Open City

This week Merlin is joined by Jack Cornish, Jack is the author of a new book called The Lost Paths: A history of how we walk from there to here. He also holds the venerable title ‘head of paths’ at The Ramblers - Britain’s largest walking charity.Labour moots community buy-outs of derelict land // A quarter of a million socially rented homes lost in England // Government facing legal bid over wildlife collapse // And Britain’s most expensive street bans cyclists and pedestriansThe 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.

This week Sahiba is joined by Hugh Pearman, an architectural writer and editor who is also chair of the 20th Century Society. Architects demand a new ministry of housing // C20 files for emergency spot listing of London’s City Hall // Cambridge discovers zero emission cement // And could King’s Cross and the Elizabeth Line be front runners for this year’s biggest prize in architecture? 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.

This week Merlin's joined by Adam Peggs, a journalist and activist.The surprise snap election being celebrated by architects // No Grenfell Tower criminal charges before 2026 // London’s Mayor pledges £100 million pounds to kickstart stalled housing // Liverpool Street station’s contentious redevelopment plans are sent back to the drawing board.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.

This week Merlin's joined by John Elledge, a journalist and author of the new book “A History of the World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the Lines on Our Maps”.Museum of London’s contentious demolition cleared for approval // Government minister accused of misleading ‘15-minute city’ claims // How an AI deep fake video conned an engineer out of £20 million pounds // And the new ‘anti-boring architecture’ masters course brought to you by Heatherwick StudioThe 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.

This week Merlin's joined by Alpa Depani, an architect and the head of strategic planning and design at the London borough of Waltham Forest.Calls for new public ballots on all tall buildings above 60 metres // House building drops to its lowest level since the pandemic // Single-sex toilets to be required in all new public buildings in England // And Norman Foster calls on architects worldwide to help reconstruct Kharkiv 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 C20THEBRIEF 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.

This week Sahiba spoke to Charles Holland; the architect and author of the new book 'How to Enjoy Architecture: A Guide for Everyone'// Labour vows to build on the ‘grey-belt’ and deliver 1.5 million homes // Birmingham set to refuse controversial tower above a listed hospital // Scottish architects condemn the ditching of climate targets // And how can we look beyond the day-to-day familiarity of buildings to truly enjoy architecture? // 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 C20THEBRIEF 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.

This week Merlin spoke to the architect, author and columnist Eleanor Jolliffe// Sadiq Khan pledges to end rough sleeping in the capital // The Grenfell Inquiry’s final report delayed yet again // Gender pay gap widening among UK architectures biggest firms // And the AJ and SAVE launch a competition to rethink demolition plans for the M&S on Oxford Street //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 C20THEBRIEF 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.

This week Merlin spoke to the Chief Executive of Camden Highline, Simon Pitkeathley// Rent rises set to outpace wage growth for next three years // Outrage over King Charles’ ‘ideal town’ proposal in Kent // Contentious Barbican demolition plans tipped for approval // And the fascination with forbidden spaces; how Camden Highline is opening up a whole new part of London //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 C20THEBRIEF 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.

In this episode Paul spoke to the landscape architect, urban designer and Director of Landscape and Placemaking at Peabody, Dr Phil Askew. Their discussion centered around the landscape-led regeneration of Thamesmead; the brutalist post-war townscape in south east London hailed as the ‘town of tomorrow’.You can find an online version of Landscape for free here