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PODCAST

Open City

Open City is a charity dedicated to making architecture and built heritage more open, accessible and equitable.Providing you with essential listening, inspiring voices and built environment insights – theOpen City Podcastcovers news and current events as well as in depth studies of landmark buildings, and cities around the UK and world.At the centre of our line-up is our flagship showThe Brief– an award-winning review of the big stories in architecture, planning and housing news – hosted by Sahiba

society & culture design

All Episodes

30:08

AI nimbyism threatens to upend UK planning

Open City ·

2025/11/20

This week on The Brief Sahiba Chadha is joined by the architect and co-founder of We Made That, Holly Lewis, to discuss:AI nimbyism threatens to upend UK planning // Highstreet developer goes into liquidation // VAT imbalances found to be incentivising demolition// And a furore over plans to install uPVC windows on Peter Barber’s award-winning housing in BowSubscribe to the Open City Podcast onSpotify,SoundcloudoriTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported byBloomberg Connects, the free arts and

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28:57

Deconstructed: The Old Justice - Multiculturalism and...

Open City ·

2025/11/13

In this episode of Deconstructed, Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Alfred Yatlong Yeung to discuss British multiculturalism through the lens of The Old Justice in South Bermondsey, a South Korean styled public house that was built by Sidney C Clark in 1933.If you’ve enjoyed this series about the London County Council, check out @LCC_Legacy on Instagram. (https://www.instagram.com/lcc_legacy)Subscribe to the Open City Podcast onSpotify,SoundcloudoriTunesThe Open City Podcast is supported

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29:38

A new government report on child-centred design,...

Open City ·

2025/11/06

In this episode, technical editor and deputy architecture editor of the Architects’ Journal Fran Williams is joined by Dinah Bornat, an architect and co-founder of ZCD Architects. She’s also the author of All to Play For: How to design child-friendly housing, published by the RIBA in February this year. Together they discuss:A new House of Commons report demands a greater role for children in urban design// UK architectural businesses face growing financial strain // London’s affordable housing

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51:35

In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Designing a Safer...

Open City ·

2025/10/30

In The Room at Accelerate Debates is a new podcast from Open City, broadcasting the live debates from Accelerate, Open City’s free educational programme. In this episode, you’ll hear our first debate of the year, “Designing A Safer City”, asking: what does safety in the public realm really mean? Moderators Siraaj Mitha and Jasmin Yeo are joined by five guest speakers: Gaia Crocella, senior researcher at Publica; Accelerate alumna Bhavni Ghedia; Ciaran Thapar, from the Youth Endowment Fund; artist

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30:22

Appleby Blue wins the 2025 Stirling Prize and set...

Open City ·

2025/10/23

This week on The Brief Sahiba Chadha is joined by the BBC broadcaster, writer and journalist Samira Ahmed to discuss the biggest stories in architecture, conservation planning news:A 21st century almshouse in Southwark wins the Stirling Prize // How Labour ministers are consistently rejecting Historic England’s listing advice// A bid to save Nottinghamshire’s landmark cooling towers flounders // And a competition to rethink the Denys Lasdun-designed Ziggurats at the University of East

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31:43

Deconstructed: Plumstead Common – Policing and...

Open City ·

2025/10/09

In this episode, the finale in a trilogy to mark 60 years since the end of the London County Council, Matthew Lloyd Roberts was joined by Dr Rosamund Lily West, Lecturer in Architectural Studies at the University of Manchester. They discussed Plumstead Common, a municipal park in South East London, the site of riots over access to green space by the organised working class communities of Woolwich and one of the first public parks adopted by the newly created London County Council. They explored the

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30:07

New Towns, High Streets, Terry Farrell and 'The House...

Open City ·

2025/10/02

In this episode, host Fran Williams is joined by Jos Boys, a disability design activist who co-founded Matrix Feminist Design Co-operative and is co-director of The DisOrdinary Architecture Project.Together they discuss:The government reveals the sites for its first new towns // A £5 billion pound fund is launched to revive ‘overlooked’ communities // The Royal Institute of British Architects inaugurates its new president// And we remember a pioneer in postmodern architecture – Terry

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30:03

The future of new towns, record-breaking revenue at...

Open City ·

2025/09/24

In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by Dr Jane Hall, architectural historian and founding member of the Turner Prize-winning collective Assemble. Together they discuss:Lords call for stronger leadership for the government’s new towns // The UK’s largest architecture firm reports record-breaking turnover amid a surge in global projects // Campaigners against the old Museum of London’s demolition win the right to appeal // And they are the biggest cars on the road… could a new tax on sports

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30:39

A new housing secretary, the RIBA prize shortlist and...

Open City ·

2025/09/17

In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha is joined by architecture and design writer and features editor at STIR. Anmol Ahuja. Together they discuss:Can the new housing secretary deliver on the government’s 1.5 million homes pledge? // The shortlist for this year’s RIBA Stirling Prize is revealed // Greenwich and Kent merger to create the UK’s first ‘super-university’ // And a Finnish architect wins the contest for a Helsinki site which has been the focus of thousands of competing designsSubscribe to the

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32:43

Deconstructed: Carlton Cinema — Islington at the...

