Open City

By Open City

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Episodes: 283

Description

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 – the Open City Podcast covers 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 show The Brief – an award-winning review of the big stories in architecture, planning and housing news – hosted by Sahiba Chadha and Fran Williams on a fortnightly basis.


Alongside this is Deconstructed – a monthly podcast hosted by Matthew Lloyd Roberts taking apart the architecture of individual buildings and InterCities – a monthly podcast hosted by Owen Hatherley exploring municipal transformation around the world. 


All three shows profile new, expert and diverse voices from across industry, journalism, academia and beyond. The Open City Podcast is produced by Hunter Charlton and Paige Reynolds. The commissioning editor is Merlin Fulcher. 


The Open City Podcast is supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture platform and produced in association with the Architects’ Journal, London Society, C20 Society and Save Britain's Heritage. The Open City Podcast is recorded and produced at the Open City offices located in Bureau


To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City Friend.


Photo credit: Owen Hatherley portrait © Antonio Olmos


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


Episode Date
Deconstructed: Vanbrugh Castle - Crenellations in Greenwich
Aug 20, 2026
Deconstructed: The BBC Television Centre - Broadcasting to a Nation
Jul 16, 2026
Deconstructed: Leighton House - Art and Orientalism
Jun 11, 2026
Deconstructed: Grosvenor Square - Protest and the State
May 28, 2026
The Home That Made Me: 1 Plot, 3 Families
May 07, 2026
Deconstructed: Culling Road Ventilation Shaft - Adventurous Vents
Apr 23, 2026
In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Healthy Competition
Apr 14, 2026
Four more new towns announced and the future of the Museum of London
Apr 01, 2026
The Home That Made Me: The place that raised me
Mar 26, 2026
The UK government hires AI to help speed up planning decisions and the new architects of the BT Tower revamp
Mar 19, 2026
Deconstructed: Peckham Library - Millenium Culture
Mar 11, 2026
Retail giant John Lewis closes its housebuilding venture and what style of homes do Londoners want?
Mar 05, 2026
In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Designing With, Designing For
Feb 26, 2026
Generational pedestrianisation plans for London's West End and a controversial overhaul of Liverpool Street station
Feb 19, 2026
Deconstructed: Robin Hood Gardens - Brutalism and Demolition
Feb 12, 2026
Government guidance on best practice design and why you should still become an architect in 2026
Feb 05, 2026
The Home That Made Me: When home becomes a prison
Jan 28, 2026
Government launches ‘biggest home upgrade plan in UK history’
Jan 22, 2026
Deconstructed: Tate Modern - Art and Power
Jan 15, 2026
Labour’s New Towns, rural regeneration and the Da Vinci code of English architectural heritage
Jan 08, 2026
In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Rethinking Recruitment
Jan 01, 2026
RIBA vs ARB, Nnena Kalu's Turner Prize win and data centre design
Dec 18, 2025
Deconstructed: Matilda House - Co-operative Council Housing
Dec 11, 2025
Rough sleeping surges to post pandemic-high
Dec 04, 2025
In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Constructive Criticism
Nov 27, 2025
AI nimbyism threatens to upend UK planning
Nov 20, 2025
Deconstructed: The Old Justice - Multiculturalism and the Public House
Nov 13, 2025
