. In it, we will hear from members of visual impairment charity  Croydon Vision  about the impacts of street design on their journeys.   In commissioning this piece, Sustrans hopes to spotlight the importance of design that is inclusive and considerate. Sustrans is a charity focused on maki...

This week Merlin is joined by Oliver Lord, head of Clean Cities Campaign UK. They discuss Sadiq Khan's Ulez expansion whouch could transform air quality and congestion across the city, the £1bn of Oligarch property in the capital, the London architects ditch Russia projects in protest over Ukraine invasion, and yet another cyclist is killed at one of London’s deadliest junctions Hosted on Acast. S...

This week Merlin catches up with Catherine Croft, who is the Director of the Twentieth Century Society. On todays show; retrofit takes centre stage in upcoming architects protest and the RIBA London awards shortlist, critics slam a new development at Tottenham Court Road accused of 'murdering' the neighbourhood, the RIBA names seven practices vying to redevelop its 66 Portland Place headquarters,...

This week Merlin catches up with fellow AJ journalist Fran Williams. They discuss how London's iconic architecture was tested to the brink of destruction by Storm Eunice, why a beautiful estate regeneration has fallen short for local residents, Assemble's psychedelic ‘Dreamachine’ landing in London this spring, and the residents of south London’s Central Hill Estate who are calling on architects t...

We can't quite believe it's been a year since we started this show. Join Host Merlin Fulcher, Open City's Phin Harper, and Producer Poppy Waring for a round table discussion all about this show. We hope you enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week architecture critic Phin Harper steps in for Rachel Copel as host, and speaks to the author and journalist Owen Hatherley. They discuss the 11th hour attempt by Greenwich councillors to block the Silvertown tunnel development, three cases of systemic racism misogyny and discrimination which have appeared in the news this week, the East London pools struggling to stay afloat as demolition...

This week Merlin speaks to Sadie Morgan, founding director of Stirling Prize winning architecture practice dRMM and a board member of Homes England. Our top stories this week include the cost of living crisis highlighting the long-running failure to insulate UK homes, the new housing minister who voted against forcing landlords to deliver dwellings ‘fit for human habitation’, the announcement that...

This week, host Merlin Fulcher catches up with architect Sahiba Chadha, partner at Cullinan Studio and course leader on Open City’s Accelerate programme Our top stories this week include the saving of Ridley Road’s iconic indoor market, benefit changes threatening to impede access to the elite professions, a site walk-out by workers on a £900 million Nine Elms skyscraper, and a new statue for Gree...

This week, our new host Rachel Copel catches up with the Andrew Waugh, the founding director of Waugh Thistleton Architects and advocate for low carbon design and construction. Our top stories this week include the future of Richard Rogers' iconic Lloyd's building, the new carbon report which slams the Marks and Spencer flagship store demolition, the Bartlett whistle-blower that was denied ac...

This week Merlin is joined by journalist, writer, and author of 'The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything' - Jonn Elledge. Join us for a discussion on: the controversy surrounding new laws targeting peaceful protest and homeless people, the new journey charges facing motorists in London in a bid to clean up London's air, and the new Canary Wharf tower which was sent back to the drawing board after...

For our first show of 2022, Zoe Cave speaks to Rosamund Lily West - the curator, writer, historian, and Open City tour guide. As Bristol’s Colston Four are acquitted, we ask what next for the decolonisation of London’s built environment / Open City Podcast host Selasi Setufe is awarded an MBE for services to diversity in architecture / Victorian railway arches and Kew treehouses in the spotlight f...

The Londown Christmas Special is here! This week we have four special guests all vying to win this years biggest architecture quiz. On team one we have head of LSA Dr Neal Shasore, and LSA Design Tutor Holly Harrington. Battling them on team two is 20th Century Society president Catherine Slessor MBE, and Director of Open City Phin Harper. This is a Londown like no other! The Londown is produced i...

New office plans threaten to flatten Powell and Moya’s landmark Museum of London; Government accused of collusion with industry over flammable cladding used at Grenfell; Lambeth Council shortlists three architects to clear away and redevelop the acclaimed Central Hill estate; Trellick Tower residents call on Kensington and Chelsea Council for meaningful co-design of new estate additions; And Open...

This week Zoe Cave is joined by Patricia Brown, the director of the built environment consultancy Central. Join us as we discuss why the cladding scandal is rocking the UK's financial stability, what's sparking new rows over gentrification in Hackney, and why infill plans are proving so controversial in Southwark. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Camden is crowned the start up capital, heritage battles rage across the city, HS2 is part-dumped and TfL faces dire financial woes - yet three big names in the London architecture scene make it to the top of the rich list.... Owen Hatherley - the architecture writer, journalist and author of Red Metropolis; a polemical history of municipal socialism in London - joins Merlin in the studi...

This week, the Londown was recorded in front a of a live studio audience at the beautiful South London Gallery. Merlin took to the stage with architect and director of Studio Nyali Nana Biamah-Ofosu, and Guardian Opinions Editor Hettie O'Brien to discuss this week in architecture. As COP26 drew to a close this weekend, we look at the response in architecture and the built environment, and spotligh...