ArchitectureTalk

Designed around an engaging conversation, Architecture Talk explores issues in contemporary architecture and architectural thinking. It is hosted by Vikram Prakash, Professor of Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle.

127. The Architecture of Art with Hiroshi Okamoto

We're back with a conversation with Principal Architect at OLI Architecture, Hiroshi Okamoto. In this conversation we discuss his time working with I.M. Pei, the design of the Mu Xin Art Museum dedicated to the celebrated Chinese painter, scholar, poet and writer, and designing spaces for the work of American sculpture artist Richard Serra.

07-21
56:09

126. Moving Beyond the Post-Colonial and the Mythological West with Martino Stierli

This week, we talk with Martino Stierli, MOMA’s Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, about MOMA’s current exhibition entitled The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947–1985.

06-16
47:16

125. Architecture in the Symbolic Realm: Troubling the Remaking of New Delhi's Central Vista with Aneesha Dharwadker

This week, we talk with Aneesha Dharwadker, assistant professor in architecture and landscape architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and author of the recently published article Dystopia’s Ghost. In this episode, we revisit the remaking of New Delhi’s Central Vista project, its design, politics, and history.

06-03
59:01

124. Architecture and the Photographic Eye with Randhir Singh

This week, we talk with Randhir Singh about his life as an architectural photographer, which he pursues, not just as an art, but as a way of architectural thinking itself. From the art and craft of the making of a photograph, to the final presentation in MOMA, Randhir Singh walks us through his methods and philosophy on the art of architectural photography.

05-11
47:37

123. A Fieldguide to Sub-Saharan African Architecture with Adil Dalbai and Livingstone Mukasa

How does the idea of a “Nation” come through in architectural language? Is there such a thing as a Nigerian architecture, for example? Are there national identifications visible in architectural makeup? On the other hand, how does architecture transcend borders? What is the status of Modernism in architecture in these various places? This week, we dive into these larger questions as we dissect the recently published series Sub-Saharan Africa Edited by Philipp Meuser, Adil Dalbai, and Livingstone Mukasa.

03-24
01:01:22

122. Reyner Banham Revisited with Richard Williams

This week we sit down with Prof. Richard Williams of the Edinburgh College of Art to discuss his recently published book Reyner Banham Revisited

03-10
49:24

121. Part 2: The Living Links between Indian Modernism and Indian Tradition with William J.R. Curtis

Once again, we travel back in time with architectural historian and theorist William J.R. Curtis for Part two of this conversation. We pick up right where we left off, rumbling through the dusty roads of India with William on his way to meet Balkrishna Doshi, the living link between the force that is Corbusian Modernism in India and deep, deep Indian tradition.

02-17
56:04

120. Part 1: Mental Landscapes and the Architectural Archipelagos of Indian Modernism with William J.R. Curtis

This week, we travel back in time with architectural historian and theorist William J.R. Curtis and his reading of the narrative of Indian Modernism. Part one of a two part series, Curtis and Prakash focus today’s conversation on the life and work of Aditya Prakash, the nature and production of Modernism in India, and Curtis’ own engagement with Indian Modernism.

02-03
01:00:53

119. Oracular Visions and the Fungal Futures with Mark Jarzombek

The modernist legacy has helped proliferate the current environmental crisis on a global scale. In architecture, what is to be done to address this civilizational problem? Could oracular visions be a way to rethink how we practice and teach architecture? Join us for this week's conversation with Mark Jarzombek, professor at MIT and co-director of the Office of [Un]certainty Research.

01-14
55:49

118. OCL Rerelease: On the Relevance of the Midcentury Modern Moment in India

In anticipation of the next installment of the One Continuous Line webinar series on Globalization and the Modernist City (being held online on December 13, 2021) this episode is a re-release of the previous panel discussion. This episode features guests Mark Jarzombek, Anthony Vidler, Partha Mitter, and Sunil Khilnani who discuss the relevance of Indian Modernism in terms of its various contemporary postcolonial contexts.

12-10
57:45

117. Chandigarh:Possibility in Engaging the Unknown in the Incomplete with Remi Papillault

This week, we sit down with Remi Papillault to discuss the topic of his new book, and the subject of his ongoing interests: the development of Chandigarh and Le Corbusier’s hand in its shaping.

11-22
01:05:09

116. The Politics of Acoustic Space and Sonic Montage with Joseph Clarke

  This week, we sit down with Joseph Clarke to discuss his new book Echo’s Chamber: Architecture and the Idea of Acoustic Space. The discussion looks at the convergence of politics, acoustics, and the metamorphosis of acoustic spatial thinking from Wagner to Le Corbusier and beyond.

11-04
50:17

115. An American Architect in India with David Stein

This week, the subject turns back to legacy. We have a conversation with the son of Joseph Allen Stein who was an American-born architect, designing fabulous buildings across India during the Nehruvian period in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. David Stein takes us through his life growing up in India and what his understanding was of his father's life and career.  

10-22
38:44

114. Nightrise and the Nocturnal Landscape with Mohamad Nahleh

What is an architecture of the Nightrise? How might we spatialize the unseeable, or “freeze” the shadows of a conjuration? This week, we have a fascinating discussion with Mohamad Nahleh, a recent MIT graduate, about his recent personal research and graduate thesis on the night in Jabal ‘Amil in the southern reaches of Lebanon.

10-07
53:45

113. Architecture as a Site of Thinking with Mark Dorrian

How might we think about architectural education differently in a post-pandemic world? What are the intersections between Covid and Climate Change? How does seeing architecture as a site of thinking impact education today? This week, we sit down with Mark Dorrian to take a deep dive into the material, political, cultural and educational realities surrounding the ongoing pandemic.

09-23
46:14

112. Connectedness, Eroticism, and the Flâneur with David Turnbull

Join us this week for a far-ranging and fascinating conversation with David Turnbull, architect, thinker and educator.

09-09
01:09:10

111. Jean Louis Cohen and the Transurbanism of the Modern City

Discussing his work on the transurban, Jean Louis Cohen takes us on a tour of the history of ideas that have shaped, formed, and deformed the various cities that stitch together the seams of the world. This conversation continues the ongoing conversation centering the impact of Modernism on architecture and contemporary culture in the world today.

08-25
50:37

110. The Life and Times of Cyrus and Ruth Jhabvala with Firoza Jhabvala

This week, we sit down with Firoza Jhabvala, musician and daughter of Cyrus and Ruth Jhabvala. We talk about growing up with two creative parents, the trans-disciplinarity of Cyrus' Jhabvala’s architecture practice, parallels with Vikram’s own father, Aditya Prakash, and the politics of colonial and post-colonial India.

08-19
01:02:02

109. Textile Capitalism and Architectural Patronage with Dan Williamson

This week, we continue interrogating the modern nationalist project in India, its legacy and implications for thinking the present with Dan Williamson, professor and scholar of Mid-century Ahmedabad. We learn why and how Amedabad, a city in Western India, came to be home to some of the best and most amazing advances in Indian Modernism.

08-11
50:09

108. The Idea of India with Sunil Khilnani

How do ideas travel across the world? How do ideas change? Why do they change? This week, we contemplate these questions in the mid-century context of the emerging Indian nation-state in the 1950s into the contemporary cultural climate we see today. Sunil Khilnani is professor of politics and history at Ashoka University and author of the book The Idea of India.

08-05
58:12

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