A is for Architecture Podcast

• Richard J Williams: Expressways and the urban imagination.

  In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, the University of Edinburgh’s Richard J. Williams discusses The Expressway World, his brand new book with Polity Press. Richard is an old friend of the podcast, having recorded the first episode in the autumn of 2021. Back then, we spoke about Richard’s book on that bearded provocateur Reyner Banham who, among things, was known for his 1971 book, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies. I guess Expressway World naturally springs from this…While often associated with destruction, severance and car-centric modernity, urban expressways are complex, multifaceted spaces, not merely engineering structures. Richard argues that we would be better served to read expressways as cultural, political, and social landscapes shaped by their design, use and resistance. And rather than demolition of what are increasingly moribund artefacts of a bygone age, he advocates for a nuanced approach to living with these infrastructures. Drawing on global case studies in cities as diverse as New York, London, São Paulo, Madrid, Seoul and Glasgow (and of course, LA), Richard demonstrates how communities, activists and planners have creatively repurposed expressways into public spaces, parks, or cultural hubs. Another banger from a great scholar. Listen, then drive out to buy his book.Richard can be found here at work, on Instagram and on his personal website. The book is linked above.+Music credits: ⁠Bruno Gillick 

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• Owen Hopkins: Home made manifestos.

  In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, author, curator and currently director of the Farrell Centre at Newcastle University, Owen Hopkins discuss his recent book, The Manifesto House: Buildings that Changed the Future of Architecture, published by Yale University Press two days ago. The Manifesto House explores the history of architecture through the lens of individual houses that have acted as manifestos for new ideas, movements and ways of living. Looking at twenty-one houses from the 16th through to the 21st century, the book presents a compelling narrative of how individual homes can influence architecture's evolution, and perhaps even answer some of the challenges we're faced with in the built environment today.Owen is also currently one fifth of the team who have curated this year's British Pavilion exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia 2025, which can be read about here. Owen can be found on Instagram and LinkedIn and the book is linked above. Listen, think, click, buy, read. Wow!#ArchitecturePodcast #ManifestoHouse #OwenHopkins #FarrellCentre #BuildingsThatMatter #ArchitecturalHistory #RadicalHomes #BiennaleArchitettura2025 #ArchitectureAndSociety #DesigningTheFuture #AisforArchitecturePodcast+Music credits: ⁠Bruno Gillick Image credit: Mies van der Rohe, Farnsworth House, exterior view towards entrance platform. Library of Congress, USA.

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• 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 Texas Press, 2024). Kenny talks about the imperial legacies of modern architecture and infrastructure, examining how colonial and postcolonial systems of planning, construction and environmental control shaped a global vision of design in the 20th century, tracing how modernism’s ambitions extended far beyond buildings to encompass a planetary project—one grounded in power, governance and the management of land and life across continents. In this episode, we touch on some of the key themes from the book, including the reciprocal relationship between empire and modernist design, the circulation of architectural knowledge between colony and colonizer, and the entangled histories of development, technology and spatial control.In a way, unsettling stuff, almost scary. But now we know, what do we do?Book, Kenny, all linked above. Kenny is nowhere on my social media, but you can see a bit on koozarch. #KennyCupers #TheEarthThatModernismBuilt #PlanetaryDesign #ModernArchitecture #ArchitecturalHistory #EmpireAndArchitecture #ColonialInfrastructure #UrbanStudies #GlobalModernism #AisforArchitecturePodcast+Music credits: ⁠Bruno Gillick 

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• Tom Spector: The architect as public servant.

  In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, architect, scholar and author Tom Spector discusses his book, Architecture and the Public Good, first published by Anthem Press in 2021, and now out in paperback.Tom’s critical and philosophical exploration of the ethical foundation of the architecture profession and its role in serving the public, confronts the persistent tension within architecture between artistry and public service, arguing that this dual identity often undermines the profession’s ability to clearly articulate and fulfil its moral obligations. Arguing that the discipline holds on to an inaccurate concept of the public, arguing that the term is too often treated as a monolithic, abstract concept, Tom urges a deeper understanding of publicness, one that accounts for pluralism, participation, and the political nature of public space and infrastructure.It is a proper decent book, and whilst fundamentally a critique, Tom’s presentation is one of hope and possibility. This is what we need, believe. Linked above is the book. Tom’s back catalogue can be found on PhilPapers here.#ArchitectureAndEthics  #TomSpector #ArchitectureAndThePublicGood #DesignPhilosophy  #ArchitecturalEthics  #EthicalDesign  #ArchitecturePodcast #TheEthicalArchitect+Music credits: ⁠Bruno Gillick 

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• Chris L Smith: Deleuze & Guattari & Architecture

  In this episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast, I spoke with Chris L. Smith, Professor of Architectural Theory at the University of Sydney, to discuss his book, Architecture After Deleuze and Guattari (Bloomsbury 2023). We explore how the philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari have influenced architectural thought and practice, and the possibilities that we’re all Deleuzo-Guattarian architects now…Deleuze and Guattari’s significance for architectural theory and design practice lies in their radical rethinking of concepts like form, process and relationality, which have profoundly influenced how architects conceptualize and create space in the late 20th and 21st centuries. Their collaborative works offer a philosophical framework that rejects fixed hierarchies, linear causality and static structures, instead emphasizing multiplicity, fluidity, and dynamic systems, shifting architectural discourse away from traditional modernist principles of order and function towards experimental, process-oriented, and politically engaged practices. 🔗 Learn more about the book via the link above. Chris can be found at work, on Instagram and LinkedIn. # ArchitectureTheory #DeleuzeAndGuattari #PhilosophyOfArchitecture #ArchitecturalBooks #CriticalTheory #DesignPhilosophy #ChrisLSmith #ModernArchitecture #ArchitecturalDiscourse #ArchitectureAndPhilosophy #Podcast #AisforArchitecture+Music credits: ⁠Bruno Gillick

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