Dozens of new towns planned across England and the contentious dismantling of Grenfell Tower
In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the CEO of Open City, Manijeh Verghese to discuss:
UK government unveils plans for dozens of new towns across England // The proposed dismantling of Grenfell Tower is met with strong opposition // Japanese architecture duo SANAA win the 2025 RIBA Royal Gold Medal // And the spiritual leader and champion of Islamic architecture, the Aga Khan, has died at the age of 88
To help support excellent and accessible, independent journalism about the buildings and the urban environment, please become an Open City friend by clicking here.
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 Brief is also supported by Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Open City
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 app 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.
- No. of episodes: 239
- Latest episode: 2025-06-25
- Society & Culture Arts Design
Where can you listen?
