Unfrozen
90 episodes - English - Latest episode: 28 days ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsA podcast on architecture and urbanism.
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Episodes
Episode 34: Chicago: Two Guides, One Cast
July 31, 2022 14:56 - 51 minutes - 71.1 MBChicago is a famed architecture town, but the road has not always been smooth. Hear from the editor and author, respectively, of two recently released guides – Laurie Petersen for the AIA Guide to Chicago and Vladimir Belogolovskyfor the DOM Architectural Guide Chicago, discourse on Postmodernist icons like the Thompson (future Google?) Center and Harold Washington Library, and muse on what came next, where we are now, and why Chicago is still important to architecture everywhere.
Episode 33: Tallest Timber, Boutique Hotels, Pokemon NO! and more…
July 23, 2022 17:35 - 37 minutes - 51.6 MBDan’s recent consecration of the world’s tallest timber building; Greg’s new gigs, and hotels to stay at while making them happen; the third space in a post-COVID world; update on the Durbin Renewal scandal in Chicago, and a preview of upcoming guests. Intro/Outro: Super Sex by Morphine Tall Timber: Ascent, Milwaukee Rocket & Tigerli, Winterthur, Switzerland Atlassian Central, Sydney Greg’s gig in NYC this week: Patcraft– Shaw Industries, with: Brad Hargraeves – Common Evan Fain – I...
Future Storage: From Mineral Extraction to Data Forestry
July 11, 2022 12:00 - 42 minutes - 58 MBMarina Otero, head of the Social Design Masters Program at Design Academy Eindhoven, Netherlands, is the winner of the Harvard Graduate School of Design's 2022 Wheelwright Prize. Her study, Future Storage: Architectures to Host the Metaverse, will examine new architecture paradigms for storing data, and how reimagining digital infrastructures could meet the unprecedented demands facing the world today. Intro: Lithium, by Nirvana Discussed: The Stack, Benjamin Bratton Ingrid Burrington ...
Episode 31: Emergent Tokyo
June 25, 2022 18:04 - 45 minutes - 62.9 MBThink of Tokyo less as a “chaotic” than as an “emergent” city. This means spontaneous, self-organizing aspects create order from the bottom up. That kind of emergence can be, if not designed, then facilitated. Unfrozen interviews Jorge Almazan, Associate Professor, Department of System Design Engineering, Keio University, and author of “Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City.” Intro: Woman from Tokyo, by Deep Purple Discussed: Yokocho Alleys Zakkyo Buildings Ankyo Streets Compl...
Episode 30: True Lies
June 11, 2022 20:44 - 46 minutes - 64.1 MBFor a truly philosophical take on the role of the architect in the post-truth era, Unfrozen interviews Richard Francis-Jones, author of Truth and Lies in Architecture. Intro: “Telling Lies,” by David Bowie Discussed: Architecture’s ambiguous relationship to truth. The criteria that make a building worthy of love. How can architecture bring us closer to nature? Architecture is “never neutral nor innocent. There is a mutual interconnection between architecture and the events around it.” ...
"Al" in on Supertalls
June 04, 2022 16:43 - 38 minutes - 53 MBUnfrozen interviews Stefan Al, author, Supertall, founder, Stefan Al Architects, designer of Canton Tower, Guangzhou with Information Based Architecture (IBA). Intro/Outro: “History Rhymes,” by Empty City Squares Discussed: Technology: The role of technologies: concrete, elevators, air conditioning and dampers Society: Culture, social preferences, zoning, aesthetics The succession of events that led to today’s skyscrapers New York – zoning London – view corridors Hong Kong – transit-...
Episode 29: "Al" in on Supertalls
June 04, 2022 16:43 - 38 minutes - 53 MBUnfrozen interviews Stefan Al, author, Supertall, founder, Stefan Al Architects, designer of Canton Tower, Guangzhou with Information Based Architecture (IBA). Intro/Outro: “History Rhymes,” by Empty City Squares Discussed: Technology: The role of technologies: concrete, elevators, air conditioning and dampers Society: Culture, social preferences, zoning, aesthetics The succession of events that led to today’s skyscrapers New York – zoning London – view corridors Hong Kong – transit-...