Open City ·

2025/09/11

In this episode Matthew Lloyd Roberts was joined by Nigel Smith, who runs ‘Memory Palaces’, a website and programme of walking tours to explore the history of London’s cinemas. They discussed the Carlton Cinema on Essex Road, Islington, which first opened to the public in a grand ceremony in 1930, and represents the changing fashions and fate for cinema-going throughout the 20th-century.Nigel will be giving walking tours of London cinemas over the coming months, including the Carlton. For more

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30:32

UK House Prices Fall, Open House Festival 2025 &...

Open City ·

2025/09/04

In this episode, host Fran Williams is joined by Open House Festival Director Celia Mead. Celia is a management consultant who has run major organisations and cultural heritage festivals to discuss: Less than ten days until Open House Festival 2025 // Environmental concerns over plans to redevelop Liverpool Street Station // An unexpected fall in UK house prices // And Donald Trump’s campaign to ‘Make Federal Architecture Beautiful Again’Subscribe to the Open City Podcast

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29:03

Buzzwords: Care with Jasmina Cibic

Open City ·

2025/08/27

Buzzwords is a new pilot podcast from Open City, produced in collaboration with the arts and culture podcast EMPIRE LINES. The podcast unpacks words and phrases often overused in the fields of art and architecture. Produced by curator, writer, and researcher Jelena Sofronijevic, each episode invites artists, curators, architects, and academics to consider what we really mean when we use terms like “sustainable” or “decolonised.”In this episode, Jelena speaks with artist Jasmina Cibic about the idea

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30:28

Dangerously hot homes, the Oxford Street redesign and...

Open City ·

2025/08/13

In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the Head of Climate Action and Public Health at Love Design Studio and Shade the UK, Polly Turton. Together, they discuss the biggest stories this week in architecture and planning news:Warnings over dangerously hot UK homes amid a fourth heatwave this year // The search begins for design teams to upgrade Oxford Street // Brick Lane regeneration plans symbolically rejected // And how a North London school hall could become the UK’s first Museum of

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30:19

Deconstructed: London County Hall – A Palace for...

Open City ·

2025/08/07

In this episode, the second of a trilogy to mark 60 years since the end of the London County Council, Matthew Lloyd Roberts was joined by Dr Ruth Lang. They discussed London County Hall, the purpose-built home of the London County Council which sits on the south bank of the Thames at Westminster. It was designed by Ralph Knott and built from 1911–1939 and was the home of London’s Municipal government until the abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986.Subscribe to the Open City Podcast

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29:56

Kew's Carbon Garden, Selkirk's Brutalist Gem & Relief...

Open City ·

2025/07/30

In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the architecture journalist and co-host of The Brief Fran Williams. Together, they discuss the biggest stories this week in architecture and planning news: Kew Gardens opens a brand new carbon garden and pavilion// Conservation groups unite to rescue a Brutalist gem in the Scottish borders // Restoration plans for Bexhill’s De La Warr Pavilion revealed // And an opportunity for built environment exhibits inside one of London’s greatest postmodern

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29:26

InterCities: Taipei with Brian Hioe

Open City ·

2025/07/23

InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these places’ achievements, struggles, successes and mistakes.In this episode, our host Owen Hatherley is joined by Brian Hioe, a Taiwanese-American writer and academic based in Taipei, known for co-founding New Bloom Magazine and for his work exploring Taiwan’s youth movements, politics, and culture. His 2025

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29:40

The Open House Festival catalogue is live,...

Open City ·

2025/07/16

In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha will be joined by guest Mike Althorpe, an architectural researcher at Karakusevic Carson Architects and the mastermind behind The London Ambler tours. They will be discussing:The programme for this year’s Open House Festival goes live // Bold plans to pedestrianise London’s West End revealed // A last chance to save Milton Keynes landmark pyramid from demolition // And could nightclubbing offer a lifeline to London’s troubled office blocks?To help support

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29:27

Deconstructed: Almanaar Mosque & Cultural Centre -...

Open City ·

2025/07/10

In this episode of Deconstructed, host Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Shukri Sultan, a lecturer at Westminster University, to explore the story of Almanaar Mosque in West London. Together, they unpack how this unassuming building became a vital hub for faith, community, and resilience — especially in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.From its architectural form to its social function, Almanaar offers a powerful lens into how buildings serve more than just physical needs — they shape and

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29:48

Norman Foster to design Queen Elizabeth II memorial,...

Open City ·

2025/07/02

In this episode, host and Open City architectural director Merlin Fulcher will be joined by guest Sarah Carrington, the new Director of The Line, a public art trail that connects Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and The O2. They will be discussing:Norman Foster picked to design Queen Elizabeth’s memorial // The majority of architects are now using AI according to a new study // A major low-carbon heating project gets the green light in Oxford // And SAVE Britain’s Heritage reveals its latest Buildings

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34:21

InterCities: Jerusalem with Yair Wallach

Open City ·

2025/06/25

InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these places’ achievements, struggles, successes and mistakes.In this episode, our host Owen Hatherley is joined by the Israeli-born, UK-based academic and writer Dr Yair Wallach who specialises in the urban history of the Middle East. Today the focus is his 2020 book “A City in Fragments: Urban Text in Modern

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