A new House of Commons report on child-centred design, financial strain for UK architectural firms and bold changes to the London Plan
Nov 06, 2025
In the Room at Accelerate Debates: Designing a Safer City
Oct 30, 2025
Appleby Blue wins the 2025 Stirling Prize and set back for UK cooling towers
Oct 23, 2025
Deconstructed: Plumstead Common – Policing and Leisure in a Municipal Park
Oct 09, 2025
New Towns, High Streets, Terry Farrell and 'The House of Architecture'
Oct 02, 2025
The future of new towns, record-breaking revenue at Foster + Partners and a new tax on SUVs?
Sep 24, 2025
A new housing secretary, the RIBA prize shortlist and the UK's first "super-university"
Sep 17, 2025
Deconstructed: Carlton Cinema — Islington at the Pictures
Sep 11, 2025
UK House Prices Fall, Open House Festival 2025 & Trump's 'Make America Beautiful Again' Campaign
Sep 04, 2025
Buzzwords: Care with Jasmina Cibic
Aug 27, 2025
Dangerously hot homes, the Oxford Street redesign and the UK's first Museum of Brutalist Architecture
Aug 13, 2025
Deconstructed: London County Hall – A Palace for Municipal Government
Aug 07, 2025
Kew's Carbon Garden, Selkirk's Brutalist Gem & Relief for Bexhill's De La Warr Pavillion
Jul 30, 2025
InterCities: Taipei with Brian Hioe
Jul 23, 2025
The Open House Festival catalogue is live, pedestrianising the West End and can office skyscrapers save nightlife?
Jul 16, 2025
Deconstructed: Al Manaar Mosque & Cultural Centre - Faith, Space, and Community
Jul 10, 2025
Norman Foster to design Queen Elizabeth II memorial, the rise of AI in architecture and saving Britain's buildings
Jul 02, 2025
InterCities: Jerusalem with Yair Wallach
Jun 25, 2025
The Davidson Prize, Working hours and Oxford Street's pedestrianisation
Jun 19, 2025
Deconstructed: Crystal Palace Park – Sculpture, Sport and the London County Council
Jun 12, 2025
A major report casts doubt over Labour’s housebuilding targets
Jun 05, 2025
InterCities: Kharkiv with Ievgeniia Gubkina
May 28, 2025
The Mayor of London concedes to green belt housing
May 22, 2025
Deconstructed: Marlborough Road, Romford - Planning and People
May 15, 2025
Geology of Britannic Repair: the British Pavillion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
May 07, 2025
InterCities: Belgrade with Dubravka Sekulić
Apr 23, 2025
C20 reveals its annual 'Risk List'
Apr 17, 2025
Deconstructed: Euston Station - Developing the Railway
Apr 10, 2025
The UK government announces a £2bn boost for affordable and social homes
Apr 02, 2025
InterCities: Sheffield with Johny Pitts
Mar 27, 2025
Plans for Manchester United's new stadium revealed
Mar 20, 2025
Deconstructed: Crossness Pumping Station - The Birth of Modern Sanitation
Mar 13, 2025
Criterion Capital under the spotlight and how safe are London's Lime bikes?
Mar 06, 2025
InterCities: Greenwich with Ana Francisco Sutherland
Feb 27, 2025
Dozens of new towns planned across England and the contentious dismantling of Grenfell Tower
Feb 20, 2025
Deconstructed: St Anne's Limehouse - East End Baroque
Feb 13, 2025
Barbican revamp revealed, Denys Lasdun’s ‘glass castle’, Archigram and the save Prince Charles cinema campaign
Feb 06, 2025
The Elizabeth Line sparks jobs and housing growth and a transformative redesign of London's Regent Street
Jan 23, 2025
Deconstructed: Finsbury Health Centre - Healthcare for a modern age
Jan 16, 2025
Is the UK housing crisis threatening the economy and NHS recovery?
Jan 09, 2025
Deconstructed (coming soon)
Dec 20, 2024
Angela Rayner approves M&S’s contentious Oxford Street redevelopment
Dec 12, 2024
Smithfields closure, unrealistic housing targets and Brighton's white elephant
Dec 05, 2024
