What Buildings Do: An architecture podcast.

This is the first of three episodes made in response to a project called Reimagining `Elderhood. Initiated by a group called SOA, or Self-Organised Architecture - a group already in conversation on episode 26 of the podcast - Reimaging Elderhood is an architecture-led project that explores the future housing needs of people in mid-life in Ireland. First up in this episode, Emmett Scanlon talks to Ailbhe Cunningham and Inka Drohn. Ailbhe is an architect based in Cork who, in this project, worked out of a record shop with a community of mjusicians, collectors and more who had formed around the shop. Ailbhe was mentored by Inka Drohn, an architect based in Berlin Germany who specialises in cop-operative and self-organised housing projects. Find out more about this project at www.soa.ie . The podcast we recorded on zoom in October 2023. . Graphic design by Eamonn Hall . Music by Sinéad Finnegan . What Buildings Do is supported by the Irish Architecture Foundation as part of their commitmen

In this podcast, Emmett Scanlon talks to Luke McManus, a documentary film maker based in Dublin. Luke's debut feature documentary as a director, North Circular, had its International Premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2022 and won awards at Dublin IFF, Louth IFF and IndieCork Film Festival. It recently won a prestigious Grand Prix at France’s biggest documentary festival, FIPADOC in Biarritz in southwest France. North Circular is currently screening in cinemas across Ireland and in London and has had many sold-out screenings and excellent reviews - the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw awarded it four stars and said it was "resonant, vivid and beautifully shot, pregnant with images and ideas, a film made with real artistry." _ _ The music is by Sinead Finnegan and is played by The Delmaine String Quartet. The podcast was recorded on zoom in January 2023.

In this episode we talk to Valerie Mulvin. The podcast is part of the Temple Bar 30 Series, an ongoing recording project with members of Group 91. Back in the 1980s a group of young and eager architects began working together in a loose collective, anxious to make things happen in Dublin city. By 1991, this group formalised as Group 91 and contained among others, Shelley McNamra, Yvonne Farrell (Grafton Architects), John Tuomey and Sheila O Donnell, Mc Cullough Mulvin architects and McGarry NiEanaigh. Valerie was part of G91 with Niall McCullough, who died in 2022. As practitioners and writers in and of architecture, Niall and Valerie have published since very early in their career. The podcast begins then, with Valerie reflecting on how and why the desire to research, write and publish came from and how she and Niall sustained this across their entire career. Valerie has just published Approximate Formality: Morphology of Irish Towns to public and critical acclaim and she is now worki

In this episode Emmett Scanlon talks to Adam Nathaniel Furman. Adam is a British artist and designer of Argentine and Japanese heritage based in London. Trained in architecture, Adam's atelier works in spatial design and art of all scales from video and prints to large public artworks, architecturally integrated ornament, as well as products, furniture, interiors, publishing and academia. _ As an activist, vocal defender of workers rights, particularly those of interns, and as an articulate speaker on and about architecture and design, there were many reasons to talk to Adam but it was the arrival of the book Queer Spaces edited by Adam and Joshua Mardel, and designed by Alex Synge, that finally prompted the talk. _ A book that is long overdue, it provides an accessible atlas or canon in Adam’s words - of queer spaces, in part for queer students of architecture and design needing a frame of reference and references to support their work. But discussing the book also lead to convers

This is a bonus episode of the podcast. It is a review of and a reflection on i see Earth, building and ground 1991-2021 an exhibition by Tom de Paor. The recording of this text was first broadcast at an event in VISUAL Carlow, on May 1st 2022, at an event called MAYDAY, a 108 minute orbit around the earth, curated by Nathalie Weadick and Hugh Campbell. The text read here will also be published on storybuilding.ie. “Still open, i see Earth presents an ambitious large-scale installation of sculptural work by one of Ireland's foremost architects, Tom dePaor. The exhibition spans his practice from 1991-2021 through the media of sculpture, objects, film and drawing, painting and writing. Curated and commissioned by Nathalie Weadick and including new documentary work by Peter Maybury, i see Earth is produced by VISUAL Carlow and the Irish Architecture Foundation.

In this episode, Emmett Scanlon talks to Ellen Rowley, architectural and cultural historian. The podcast covers Ellen's discovery of buildings and architecture through the close noticing of the world around her, the role and value of history in architecture, when history starts and, what buildings do. ABOUT ELLEN ROWLEY Ellen Rowley is Assistant Professor in Modern Irish Architecture at the School of Architecture, Planning + Environmental Policy, UCD. She is an architectural and cultural historian, a teacher and a writer. Interested in architectural obsolescence, the intersection of social histories and buildings, and the place of the Catholic Church in Ireland’s built environment, she has published extensively including Housing, Architecture and the Edge Condition (2019, Routledge, Taylor + Francis); and (co-editor), Making Belfield. Space + Place at UCD (2020, UCD Press); as well as More Than Concrete Blocks, volumes 1 and 2 (2016/9, Four Courts Press) which are socio-cultural histor

In this short episode Emmett Scanlon describes the origins and purpose of the new platform Story, Building. The podcast, What Buildings Do, is now part of that platform. Story, Building is a new platform for the critical discussion of architecture in Ireland. The podcast also shares information on how to submit work for publication in print or online. Full details are on the website. Music is by Rachael Lavelle.

