Open City

This week Merlin spoke to the new director of The London Society, Rob Fiehn.

//156 schools to close over concrete safety concerns, sparking a crisis in government // Acclaimed social housing architect Peter Barber calls for a mass homes building program // The rising support among Londoners for the Ultra-Low Emission Zone // And Marks & Spencer launches an appeal to resurrect its Oxford Street redevelopment //

The Brief is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.

Click here to get early, ad-free access to The Brief, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Brief is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Brief is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering The Brief supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.



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This week Phin spoke to Nabil Al-Kinani. Nabil is a built-environment professional, cultural producer, and guest curator for the Open House Festival 2023

// London faces a crisis of dullness as eccentrics and creatives driven out of the capital // ‘Loo deserts’ across swathes of the capital exclude people and cause surge in public urination // UK’s first anti-apartheid centre to open next year // And just one week to go until the largest celebration of architecture and neighborhoods in the country, Open House Festival //

The Brief is supported by Bloomberg Connects, a free guide to the world's best art exhibitions and museums.

Click here to get early, ad-free access to The Brief, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Brief is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Brief is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering The Brief supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.



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This week Sahiba spoke to Jim Stephenson and Sofia Smith. Jim is an award-winning architectural photographer and filmmaker. Sofia is a writer and photographic artist, and together they run a small film studio called Stephenson&

London's largest architecture event, Open House Festival launches 2023 program // More media culture wars break out over Low Traffic Neighborhoods // Extraordinary 1960s synagogue and holocaust memorial under threat of demolition in Brighton // And it's architecture awards season! What do the short and long lists for this year's gongs tell us about practice today?

Click here to get early, ad-free access to The Brief, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Brief is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Brief is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering The Brief supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.



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This week Merlin spoke to Sharon Ament, director of the Museum of London.

Museum of London announces strategic objectives for the next five years // The banks of the river Thames experience a flurry of activity as thousands take up mudlarking // Recent poll results raise questions over the importance of cultural capital during the cost of living crisis // And the knitting renaissance among millennials and Gen Z

Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering Londown supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.



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This week we revisit some of our favorite climate related stories we've covered over the past year

Episodes featured:

Scientists deliver ‘final warning’ on climate crisis: act now or it’s too late with Merlin Fulcher

UK insulation scheme set to take 300 years to meet government targets with Clare Bennie

Micahel Gove rejects M&S Oxford Street demolition in ‘watershed’ moment for retrofit with Merlin Fulcher

Global heating will push billions outside ‘human climate niche’ with Peter Apps

Britain is addicted to the wrecking ball. It’s trashing our heritage and the planet with Denean Rowe

Carbon credits: towards net zero or zero credibility? with Katy Marks

New legislation mandating verdant urban wetlands to tackle urban flooding with Phin Harper

Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering Londown supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.

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Eric Parry Architects (EPA) is responsible for the designing of some of the most significant projects in London today with many of its most important architectural works clustered in the City of London and Westminster. Open City has worked with EPA to create a two-part series of print and audio tours celebrating this contribution.

This tour focuses on the City of London and will begin at The Southwark Gateway Needle, London Bridge and take in Fen Court (including the rooftop garden at 120 Fenchurch).

The walking tour will visit key Eric Parry buildings including St Helens Place & Undershaft, Threadneedle Street and Paternoster Square. The tour ends at Salisbury Square, Fleet Street.

EPA has not only developed a reputation for delivering beautifully crafted and well-considered buildings, but also for championing generous amounts of public realm in its projects. The Farringdon-based studio is involved in every scale of making,  from a door handle to an urban masterplan.

ROUTE NOTES:

There are eleven listening points on this tour, the first of which is at The Gateway Needle in London Bridge:

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This week Merlin takes to the hot-seat with producer Poppy Waring

// Rishi Sunak vows Low Traffic Neighborhoods review // Micahel Gove rejects M&S Oxford Street demolition in ‘watershed’ moment for retrofit // HS2 rated unachievable by the government’s infrastructure watchdog // And new analysis shows how race and income affect the quality of air you breathe //

Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering Londown supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.

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In this episode Paul speaks to Abukokkar Siddiki and Patricia Brown. Abu is a British Bangladeshi architect who for the past 3 years has been guiding Birmingham City University students through a sustainable development co-lab project in the village of Kazir Gaon in Northeast Bangladesh. Pat is Director of Central – a consultancy centred on the dynamics of cities and the process of achieving change. In 1999, she played a pivotal role in the pioneering Legible London project which has now been implemented by boroughs across the capital.

Through conversations around urban development on two very different scales, they explore what sustainable development can look like, and evaluate the importance of innovative signage strategies in creating pedestrian friendly urban landscapes.

To read their articles and all the others in this edition, you can find an online version of Landscape for free here

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This week Sahiba spoke to the writer and Design Museum curator, George Kafka.

// Lives at risk as blistering heat scorches southern Europe // Government adviser calls for a major rethink on new road building // Labour group proposes nationalising 500,000 private homes // And the government promises a crack down on ‘rip-off’ university degrees //

Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering Londown supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.



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This week Phin spoke to Leo Pollak, who is Councillor for South Bermondsey Ward in the London Borough of Southwark.

// An SUV crash at a primary school in Wimbledon kills two children // The Architect Sir David Adjaye steps away from major projects after sexual assault allegations published in the Financial Times // Local authorities call for new raft of policies to transform council housing delivery // And the Jamaican metallurgists rediscovered at the centre of modern architectural and industrial history //

Click here to get early, ad-free access to the Londown, and support accessible independent journalism from Open City.

The Londown is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau. Bureau is a co-working space for creatives offering a new approach to membership workspace. Bureau prioritises not just room to think and do, but also shared resources and space to collaborate. To book a free day pass follow this link.

The Londown is produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, and the C20 Society.

The C20 Society are offering Londown supporters 20% off membership, just follow this link and use the code C20LONDOWN at the checkout.

If you enjoyed the show, we recommend you subscribe to the AJ for all the latest news, building studies, expert opinion, cultural analysis, and business intelligence from the UK architecture industry. Listeners can save 15% on a subscription using this link.



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