Office for Place scrapped, empty High Streets and C20's 'Coming of Age' campaign
Nov 21, 2024
21,000 Saudi worker deaths, The Duchy of Cornwall and the Pay 100 survey
Nov 07, 2024
The budget, China's super embassy and the legacy of Britain's Empire Exhibition
Oct 31, 2024
Rachel Reeves' billion pound boost for council housing, design codes and the vital role of retrofit
Oct 24, 2024
The Elizabeth line wins the RIBA Stirling prize, councils declare new UK housing targets unrealistic and the battle for Bethnal Green Working Men's Club
Oct 16, 2024
Leaking luxury flats, RIBA's big rebrand and London's new 'town architects' named
Oct 10, 2024
Affordable homes being run for profit, the nimby-yimby debate and the trouble with Euston Station
Oct 02, 2024
Sycamore gap one year on, 'brownfield passports' and the wood burner wars
Sep 26, 2024
Could this be the end for Birmingham’s brutalist Ringway Centre?
Sep 19, 2024
The Grenfell Report: Key Findings from the Inquiry
Sep 04, 2024
‘Retrofit-first’ council approves five demolitions in one scheme
Aug 15, 2024
Far-right riots leave communities across the UK scarred
Aug 07, 2024
RIBA Stirling Prize 2024 finalists revealed
Aug 01, 2024
Six million people at risk from extreme heat in England
Jul 25, 2024
Local authorities in urgent financial crisis
Jul 18, 2024
Labour restores housing targets and resurrects onshore wind
Jul 11, 2024
Labour promises a post-election housing surge
Jul 03, 2024
Reimagining UK department stores as sustainable housing
Jun 26, 2024
Campaign to save the Beatles’ birthplaces
Jun 21, 2024
Labour moots community buy-outs of derelict land
Jun 13, 2024
Architects call for a new ministry of housing
Jun 06, 2024
The surprise snap election being celebrated by architects
May 30, 2024
Museum of London’s contentious demolition cleared for approval
May 23, 2024
Calls for new public ballots on all tall buildings above 60 metres
May 09, 2024
Labour vows to build on the ‘grey-belt’ and deliver 1.5 million homes
Apr 25, 2024
Gender pay gap widening among UK architectures biggest firms
Apr 18, 2024
Rent rises set to outpace wage growth for next three years
Apr 11, 2024
Brutalism and Biodiversity
Apr 07, 2024
Norwich City Council 'disappointed' after sell flagship homes lost to right to buy
Mar 28, 2024
Council housing ratcheting up the political agenda
Mar 21, 2024
Spring budget criticised for failing to boost housing
Mar 14, 2024
Tidal Pools and the Landscape of Swimming
Mar 09, 2024
Competition Probe into the UK’s Biggest Housebuilders
Feb 29, 2024
Government warned London house building is grinding to a halt
Feb 22, 2024
RIBA president slams Labour’s £28bn green U-turn
Feb 15, 2024
Landscape-Led Waste Water Infrastructure
Feb 10, 2024
Housebuilders throw support behind Labour as Conservatives ‘bow to Nimbyism’
Feb 01, 2024
Reestablishing the link between housing and health
Jan 25, 2024
Lesley Lokko wins RIBA Gold Medal
Jan 18, 2024
Fresh divisions emerge in the debate over greenbelt development
Jan 11, 2024
Sustainable Urban Drainage systems for a greener future
Dec 23, 2023
Words on Wood: A Trillion Trees with Fred Pearce
Dec 14, 2023
UK rents up by more than a quarter since 2020
Dec 07, 2023
Pioneering Parks of the Past and Future
Dec 02, 2023
Walking the Walk: A Sustainable Urbanism Themed Tour of Marylebone
Nov 28, 2023
Extreme weather labelled ‘greatest threat’ to UK built heritage
Nov 23, 2023
Uncertainty rages over the future of HS2’s Euston terminus
Nov 16, 2023
Two pioneering new public green space projects in London
Nov 11, 2023
Transforming London golf courses into housing
Nov 02, 2023
Housing crisis takes centre stage in UK media and politics
