Shop Talk

Building visions out of suffering

When you listen to leading architect Daniel Libeskind relate his remarkable life story, it seems his path has been shaped by a number of what he describes as 'life-changing moments'. WAN Editor-in-Chief, Michael Hammond spoke at length with Daniel recently and heard about some of the incisive one-line observations - made by his mother, a virtuoso musician, and himself - which helped propel him to the heights of his profession.

Man on a mission

A perspective on colour

Christina Ingram from the WAN AWARDS team asks Will Alsop some searching questions about the dangers and benefits of using colour in architecture…

Exclusive - Le Corbusier Controversy

WAN editor, Michael Hammond speaks exclusively to François Chaslin and Xavier de Jarcy, both authors of controversial new books on Le Corbusier and his alleged leanings towards fascism during the Second World War and to Jean-Louis Cohen, an established author of numerous books on Corbusier.

The smell of concrete in the morning

Today’s guest is co-founder of an international studio that has built a sound reputation for original design, encompassing everything from furniture, through schools, offices, concert halls to infrastructure projects.

Defining Danish architecture…

Today we go to New York to catch up with Danish Architect, Louis Becker, Design Director and Principal Partner at Copenhagen based Henning Larsen Architects.

AHMM’s 25 year journey to win the Stirling Prize

The Stirling Prize is the UK's most prestigious architecture award and is "presented to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture in the past year."

Gorgeously Vulgar

Our guest today is well known figure on the London Architecture circuit. A larger-than-life character known both for his uncompromising passion for architecture and for his mission to bring his unique brand of vibrancy to his buildings and the streets of London.

The next generation of architects in the Making?

Our guest today says he doesn’t want to be a big name architect, although many in the profession would argue that he already is. He is immensely proud of his roots in the hard, post-war metal-bashing world of the UK’s Industrial Midlands

Exhibiting good architecture

Our guest this week has over the last 35 years been tasked with bringing some of London’s most precious cultural landmarks up to date. Projects including the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, the National Portrait Gallery, Somerset House and more recently the highly controversial traffic sharing scheme at Exhibition Road.

Going Tall in Manhattan

Our guest this week is Rafael Viñoly, architect behind the towering 432 Park Avenue in Manhattan. In our exclusive interview, Rafael talks to us about his early years in Uruguay, how he originally got into architecture, his passion for music and the challenges facing architects today

Down on the waterfront

So, what exactly makes architect and artist, Will Alsop, the so-called ‘enfant terrible’ of architecture?

Monumental Success

Craig Dykers

Breaking down the boundaries

This week's guest is arguably the UK’s brightest star of design and architecture. In the last few years he has realised an amazing array of designs from a rolling bridge, a seaside café, the British Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, the amazing cauldron at the London 2012 Olympics, the new London Bus… the list is endless.

In search of normality

Doug Suisman

Keeping Paris' Gare Du Nord moving

Once infamously described as ‘the squalor pit of Europe’ by the managing director of John Lewis, plans have recently been revealed for a £1bn makeover of Europe’s busiest station, the Gare du Nord in Paris.

1968 and all that...

Wolf Prix is co-founder, Design Principal and CEO of international practice, COOP HIMMELB(L)AU – based in Vienna but now also with offices in Los Angeles and Beijing. One of his latest high-profile creations is the incredible Musée des Confluences in Lyon, France, an angular faceted steel and glass building with a natural history museum within.

Brighton's i360: One Tower, One Team

On the UK’s south coast, last Thursday saw a major new milestone in the progress of Brighton's newest attraction, the £46 million i360 observation tower.

Man and Machine

Our guest today, Simon Terry, Innovation and Brand Director at Anglepoise (and direct descendant of the original family run manufacturer) takes us back to 1932 to the birth of this iconic lamp.

Behind the scenes at the Festival

London is once again gearing up for its annual architectural extravaganza, the month long, London Festival of Architecture. The Festival was started back in 2008 by Peter Murray and launched by the incoming mayor, Boris Johnson with much fanfare and flag waving. Now seven years on, we talk to Lara Kinneir, Programme Manager of the Festival to out how the big idea is working out…

Summer in the city

This week's guests are London architect Amanda Levete and philanthropist Naomi Milgrom discussing the aims and challenges of designing Melbourne's second M Pavilion.

Concrete in the Limelight…

Paddy Dillon, lead architect at Haworth Tompkins, takes us behind the scenes on a tour of the £80 million transformation of Denys Lasdun’s brutally beautiful National Theatre on London’s South Bank.

Frei Otto – The enduring legacy of tensile structures

Ian Mulcahey, co-director of Gensler London talks to WAN’s Michael Hammond about a radical plan to send London’s cyclists underground

Tunnel Vision

Frei Otto who sadly passed away last week is the topic of this week’s Shop Talk. In the next twenty minutes we try to get a better understanding of both the man and his legacy which is still being utilised in contemporary projects today

City Designer's Richard Coleman on Centre Point

Richard Coleman

Lord Rogers of Riverside - The Inside track on the Pompidou

Centre Georges Pompidou 30 years on… Richard Richards in Paris 21/11/2007