This month we are joined by two Buildings on Air favorites: architecture writer/critic Marianela D’Aprile and architecture historian/educator Douglas Spencer! We answer a listener question about giving notice at an architecture job, gloss the ideas of architecture theorist Manfredo Tafuri (Mamma Mia… here we go again!), and discuss some central ideas of the emergent architectural left.
Episode 47 - Zoning w/ Ramsin Canon
This episode of Buildings on Air we chat with organizer, writer, and attorney Ramsin Canon to talk about zoning and land use. We cover the basics of zoning, hear the legal perspective on land use, and discuss why it matters to activists. If you found our conversation interesting check out Ramsin’s presentation on zoning to the 33rd Ward Working Families organization here.
Episode 46 - Stan Kaderbek
This month on Buildings on Air we chat with structural engineer, former Chicago Building Commissioner, and all around good guy, Stan Kaderbek. Stan shares some stories from his time as commissioner that should not be missed! We also chat about public service and safety, and the ins and outs of what it’s like to be the cities chief building regulator.
Episode 45 - Mailbag Special
We are still off our regular format, but in this episode we revisit the classic Buildings on Air “Mailbag” with Nicholas Cecchi and Emily Handley. We talk air changes, bidets, and more!
Look out this summer/fall for the show to return to its usual two hour format, with interviews and hopefully a return to our regular, regular segments!
Episode 44 - Here There be Dragons w/ Jess Myers
This episode of Buildings on Air we are joined by Jess Myers, an Assistant Professor at Rhode Island School of Design and co-steward of the NYC Architecture Lobby to talk about "Here There be Dragons,” a podcast that delves deep into how feelings of safety and belonging in cities are experienced by people and conditioned by the built environment. Stay tuned for a preview episode of HTBD and be sure to find it and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Episode 43 - Unpaid Internships w/ Jesse McCormick
This episode of Buildings on Air we chat architectural internships with New York based architectural worker Jesse McCormick, a co-author of a recent report on the subject (link here). We chat about precarious employment conditions and dive deep into the legalities of unpaid internships, as well as the misclassification of employees as independent contractors.
Episode 42 - Douglas Spencer
This episode of Buildings on Air we chat with friend of the show and returning guest Douglas Spencer about his new book Critique of Architecture which will be released later this month. We talk about the current state of architectural theory, neo-Tafurianism, what radical critique means, and what insights a critique of architecture can give us about capitalism.
Episode 41 - October 22nd, 2020
What is the impact of a landmark district on gentrification? In this episode of Buildings on Air we answer that question and more with Chicago Democratic Socialists of America member and community organizer Diego Morales. We talk about the the debate surrounding the proposed Pilsen Landmark District here in Chicago, and why/how the community is pushing back.
If you want to get involved with and stay up to date about the push back against the landmark district check out Pilsen Alliance on Facebook and Twitter.
Episode 40 - October 3rd, 2020
This episode of Buildings on Air we talk with Brian Campbell, a Portland based architectural worker and member of the Architecture Lobby about how the odd framing of urban policy debates can obscure power structures.
Episode 39 - August 15th, 2020
This episode of Buildings on Air marks our triumphant return after a hiatus. We talk with Will Orr and Ricardo Ruivo, teachers at the Architectural Association (AA) in London. The AA has recently been embroiled in controversy on the vote of no-confidence and subsequent dismissal of director Eva Franch I Gilabert. Will and Ric tell us about what went down at the AA, discuss how it is symptomatic of the architectural education industry in the age of neoliberalism, and talk through where we go from here. Read their open letter.
Episode 38 - A Show Update
Episode 37 - April 4th, 2020
This episode of Buildings on Air we we chat with Sean Estelle and Sveta Stoytcheva of Democratic Socialists of America about the campaign to municipalize Chicago’s electric grid.
We are still under stay-at-home orders in Illinois which means the Lumpen Radio studios are closed so we are departing from our usual format to bring you prerecorded interviews.
We are collecting remembrances of Michael Sorkin for possible broadcast - please send in audio clips or writing to buildingsonair@gmail.com.
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More info on the campaign to democratize ComEd can be found at http://www.demcomed.org
More information on the Democratize ComEd General Membership meeting can be found here: https://www.chicagodsa.org/event/democratize-comed-march-general-membership-meeting
And lastly if you are a dues paying DSA member you can follow this link to get involved with the national level Ecosocialist working group: http://bit.ly/ecosocialist
Episode 36 - March 24, 2020
This episode of Buildings on Air comes straight from the home recording studio of Keefer. In the midst of the state wide stay-at-home order in Illinois due to COVID-19 the offices and studios of WLPN-LP Chicago are shut down, so this episode comes courtesy of Zoom teleconferencing. Our guest this month is BoA favorite Billy Fleming (@joobilly on twitter) who directs the McHarg Center at University of Pennsylvania. He talks to us about “A Green Stimulus to Rebuild Our Economy: An Open Letter and Call to Action to Members of Congress” (Link).
Buildings on Air will continue to record during the coronavirus, albeit with an altered format accommodating social distancing and a more ad hoc schedule. Bear with us as we tweak our home recording set-up to improve sound quality. If you’ve got ideas for the show send them into buildingsonair@gmail.com.
Bonus - Failed Architecture Episode #11: Architects Unionise!
