A is for Architecture Podcast

In the newest episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , Paul Chatterton, Professor of Urban Futures at the University of Leeds, discusses parts of his quite recent book Unlocking Sustainable Cities: A Manifesto for Real Change (2019), published by Pluto Press.  In the book, Paul argues against the contemporary city as is , suggesting instead that whilst they are presented as ever-improving hy...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , Gerard Reinmuth and Scot Balmforth, co-founders and directors of Terroir , speak about their practice in this, its 25th year of operation. Terroir are a collective of architects and urban designers based in Tasmania, Australia and Denmark, with a large portfolio of work that includes significant civic, recreation, health, education, housing an...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , the University of Edinburgh’s Richard J. Williams discusses The Expressway World , his brand new book with Polity Press. Richard is an old friend of the podcast, having recorded the first episode in the autumn of 2021. Back then, we spoke about Richard’s book on that bearded provocateur Reyner Banham who, among things, was known for his 1971 b...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , author, curator and currently director of the Farrell Centre at Newcastle University, Owen Hopkins discuss his recent book, The Manifesto House: Buildings that Changed the Future of Architecture , published by Yale University Press two days ago. The Manifesto House explores the history of architecture through the lens of individual houses that...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , Professor of Architectural History and Urban Studies at the University of Basel and urban theorist Kenny Cupers discusses his new book, The Earth That Modernism Built: Empire and the Rise of Planetary Design (University of Texas Press, 2024) .  Kenny talks about the imperial legacies of modern architecture and infrastructure, examining how col...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , architect, scholar and author Tom Spector discusses his book, Architecture and the Public Good ,  first published by Anthem Press in 2021, and now out in paperback. Tom’s critical and philosophical exploration of the ethical foundation of the architecture profession and its role in serving the public, confronts the persistent tension within ar...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , I spoke with Chris L. Smith, Professor of Architectural Theory at the University of Sydney, to discuss his book, Architecture After Deleuze and Guattari (Bloomsbury 2023). We explore how the philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari have influenced architectural thought and practice, and the possibilities that we’re all Deleuzo-Guattar...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , I spoke with Associate Professor of Urban Planning at Hunter College, Stefan Al , and Professor at New York Institute of Technology, Tom Verebes , about their recent co-edited book, The Urbanism Reader: Design, Technology, Culture and the Future of Cities , published by Bloomsbury (2025).  Orientated towards design in the contemporary city, Th...

In this – the 150th! - episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , I was joined by cultural theorist Justin O'Connor, Professor of Cultural Economy at the University of South Australia to discuss his 2024 book, Culture is not an Industry: Reclaiming Art and Culture for the Common Good , published by Manchester University Press. Unpacking and critiquing the concept of creative industries, Ju...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast , architectural historian at the Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, Dr Alistair Fair discusses his latest book, Building Modern Scotland: A Social and Architectural History of the New Towns, 1947–1997 ,  which he co-authored with Lynn Abrams, Kat Breen, Miles Glendinning, Diane Watters and Valerie Wright, and published with Bloom...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, I spoke with John Boughton , social historian, writer and blogger. John has written the hugely insightful and important blog, Municipal Dreams since 2013, on which he explores the history, impact, and legacy of social and council housing in Britain, highlighting its architectural, political, and social significance. In 2018, his first major boo...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, architect, urban designer and founder-director of ZCD Architects , Dinah Bornat , discusses her new book, All to Play For: How to Design Child-Friendly Housing   (RIBA Books 2025). Drawing on research and real-world case studies, we discuss the crucial role of design in shaping inclusive, playful cities, and sustainable communities. Dinah descr...

In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, Shayan Adham - architect, scholar and founder of Layers Studio , a design practice based in Iran, discusses his work and thinking. This is a detour from the podcast’s normal mode, but a happy one. Shayan presents work which I read as both deeply cultural and cosmopolitan, rooted in a critical engagement with the space he operates from, and the...