This is a the second in a series of conversations about Temple Bar with the architects of Group 91, initiated on the 30th anniversary of that project. Part reflection and projection, in this episode architect Derek Tynan talks about arriving back to Dublin the 1980s, then, he calls, a city of decay He recalls how then a new culture of confidence of architecture took hold in Ireland; Group 91 got going and got the gig; he reflects on how G91 could not exist now; the perennial issue of procurement; and how housing is being designed today. _ The music is by Sinead Finnegan and is played by The Delmaine String Quartet. The podcast was recorded on zoom in November 2021.

In this episode we discuss two new books on architecture, buildings and Ireland's capital city, Dublin. The books are The Dublin Architecture Guide 1937-2021, by Paul Kelly, Cormac Murray and Brendan Spierin, published by the Lilliput Press and designed by Eamonn Hall. The second book is The Dignity of Everyday Life: Celebrating Michael Scott’s Busaras, with text by Eoin O' Broin and photographs by Mal McCann. The book is designed by Stuart Coughlan and published by Merrion Press. The podcast covers the themes and content of the books individually and together, paying particular attention to the design of the books and how photographs are used. Joining Emmett Scanlon to discuss these books are architect David Capener and photographer Noel Bowler. ABOUT THE CRITICS David Capener is an architect, educator and writer and a lecturer at the Belfast School of Architecture. He himself has just published a book as part of ANNEX, a six person team who made ENTANGLEMT, the national pavilion at t

In this episode host Emmett Scanlon speaks to Zoë Berman of Studio Berman. Zoë is an architect and a university lecturer. She has lectured on design and equity, and written for the RIBA Journal, Blueprint magazine and Architecture Today. Zoë is also one of the founding members of the Part W Collective, which describes itself as “a collective of engaged and proactive women working in design education, architecture, planning, engineering, policy, infrastructure and sustainability." Founded in 2018, the collective says it is intergenerational - "formed by women from diverse backgrounds who are working together to call time on gender inequality, in all its forms, in our built environment." In the podcast Zoë talks about the work of Part W, in particular the alternative list campaign, their first campaign and one which simply asked, if we did not have the list of men who had previously won the Royal Institute of British Architects Royal Gold Medal, who would be on that list? Who were the

In the podcast Emmett Scanlon talks to James Albert Martin and Eibhlín Ní Chathasaigh, who together with Anne Dorthe Vester and Maria Bruun are Soil Lab. In September 2021, Soil Lab unveiled their installation on a vacant lot in Chicago as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial. In the podcast the pair discuss the project from the initial idea which, after an open call from the Danish Arts Foundation, was to make a housing for a ceramic kiln on the site, and all the way through to the opening. They share the obvious logistic challenges of making a project like this from Denmark and Ireland and in America, especially during a pandemic. However, challenging as it was, it is clear the team remain enthused, emboldened and engaged with and by the work and all that unfolded day by day across the project, and in particular how the project was enriched by the participation of residents and others who live and work adjacent to the site. James begins by telling us about the Chicago Architect

In 2021 Ryan Kennihan was Highly Commended for a house in north Dublin, in the 'New Into Old' awards, by the Architectural Review. This house is another in a series of lauded house projects undertaken by Ryan and his team in RKA over the last 15 years of practice. In the podcast we begin with that house, exploring how to work with fragments of existing buildings, returning them to a family for use today and into the future. Ryan talks about building trust with clients, working with building contractors, his interest in the existing or as found, the ideas of continuity in architecture, and the ethical position of the architect. The podcast also covers Ryan's views on the culture of architecture in Ireland, and what Ireland offers that many places do not. About to launch their first book on work to date, Ryan concludes by sharing with us a building that continues to surprise him and inform his work in architecture. About Ryan Kennihan: Ryan studied architecture at Cornell University. O

The last years have seen a growing consideration of the terms and conditions of employment for architects. In this episode Emmett Scanlon speaks to Charlie Edmonds who cofounded in 2021 the Future Architects Front, a group founded to end "the exploitative practices" of workers in architecture. Charlie outlines the reasons he and Priti Mohandas founded the group, their engagement with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), he calls for more diversity in education available to architects and how discussions of preparing students for the "real world" in architecture education are often about holding the status quo and resisting change. | About FAF: Future Architects Front is a grassroots organisation of architectural workers and students. FAF campaigns to end the exploitative practices that have come to define the world of architecture. It was created and is run by Charlie Edmonds and Priti Mohandas, British designers and researchers. The pair met and began the work of FAF whi

