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 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
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- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 35 minutes
- Episodes
- 248
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
UK House Prices Fall, Open House Festival 2025 & Trump's 'Make America Beautiful Again' Campaign
In this episode, host Fran Williams is joined by Open House Festival Director Celia Mead. Celia is a management consultant who has run major organisations and cultural heritage festivals to discuss:
…
Buzzwords: Care with Jasmina Cibic
Buzzwords is a new pilot podcast from Open City, produced in collaboration with the arts and culture podcast EMPIRE LINES. The podcast unpacks words and phrases often overused in the fields of art an…
Dangerously hot homes, the Oxford Street redesign and the UK's first Museum of Brutalist Architecture
In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the Head of Climate Action and Public Health at Love Design Studio and Shade the UK, Polly Turton. Together, they discuss the biggest stories this we…
Deconstructed: London County Hall – A Palace for Municipal Government
In this episode, the second of a trilogy to mark 60 years since the end of the London County Council, Matthew Lloyd Roberts was joined by Dr Ruth Lang. They discussed London County Hall, the purpose-…
Kew's Carbon Garden, Selkirk's Brutalist Gem & Relief for Bexhill's De La Warr Pavillion
In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the architecture journalist and co-host of The Brief Fran Williams. Together, they discuss the biggest stories this week in architecture and planning…
InterCities: Taipei with Brian Hioe
InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these …
The Open House Festival catalogue is live, pedestrianising the West End and can office skyscrapers save nightlife?
In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha will be joined by guest Mike Althorpe, an architectural researcher at Karakusevic Carson Architects and the mastermind behind The London Ambler tours. They will be…
Deconstructed: Al Manaar Mosque & Cultural Centre - Faith, Space, and Community
In this episode of Deconstructed, host Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Shukri Sultan, a lecturer at Westminster University, to explore the story of Al Manaar Mosque in West London. Together, they …
Norman Foster to design Queen Elizabeth II memorial, the rise of AI in architecture and saving Britain's buildings
In this episode, host and Open City architectural director Merlin Fulcher will be joined by guest Sarah Carrington, the new Director of The Line, a public art trail that connects Queen Elizabeth Olym…
InterCities: Jerusalem with Yair Wallach
InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these …
The Davidson Prize, Working hours and Oxford Street's pedestrianisation
In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha is joined by Sharon Giffen, Head of Design at The Earls Court Development Company and an architect with more than 20 years experience leading large scale masterpla…
Deconstructed: Crystal Palace Park – Sculpture, Sport and the London County Council
In this episode of Deconstructed - the first of a trilogy to mark 60 years since the end of the London County Council - Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Dr Dawn Pereira, historian of architectural …
A major report casts doubt over Labour’s housebuilding targets
In this episode, host Sahiba Chadha is joined by Billy Reading, Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas for Historic England to discuss:
A major estate agent casts doubt over Labour’s housebuilding …
InterCities: Kharkiv with Ievgeniia Gubkina
InterCities is a six-part podcast series from Open City. In it, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what we can learn from these …
The Mayor of London concedes to green belt housing
In this episode, host Fran Williams is joined by the architect Daniel Innes, committee member of Architecture LGBT+ to discuss:
The Mayor of London concedes to green belt housing // Five competing vis…
Deconstructed: Marlborough Road, Romford - Planning and People
In this episode of Deconstructed, Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Calvin Po, Strategic Lead at Dark Matter Labs, Unit Master at the Architectural Association and architecture critic at The Spectat…
Geology of Britannic Repair: the British Pavillion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
In this episode, host Fran Williams is joined by Stella Mutegi, founding director of Cave Bureau and co-curator of the British Pavilion at this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale.
Architecture and ‘…
InterCities: Belgrade with Dubravka Sekulić
InterCities is a brand new podcast from the team at Open City. In this six-part series, we travel to a number of cities and boroughs around the world that have transformed over time to discover what …
C20 reveals its annual 'Risk List'
In this episode, host Merlin Fulcher is joined by the CEO of Open City, Vickie Hayward to discuss:
The Twentieth Century Society reveals its latest list of architectural heritage at risk // Architects…
Deconstructed: Euston Station - Developing the Railway
In this episode of Deconstructed, Matthew Lloyd Roberts is joined by Ewan Harrison, architectural historian and lecturer at the Manchester School of Architecture, University of Manchester. They discu…