This episode of Buildings on Air is not an episode of Buildings on Air at all! Rather it is an episode of the Failed Architecture podcast. Subscribe to their feed here and check out some of their amazing writing at https://failedarchitecture.com.
Big thank you to Charlie Clemoes and the rest of the Failed Architecture team for letting us share this episode with you.
Buildings on Air Announcements:
We are switching our regular time slot in March. Tune into Chicago’s WLPN-LP Lumpen Radio 105.5FM at 2pm central on THIRD Saturdays to hear our show live. The podcast version will follow shortly after. Send pitches and suggestions to buildingsonair@gmail.com
Failed Architecture Episode 11 - Architects Unionise!:
We tend to think of architects as professionals rather than workers. Architects design, create, delegate, follow a special calling, but they’re not often seen as “working for a living”, and they’re certainly not much like the workers who actually construct or extract the resources for the buildings they design. And yet, architectural work in the twenty first century has become ever more precarious. As with other white collar workers, architects are becoming increasingly accustomed to short-term contracts, overtime without pay and other traditional hallmarks of exploited labour.
In light of this new reality, for this episode we’ll be talking to architectural workers from the UK, the USA, and Brazil, about the role a labour union could play in the contemporary architectural profession. We’ll discuss the difficulties, limits and challenges of organizing architectural workers and speculate as to why architects have, until recently, been relatively absent from the history of the labour movement. We’ll also consider how unionisation could give ordinary architectural workers greater control over the buildings and spaces they design as well as over the wider spatial production sector.
Keefer Dunn is an architect based in Chicago and a former national organiser for the Architecture Lobby
Fernanda Simon Cardoso is an architect based in São Paulo and a former Director for the FNA (Federação Nacional dos Arquitetos e Urbanistas)
Sam and Alex are architectural workers based in the UK and organisers for Workers Inquiry: Architecture
This episode was directed by Charlie Clemoes/Jake Soule/The Failed Architecture Team
Episode 35 - January 4th, 2020
This episode we take a look at Edward Bellamy’s socialist utopian novel Looking Backward with Garrett Dash Nelson. Check out Garrett’s excellent article on the subject in Places Journal here: https://placesjournal.org/article/edward-bellamy-urban-planning/.
Then in a special edition of our regular mailbag segment we have guests from way out of town! Architecture students from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam come into the studio to ask us questions about Chicago.
Episode 34 - December 7th, 2019
This episode of Buildings on Air we sit down with members of Extinction Rebellion for a discussion about the strategies and tactics that will win us climate justice. Then we open up the mailbag with Ann Lui and Craig Reschke and answer your listener questions about buildings. Lastly, in our regular segment about the architecture discourse, Fun and Angry with Anjulie Rao, we read Patrick Sisson's recent article in Curbed that asks: who exactly is buying all these downtown luxury condos anyway?! Read more here: https://www.curbed.com/2019/11/12/20944374/apartment-downtown-empty-nester-baby-boomer
Episode 33 - November 16, 2019
This episode its classic Buildings on Air as we visit our two regular segments. First up! In our segment on the architectural discourse, Fun and Angry, Keefer and Anjulie Rao talk about hostile architecture! Then we visit the mailbag with Craig Reschke and Ann Lui of Future Firm and answer your listener questions about building!
Articles discussed in this episode include:
“‘Hostile Architecture’ How Public Spaces Keep the Public Out” by Winnie Hu, appearing in the New York Times
“At Cornell’s New Fine Arts Library, the Book Sets the Standard” by Audrey Wachs, appearing in Metropolis
Episode 32 - The Bridgehouse Special
In this special episode of Buildings on Air we turn to the Chicago River, asking our guests about the past, present, and future of our cities waterways. This episode was recorded from the Michigan Avenue Bridgehouse in the heart of downtown, and produced in collaboration with the Tender House Project.
Guests on today's program include Patrick McBriarty of Chicago Maritime Arts, Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago, Mejay Gula of Tender House Project, Joanne So Young Dill and John Quail of Friends of the Chicago River, and Chloe Gurin-Sands of Metropolitan Planning Council.
Episode 31 - September 7, 2019
This episode of Buildings on Air marks our triumphant return to the Lumpen Radio airwaves after a summer break. First up! We will chat with Tom Jacobs of Architects Advocate about getting architects involved in the September 20th Climate Strike. Find out more at http://www.architects-advocate.com.
Then in our regular segment “Fun and Angry” we will discuss Alexandra Lange’s reflections on S,M,L,XL (https://www.curbed.com/platform/amp/2019/8/22/20755386/rem-koolhaas-smlxl-review-oma). Regular Anjulie Rao can’t make it this month, but lucky for us the inimitable Marianela D’Aprile will be filling in.
Last! We open up the Buildings On Air mailbag to answer your listener questions about architecture and buildings with Ann Lui and Craig Reschke of Future Firm! Send in those questions to buildingsonair@gmail.com.
Episode 30 - July 6, 2019
This episode of Buildings on Air! First, we invite writer and activist Keith Rosenthal on the show to discuss capitalism, disability, and the ADA. Check out Keith’s website here: https://joanofmark.blogspot.com/.
Second, Anjulie and Keefer offer up some cool takes on the discourse in our regular segment “Fun and Angry.” First, we will do our best to unpack a truly baffling article on parametric architecture from Forbes.
And last! We open up our mailbag with Ann and Craig of Future Firm! Send in your listener questions for a chance to have them answered on air!