Oct 26, 2023
Feminist Cities, and Inclusive Green Design
Oct 21, 2023
The Brief - Housing Special
Oct 12, 2023
‘Mutant’ housing block facing demolition just one year after completion
Oct 05, 2023
Cursed Objects: The Glass & Steel Totems of Canary Wharf
Sep 28, 2023
Government takes over bankrupt Birmingham City Council
Sep 21, 2023
Crisis in concrete: the school estate shutdown and how we got here
Sep 14, 2023
Concrete safety concerns in schools spark a crisis in government
Sep 07, 2023
London faces a crisis of dullness
Aug 31, 2023
London's largest architecture event - Open House - launches 2023 program
Aug 24, 2023
What's next for the Museum of London
Aug 17, 2023
The Londown Climate Change Special
Aug 10, 2023
Eric Parry's tour of the City of London
Aug 05, 2023
Rishi Sunak vows Low Traffic Neighborhoods review
Aug 03, 2023
Innovative Signage Strategies and Sustainable Urban Development
Jul 29, 2023
Lives at risk as blistering heat scorches southern Europe
Jul 20, 2023
The housing policy reforms local authorities are calling for
Jul 13, 2023
Eric Parry's tour of Westminster
Jul 12, 2023
Thames Water sinking under more than £14 billion pounds of debt
Jul 06, 2023
Designing cities to cope with heatwaves and combat loneliness
Jul 01, 2023
Prince William vows to build social housing and end homelessness
Jun 22, 2023
The battle to save 20th century buildings from the bulldozer
Jun 15, 2023
Six years on from Grenfell – we ask why housing is still in crisis
Jun 08, 2023
Shaping spaces to be inclusive to all
Jun 03, 2023
The millions of adults living with parents amid the housing crisis
May 25, 2023
The British Pavilion at this years Venice Biennale
May 18, 2023
With four months to go Open House Festival announces its guest curators
May 11, 2023
SuperBloom and the not-so-green credentials of urban trees
May 06, 2023
The Londown Transport Special
May 04, 2023
Poor housing costing NHS £1.4 billion each year
Apr 20, 2023
Gove admits Coalition policies added to social housing failures
Apr 13, 2023
Britain's first memorial to the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade
Apr 06, 2023
Petrochemical reliance & the value of indigenous knowledge
Apr 01, 2023
the 100th episode of the Londown
Mar 23, 2023
A new budget amid a wave of public sector strike disruptions
Mar 16, 2023
Leisured City pt2 - a guided walk around the West End
Mar 11, 2023
Spotlighting the women written out of London’s built environment history
Mar 09, 2023
The Rental Crisis with Michael Walker
Mar 02, 2023
Why Materials Matter in the Age of Climate Emergency
Feb 25, 2023
Visionary plans to deliver 1.2 million homes around rural train stations
Feb 16, 2023
Supreme Court grants luxury homeowners victory over Tate Modern
Feb 09, 2023
Carbon credits and zero carbon construction
Feb 02, 2023
Could Architects be Replaced by Machines?
Jan 26, 2023
Leisured City - an Audio Walking Tour of The West End
Jan 21, 2023
Could increasing congestion on London’s roads improve transport?
Jan 19, 2023
School of Place and the revival of traditional architecure
Jan 12, 2023
What public space designed for men, means for women
Jan 07, 2023
Building with Timber, with engineer Andrew Lawrence and architect Lina Ghotmeh
Dec 22, 2022
The Londown Christmas Review of the Year
Dec 15, 2022
Leading London architects called out over Qatar world cup
Dec 08, 2022
100 years of Women shaping Landscape Architecture
Dec 03, 2022
Audio walking tour of London Bridge
Nov 26, 2022
From black and white nostalgia to internet memes
Nov 24, 2022
You can't pickle a shark in a bedsit
Nov 17, 2022
Austerity hits London's cultural sector
