The 1960s continue to hold an almost mythical place in Western culture, particularly in Britain, where change was widespread and infiltrated many aspects of life. This included architecture, whose role in a modern democracy and the form it should take were hotly debated. 1960s University Buildings: The Golden Age of British Modern Architecture (Lund Humphrie ... Show More
Oct 5
Carlotta Daro, "The Architecture of the Wire: Infrastructures of Telecommunication" (MIT Press, 2025)
The Architecture of the Wire explores the development of telecommunications infrastructure and its impact on the architectural and urban culture of the modern age—from poles, wires, and cables, to “micro-architectures,” such as the théâtrophone and the telephone booth. Starting w ... Show More
37m 23s
Sep 26
Aaron Cayer, "Incorporating Architects: How American Architecture Became a Practice of Empire" (U California Press, 2025)
By the end of the twentieth century, US architecture and engineering firms held more capital than entire countries, employed more people than were housed in most cities, and rented offices in more nations than comprised the UN. Within them, architects were designing not single bu ... Show More
34m 35s
Aug 30
Olga Touloumi, "Assembly by Design: The United Nations and Its Global Interior" (U Minnesota Press, 2024)
For almost seven years after World War II, a small group of architects took on an exciting task: to imagine the spaces of global governance for a new political organization called the United Nations (UN). To create the iconic headquarters of the UN in New York City, these archite ... Show More
58m 5s
Aug 14
Marianna Charitonidou: Drawing, meaning and modernism.
In the newest episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, I spoke to the architect, historian and theorist Dr Marianna Charitonidou about her fairly recent book, Architectural Drawings as Investigating Devices: Architecture’s Changing Scope in the 20th Century, which she publis ... Show More
53m 47s
May 2025
Owen Hopkins: Home made manifestos.
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 P ... Show More
50m 41s
May 2025
Kenny Cupers: Empire, architecture and modern design.
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 Tex ... Show More
50m 1s
Jan 2021
Daniel A. Barber, "Modern Architecture and Climate: Design Before Air Conditioning" (Princeton UP, 2020)
Modern Architecture and Climate explores how leading architects of the twentieth century incorporated climate-mediating strategies into their designs, and shows how regional approaches to climate adaptability were essential to the development of modern architecture. Focusing on t ... Show More
1h 2m
Sep 29
TLDR Le Corbusier | Villa Savoye
Le Corbusier (born Charles-Édouard Jeanneret) was a pioneer of modern architecture whose ideas reshaped our urban landscapes. A Swiss-born, French-naturalized architect, designer, and urban planner, Le Corbusier championed a new vision for living in the 20th century. His philosop ... Show More
13m 1s
Apr 2025
Alistair Fair: New Towns, New Scotland.
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 c ... Show More
55m 56s
Feb 2025
Miles Glendinning, "Mass Housing: Modern Architecture and State Power – a Global History" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Mass Housing: Modern Architecture and State Power – a Global History (Bloomsbury, 2021) is a major work that provides the first comprehensive history of one of modernism's most defining and controversial architectural legacies: the 20th-century drive to provide 'homes for the peo ... Show More
1h 20m