Medieval European architecture is defined by two major successive styles: Romanesque and Gothic. Romanesque architecture (c. 1000–1200 CE) is characterized by massive, thick walls, rounded arches, and a heavy, fortress-like appearance. In the 12th century, Gothic architecture introduced innovations like the pointed arch, the ribbed vault, and the flying butt ... Show More
Today
The Deesis Mosaic in the Hagia Sophia
The Deesis mosaic, located in the South Gallery of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, is a monumental work of Byzantine art dating back to approximately 1261 CE. Created during the Palaeologan Renaissance, a period of cultural and artistic rebirth following the Byzantine recap ... Show More
10m 1s
Jun 2025
John Barr, "1960s University Buildings: The Golden Age of British Modern Architecture" (Lund Humphries, 2025)
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 Un ... Show More
57m 39s
Dec 2020
Diana Darke, "Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe" (Hurst, 2020)
Visitors around the world have travelled to Europe to see the tall spires and stained glass windows of the continent’s Gothic cathedrals: in Cologne, Chartres, Milan, Florence, York and Paris. The trappings of Gothic architecture have become shorthand for “medieval Europe”.
Yet i ... Show More
37m 13s
Oct 2025
Ep 186: The Rules of Modernism
Every rule was made to be broken, except in architecture, where even the act of breaking rules seems to come with its own set of rules. Modernism promised liberation from the past, but it quickly wrote its own commandments into the story—flat roofs, open plans, white walls, and e ... Show More
57m 25s
Oct 2024
Subhashini Kaligotla, "Shiva's Waterfront Temples: Architects and Their Audiences in Medieval India" (Yale UP, 2022)
The vibrant red sandstone temples of India's Deccan Plateau, such as the Pattadakal temple cluster, have attracted visitors since the eighth century or earlier. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the coronation place of the Chalukya dynasty, Pattadakal and its neighboring sites are ... Show More
30m 55s
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
Aug 2023
Christian Parreno, "Boredom, Architecture, and Spatial Experience" (Bloomsbury, 2021)
Boredom is a ubiquitous feature of modern life. Endured by everyone, it is both cause and effect of modernity, and of situations, spaces and surroundings. As such, this book argues, boredom shares an intimate relationship with architecture-one that has been seldom explored in arc ... Show More
35m 6s