Nov 10, 2022
What a global housing slump means for London
Nov 03, 2022
What Rishi Sunak as PM means for London
Oct 27, 2022
Talking Landscape - Planning for Beauty
Oct 23, 2022
Blackstone - one of Europe’s largest landlords under the spotlight
Oct 13, 2022
Campaigners call out misleading data justifying demolition
Oct 06, 2022
The mini-budget crashes the pound
Sep 29, 2022
Six outstanding examples of long-term low-carbon urbanism unveiled
Sep 22, 2022
London Feeds Itself with Jonathan Nunn
Sep 14, 2022
Audio walking tour of the Design District
Sep 10, 2022
Open House Festival kicks off today
Sep 08, 2022
Right to Buy takes its first bite out of Stirling Prize winning Goldsmith Street
Sep 01, 2022
Designing spaces to bring people back into the office
Aug 18, 2022
Rishi Sunak caught celebrating the defunding of deprived urban areas
Aug 11, 2022
How soaring inflation is pushing people to the brink, with Ben Page
Aug 04, 2022
Why housing isn't on the conservative leadership agenda with Douglas Murphy
Jul 28, 2022
Extreme heat highlights the inadequacies of London's buildings
Jul 21, 2022
Power and Public Space
Jul 14, 2022
What is the Most Sustainable Way to Build? with Smith Mordak and Richard Ellis
Jul 07, 2022
RIBA elections with candidate Muyiwa Oki
Jun 30, 2022
Stewardship awards special with Peabody's John Lewis
Jun 23, 2022
Five years on from Grenfell with Pooja Agrawal
Jun 16, 2022
Help to Buy scrapped early, with Will Jennings
Jun 02, 2022
The opening of Crossrail with Deborah Saunt
May 26, 2022
Protestors clash with police in Dalston - with Will Ing
May 19, 2022
The local election results are in with Liane Hartley
May 12, 2022
Election special with Jenna Goldberg and Shawn Adams
May 05, 2022
What's the deal with Secured by Design? With Fran Williams
Apr 28, 2022
Londown Live from Architect@Work
Apr 15, 2022
Londown Live from the Stirling Prize winning Kingston Townhouse
Apr 07, 2022
Overdevelopment on the Southbank and the problem with MIPIM
Mar 31, 2022
The true environmental cost of new developments in London with Joe Giddings
Mar 24, 2022
Oligarch mansions, the green belt, and Iconicon with John Grindrod
Mar 17, 2022
Sight loss and the city
Mar 12, 2022
The radical new Ulez with Oli Lord
Mar 10, 2022
The Great Homes Upgrade with Catherine Croft
Mar 03, 2022
Architecture tested to the brink of destruction with Fran Williams
Feb 24, 2022
One year of The Londown
Feb 20, 2022
The Silvertown Tunnel and Modern Buildings in Britain with Owen Hatherley
Feb 17, 2022
The cost of living crisis with Sadie Morgan
Feb 10, 2022
Ridley Road market rescued with Sahiba Chadha
Feb 03, 2022
Richard Rogers iconic Lloyd's building with Andrew Waugh
Jan 27, 2022
Kill the bill, and journey charges with Jonn Elledge
Jan 20, 2022
The Colston Four with Rosamund Lily West
Jan 13, 2022
The Londown Christmas Quiz Special
Dec 18, 2021
What's ahead for Powell and Moya’s Museum of London with Ella Jessel
Dec 09, 2021
The cladding scandal, gentrification, and infill with Patricia Brown
Dec 02, 2021
Camden, Heritage, HS2 and TfL with Owen Hatherley
Nov 25, 2021
Londown Live with Nana Biamah-Ofosu and Hettie O'Brien from the SLG
Nov 18, 2021
More on the Marble Arch mound with Jonathan Glancey
Nov 11, 2021
Biobased materials, futuristic architecture, and vertiports with Alpa Depani
Nov 04, 2021
The budget and COP26 with Will Ing
Oct 28, 2021
Estate Demolition, Cycling, and Podcasts with Luke Jones
Oct 21, 2021
The Stirling Prize and estate demolitions with Siraaj Mitha
Oct 14, 2021
Michael Gove, the cladding scandal, and Cosmic House with Edwin Heathcote
Oct 07, 2021