In this episode of A is for Architecture , architect, historian, and scholar Stylianos Giamarelos, speaks about his recent book, Resisting Postmodern Architecture: Critical Regionalism Before Globalisation , published by UCL press in 2022.  Postmodernism reshaped architecture in the late 20th century. Stylianos discusses how in turn, critical regionalism emerged in resistance to postmodernity’s ec...

In this episode of A is for Architecture , urban sociologist Robert G. Hollands discusses some themes of his book, Beyond the Neoliberal Creative City: Critique and Alternatives in the Urban Cultural Economy , published by Bristol University Press (2023). We discuss the nature and problems of the "creative city" model, its impact on gentrification and inequality, and alternative urban strategies t...

In the newest episode of A is for Architecture , Professor Chris Younès – philosopher, professor emerita at the National School of Architecture of Paris-La Villette and the École Spéciale d'Architecture, a Silver Medalist of the Academy of Architecture in 2005 and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2014 - discusses the 2024 edition of her book, Archite...

In the latest episode of A is for Architecture , Dr. Cameron McEwan , Associate Professor of Architecture at Northumbria University discusses some few of the ideas behind his book, Analogical City   (Punctum Books, 2024), including the relationship between architecture, urban form, and the ways we think about and design cities.  Drawing on Aldo Rossi’s concept of the analogical city, Cameron chall...

In this episode of A is for Architecture , I was joined by the University of Queensland’s Dr Dorina Pojani to discuss her book Trophy Cities: A Feminist Perspective on New Capitals (Edward Elgar Publishing 2021). We explore how new capital cities –Brasilia, Canberra, Abuja, Sejong, Astana and even Washington DC – are conceived of as totalized projects, dominant visions competing for prestige throu...

In this episode of A is for Architecture , I spoke to Álvaro Sevilla-Buitrago , associate professor of urban planning at the School of Architecture, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, about his book Against the Commons: A Radical History of Urban Planning (University of Minnesota Press 2022) . Challenging conventional ideas of shared urban space, Alvaro explores how planning has historically been...

In this episode of A is for Architecture, I spoke with Pablo Meninato, Associate Professor of Architecture at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, Philadelphia, about Urban Labyrinths: Informal Settlements, Architecture, and Social Change in Latin America  (Routledge 2024), co-authored with Gregory Marinic.  Exploring the complexities of informal urbanism, Pablo discusses h...

⁠For this episode of A is for Architecture I spoke with Dr Franca Trubiano, Associate Professor of Architecture at the Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania about her book, Building Theories: Architecture as the Art of Building , published by Routledge in 2022. Building Theories presents an historical evolution of architectural theory, tracing how ideas about building have been sha...

For the first episode of A is for Architecture’s 2025 offer, I was very lucky to be joined by the great architect, writer, theorist and educator, Bernard Tschumi .  We discuss, among other things, his most recent book, Event-Cities 5: Poetics (MIT Press 2024). Globally celebrated for his innovative contributions to contemporary architecture and urbanism, Professor Tschumi has gained international...

For Episode 136 of A is for Architecture, I was joined by Guillaume Couche , the co-founder with Richard Shackleton of Oh Hi Tomorrow —a cutting-edge design practice redefining interface and interaction design - and the co-author of the recent book, Interface Design: Creating Interactions that Drive Successful Product Adoption   (BIS Publications 2024), which he wrote with Richard. We explore the...

In Episode 135 of A is for Architecture, Assistant Professor in Architectural History and Theory in the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge, Dr Fiona Smyth , discusses her book, Pistols in St Paul's: Science, music, and architecture in the twentieth century (Manchester University Press, 2024) ‘a ground-breaking account of the scientists and architects who pioneered acoustics...

In A is for Architecture’s 134th episode, the writer, publisher, former editor of Country Life and visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge, Clive Aslet, discusses his book, Sir Edwin Lutyens: Britain's Greatest Architect ?  (Triglyph Books 2024) which describes the life, work and enduring importance of Edwin Lutyens, including the impact of Gertude Jekyll on his design im...