This week Merlin speaks to Russell Curtis, founder of RCKa Architects

A global house price slump is coming – but what does it mean for London and those most in housing need | Mega housing association criticised for evicting tenants over safety concerns in new block | South London council hires one of London's trendiest rising star architects for a new wave of social housing | And Michael Gove promises 300,000 new homes a year. Will it happen and will it help?

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Phin speaks to Aydin Dikerdem. Aydin is a Councillor for Shaftesbury & Queenstown in Wandsworth and Cabinet Member for Housing.

Rishi Sunak – the wealthiest MP in history – becomes the new Prime Minister | Campaign group, Just Stop Oil under threat from new bill targeting peaceful protests | Battersea Power Station finally opens, with flats on sale for £7 million despite 11,000 person waiting list for housing | And new developments on the Barbican site scaled back after quite a backlash

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first episode of Talking Landscape – a monthly series produced by the Landscape Institute and Open City – host Paul Lincoln discusses beauty in the planning system and beyond with two contributors to the summer edition of the Landscape Journal; Julie Waldron and Ruth Lin Wong Holmes.

Julie – who is Senior Landscape and Water Planning Officer at Edinburgh City Council – embarked on an investigation to try and define what we mean by beauty, and argues why the omission of the term in Scotland's draft National Planning Framework is a missed opportunity.

Ruth – Design Principal Landscape and Public Realm at the London Legacy Development Programme which runs the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – looks at the beauty of the ongoing stewardship of one of London’s newest and biggest public spaces.

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Merlin catches up with Hettie O'Brien, assistant opinion director at the Guardian.

Blackstone, one of Europe’s and the UK’s largest landlords under the spotlight | Historic England slams Liverpool Street Station high-rise redevelopment plans | Battersea Power Station’s grand opening boycotted over lack of affordable housing | And could the beleaguered Whitechapel Bell Foundry be about to witness a change of fortunes?

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Merlin speaks to Jonathan Morrison, architecture correspondent at The Times and author of a new report on the longevity of architectural firms called The Practice of Succession

Campaigners hit out at ‘misleading’ data justifying Museum of London and Bastion House’s demolition | Government backtracks on tweet claiming stamp duty cut could help average-income London house buyers | Fulham community centre tipped to win UK architecture’s highest accolade | And what Norman Foster’s hypoctratic oath for architects tells us about the important issue of succession within architectural practice

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week host Phin Harper is joined by the architectural historian and editor of the brilliant About Buildings and Cities podcast, Matthew Lloyd Roberts.

Mini-budget crashes the pound | Westminster Council to seize oligarch mansions | London architects John McAslan and Partners to redesign New York's biggest architectural blunder | And plans brewing for Queen Elizabeth mini memorial gardens

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Merlin speaks to Julian Robinson. Julian is Director of Estates at the London School of Economics and winner of this year’s Open City Irene Barclay Prize

Alton Estate spared demolition but more than 100 other London estates face regeneration | Speculation grows over the green belt's future under Liz Truss | Campaigners call for Queen Elizabeth Hall's listing as a mark of respect | And Open City reveals the winners of this year's Stewardship Awards

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Rachel is joined by journalist and author, Jonathan Nunn, to discuss his new book London Feeds Itself.

National mourning and mass cancellations in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death | London’s pubs and restaurants in jeopardy as cost of living spirals | Sadiq Khan praises Scottish rent freeze as ‘exactly what Londonders need’ | London Feeds Itself, Jonathan Nunn’s new guide to London’s food culture.

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greenwich Peninsula, located at a bend in the river Thames, East of historic Greenwich and opposite the mouth of the river Lea, has historically been a peripheral area of London. It was a farm and marshland until, in the 19th Century, it became home to Europe’s largest gas works. Until the extension of the Jubilee line and the construction of the Millennium Dome, this industrial legacy was a barrier to the development of the peninsula. The dome — not the O2 Arena — was intended to mark the start of an ambitious plan for a new urban centre, but a post-party wrangling about the area’s future and the onset of the 2008 financial crash slowed progress considerably.

In 2013, the majority of the peninsula was bought by the developers Knight Dragon, who set about one of the largest urban regeneration projects in Europe. The latest addition is Design District, already named by Time magazine as one of 2021’s World’s Greatest Places, and featuring a rare density of buildings by leading contemporary architects such as 6A, Adam Khan Architects and David Kohn Architects.

This tour tells its story.

We made this tour from our offices 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the first day of the 30th Open House Festival, Merlin speaks to Chief Curator, Zoë Cave

Open House – London’s biggest festival of architecture and community kicks off today | Questions over new prime minister Liz Truss' vision to tackle the energy crisis | More people than ever seeking warmth and shelter on London’s night buses | And urban parks left reeling after a summer of drought, wildfires, and under-funding

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. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.