Nine Elms regeneration & retrofit with Cllr Aydin Dikerdem
Sep 30, 2021
Londown Live with Cath Slessor and Thomas Aquilina
Sep 23, 2021
The Stirling Prize shortlist with Ellis Woodman
Sep 16, 2021
Peter Barber and ABBA with Shawn Adams
Sep 09, 2021
Transport: cycling and walking with Ruth Lang
Sep 02, 2021
London's 'golf belt', Trellick Tower, and XR with Robin Hutchinson
Aug 26, 2021
Pubs, trains, and grassroots culture with Tim Dunn
Aug 19, 2021
Devastating climate report, and this years Open House Festival with Phin Harper
Aug 12, 2021
Museums, memorials, and mounds with Gillian Darley
Aug 05, 2021
The Londown Special Episode: What's this all about?
Jul 29, 2021
lonely, and stressed: how the pandemic has impacted architecture students - with Will Ing
Jul 22, 2021
Why are EU architect applications plunging? With Eddie Blake
Jul 15, 2021
London's swimming culture with 20th Century Society president Catherine Slessor
Jul 08, 2021
Antepavilion arrests, and the London architects behind huge new Moscow redevelopment with Will Hurst
Jul 01, 2021
Oxford circus rethink, planning reforms, and Charles Jencks’ Cosmic House with Edwin Heathcote
Jun 24, 2021
Four years on from Grenfell. With Ella Jessel
Jun 17, 2021
Audio Walking Tour of Marylebone
Jun 11, 2021
The Serpentine Pavilion, and diversity in the RIBA with Shawn Adams
Jun 10, 2021
The Londown | 03 June | with Barnabas Calder
Jun 03, 2021
A review of this years Venice Biennale with Olly Wainwright
May 27, 2021
Whitechapel Bell Foundry redevelopment and new Open City 'Public House' book with Hettie O'Brien
May 20, 2021
British Pavilion opening and huge Tory planning reforms with Maddie Kessler
May 13, 2021
What does Sadiq Khan mean for London? With Owen Hatherley
May 06, 2021
The Alternative Mayoral Election
May 03, 2021
Skyscrapers and the Silvertown Tunnel. With Will Ing
Apr 29, 2021
The Londown | 22 April | Dave Hill
Apr 22, 2021
Slavery and the City | the Jamaica Wine House | Episode 3
Apr 19, 2021
The Londown | 15 April | Amanda Baillieu
Apr 15, 2021
Slavery and the City | Guildhall & the Zong massacre | Episode 2
Apr 12, 2021
The Londown | 08 April | Phineas Harper
Apr 07, 2021
Slavery and the City | Royal Exchange | Episode 1
Apr 05, 2021
The Londown | 1 April | With Ewa Effiom
Mar 31, 2021
The Londown | 25 March | With Ella Jessel
Mar 24, 2021
The Londown | 18 Mar | With Oonagh Ryder
Mar 18, 2021
The Londown | 11 Mar | With Hettie O'Brien
Mar 10, 2021
The Londown | 4 March | With Jonn Elledge
Mar 03, 2021
Barbican redevelopment and row over ‘poor cores’ in Walthamstow. With Lucy Watson
Feb 25, 2021
MVRDV's Marble Arch Mound. With Catherine Slessor
Feb 18, 2021
Demolition go-ahead for Cressingham Gardens. With Will Ing.
Feb 11, 2021
The Londown | Feb 3 | This week in London's architecture
Feb 03, 2021
Is land to blame for the housing crisis?
Jan 28, 2021
The Old Kent Road: Is there room on the gravy train for everyone? 2/2
Jan 13, 2021
Old Kent Road: Is there room on the gravy train for everyone? 1/2
Dec 03, 2020
Public Transport: What do bus drivers really think of you?
Nov 26, 2020
The Fast Consumer City: can a sandwich really run the city?
Nov 12, 2020
Would young people design a better London for us all?
Nov 03, 2020
Lighting up London's bridges
Oct 28, 2020
Why is Architecture so Political?
Oct 15, 2020
Unleashing Londoners' imagination
Sep 28, 2020
Rethinking London's Green Spaces
Sep 24, 2020
The Alternative Guide To London Boroughs
Sep 18, 2020
The New Pedestrian and Cyclist City
Sep 14, 2020
Green Cities Start Here
Sep 07, 2020
Public Artworks for our Past and Future
Aug 24, 2020
Introducing the Open City Podcast
Aug 13, 2020