In this episode, Emmett Scanlon talks to Emma Geoghegan about the currently vacant BRAUN factory building in Carlow, Ireland. Carlow is a town with a combined urban and rural population of about 25,000 people. Back in 1974 BRAUN, the German company, set up a new factory in Carlow, which, at its peak employed 1,400 people most of whom were women. Details of the Braun Archive can be found on the VISUAL website. Details of the Women in the Machine project can be found here. _ Photo of BRAUN under construction: Dermot O Brien, used with permission. ABOUT EMMA GEOGHEGAN Emma Geoghegan is an architect, urban designer and lecturer at the Dublin School of Architecture TU Dublin. Since 2007 her practice has focused on the design of beautiful, resilient, buildings and places for people with a broad range of abilities and needs. In parallel her research and teaching practice has been driven by a commitment to the social purpose of architecture and inclusive design principles and embedding these i

In this episode, Emmett Scanlon talks to Will Hurst, the Managing Editor of The Architects’ Journal, based in London. Will has been leading the RetroFirst campaign at the Architect's Journal since late 2019. The podcast covers the origins and ambitions of this campaign, at the heart of which is the idea that "the greenest building is the one that already exists". The conversation touches on the challenges faced by all in construction at a time of climate crisis, the reaction of the architecture profession to RetroFirst, the circular economy and why it makes little climate sense to demolish buildings like the Derby Assembly Rooms in Derby. _ ABOUT WILL HURST Will Hurst is an award-winning journalist who has spent his career writing about architecture and construction in the building press and for national titles such as the Guardian, Times and Financial Times. Will has written extensively about the built environment’s contribution to the climate crisis and is currently leading the AJ

The 17th Venice Architecture Biennale open-end at the end of May, a year later than intended, due to Covid restrictions and cancellations. This year the Irish pavilion, at what is one of the largest exhibitions of architecture in the world, was commissioned and curated by an interdisciplinary group of architects, artists and researchers, together known as ANNEX. The pavilion is called, Entanglement, and it explores the materiality of data, and the interwoven human, environmental and cultural impacts of communication technologies. As you will hear this is a particularly Irish concern right now, with Ireland currently being the data capital of Europe, which, at its simplest terms, is manifest in the sheer number of large data centres being built on the Island. But is far more complex and far more profound than that, and in the podcast you will here this very contemporary concern with data and the cloud, has resonances with our histories of social and public space and implications for the

In this episode Emmett Scanlon talks to Padraig Flynn and Tom O Donnell of SOA (Self Organised Housing). In the podcast the pair outline the origins of the group and the social, spatial and architectural potential of community-led housing. The pair present a realistic but optimistic way of understanding and providing housing in Ireland. - About SOA SOA SOA is a not-for-profit action research think tank, formed in 2017 to research and promote cooperative and collaborative approaches to housing in Ireland. We study proven and successful UK, European and North American strategies and look at how these might be adapted to Ireland. In 2019 SOA hosted a series of events on the subject of Community-Led Housing, including an international conference which was attended by over 400 people. Building on the research base generated by this and other activities, throughout 2020 SOA have coordinated a comprehensive multi-stakeholder study to ‘Roadmap a Viable Community-Led Housing Sector for Irela

In 2020 EU President Ursula von der Leyen launched the New European Bauhaus, an initiative intending to address climate by and through design. In this episode architect Orla Murphy outlines the values and workings of this initiative and talks about its potential impacts on architecture, on Ireland and on our shared futures on the planet. The conversation also engages with matters of civic and public space and the use of it by people in towns and cities. About Orla Murphy. Orla Murphy B. Arch M. RIAI is a part-time Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture Planning and Environmental Policy (APEP), Co-Director of the UCD Centre for Irish Towns (CfIT), and owner of Custom Architecture. Orla has been External Examiner in CCAE and invited speaker at UL, CCAE, WIT and TUD. In 2018 Orla was Co-Commissioner and Co-Curator of FREE MARKET, Ireland's national representation at the architecture biennale, Venice. In 2020 Orla was appointed to the round-table group for the New European Bau

Northern Ireland is 100 years old on May 3rd 2021. In this podcast Emmett Scanlon speaks to four people working in and through architecture in Norther Ireland. Aidan McGrath is a director of McGonigal McGrath architects. Jane Larmour leads ArighoLarmourWheeler architect based in Dublin and Belfast. Aisling Rusk is founder of Studio Idir and Ciaran Fox is the Director of the RSUA (Royal Society of Ulster Architects). What follows is a broad conversation in which individually and collectively the quartet outline their own understands of the current terms and conditions in which architecture is being commissioned, designed, built and finally shared with a public. Naturally the specific political context of Northern Ireland comes up - you will have heard Aidan refer to this in the introduction - and we hear how this might be driving and informing types of architectural practice. __ Music is by Sinead Finegan, played by the Delmaine String Quartet (Philip Dodd, leader). The podcast was r

In this bonus episode of the podcast, Emmett Scanlon laments the continued closure of rooms for art. He recalls from memory, time spent in the Crawford Gallery in Cork. In the end, these recollections provide some clues as to what it is that buildings do all day. __ Music is by Sinead Finegan, played by the Delmaine String Quartet (Philip Dodd, leader). The podcast was recorded on Zoom in April 2021.