Episode 28: Florida in Houston, "Durbin Renewal" in Chicago, Metabolism Demo'ed in Tokyo
May 15, 2022 14:06 - 34 minutes - 47.6 MBGreg reports from Houston, where he and Richard Florida had some stage-sharing to do. Dan recounts a jaunt to the Canadian Riviera and Pacific Northwest, where mass timber is on the rise. Then on to demolitions, what’s on the bookshelf, future guests, future guesses…. -- -- Intro: “Livin’ on the Edge (of Houston),” by Reverend Horton Heat Discussed: Richard Florida's slightly altered new jam: Live Work Play Connect. Build multifamily, family-oriented apartments of appropriate size, whi...
Episode 27: A Skyscraper Superfan Aims High
May 03, 2022 00:09 - 27 minutes - 38.2 MBMeet Changsub Lee, a 14-year-old in South Korea who has been designing skyscrapers since he was eight. He's already a celebrity in the tall building world. Ivy League schools of architecture, prepare yourselves now. The recording is a bit soft, but if you crank him up, he's got a lot to say. Intro/Outro: "Skyscrapers," by OKGO Discussed: New Songdo City Incheon Tower Infinity (Crystal Top) Tower Northeast Asia Trade Tower James von Klemperer Adrian Smith Killa Design eVolo Skyscrap...
Episode 26: A Tale of Two Toy Cities
April 23, 2022 16:53 - 12 minutes - 17.2 MBTwo toy visions of Los Angeles describe two very different future visions: One vision wants you to play with its toys – and would be offended if you didn’t – the other most assuredly does not. It is strictly off-limits, and is meant to be admired from a distance. One says “don’t touch;” the other practically grabs your hand and pulls you into the grid. Intro/Outro: "Metropolis," by Kraftwerk Originally posted Jan. 31, 2012 in Unfrozen 1.0.
Episode 25: Metal Machine Musings
April 16, 2022 17:00 - 11 minutes - 10.8 MBOriginal story: Unfrozen 1.0, Sept. 3, 2012 A profile of two metallic sculptures by two design firms in Los Angeles: "A Loose Horizon," by LAYER, at the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and "Bloom," by DO|SU, at Materials & Applications. Intro / Outro: "Metal Machine Music," by Lou Reed
Episode 24: Growing Moss, Gathering Pace
April 09, 2022 16:16 - 59 minutes - 81.6 MBDan and Greg interview Matt Nardella, founder of Moss Design, a Chicago design-build firm with an array of residential and commercial projects, and a bent for nudging clients and neighbors toward sustainability in small, but meaningful increments. Interviewee: Matt Nardella Intro / Outro: “Highway Chile”, by the Jimi Hendrix Experience Discussed: - NewSchool of Architecture San Diego - Architects as developers, contractors and multi-disciplinary designers - In praise of not designing p...
Episode 23: Of Montreal, Hype-r-Mediocrity and All That
April 04, 2022 02:03 - 40 minutes - 55.4 MBDan and Greg reunite again in person, in Greg’s adopted home city of Montreal. Witness Greg’s Unified Theory of Montreal Modernism. Featuring music by artists of, from, by, with Montreal, or Canada, or topically adjacent planes of existence. -- Intro: “Don't Let Me Die in America,” by Of Montreal - Canadian Centre for Architecture’s “A Section of Now” [“Safety Dance,” by Men Without Hats] - St. Joseph’s Oratory, the Space-Rockiest Basilica in the World [“2112: The Temples of Syrinx,” b...
Episode 22: The Engine Room, the City, and Color Commentary
March 19, 2022 14:00 - 25 minutes - 35.5 MBBuilding on the momentum of Episode 21, this special episode is a back-to-back Rees attack, with Greg and Dan both relaying their respective reports from the City of London’s raconteur-in-chief, from 2017 and 2013, respectively. Intro: "In the Engine Room," by Mike Watt The Engine Room Intermission: "Talk Talk," by Talk Talk The City and Color Commentary Outro: "My Favourite Buildings," by Robyn Hitchcock
Episode 21: This is London: Rees Reminiscences
March 12, 2022 22:29 - 34 minutes - 46.8 MBGreg, fresh from a trip to London, shares with Dan updates and reminiscences of the hale old town in the throes of ever-later capitalism, doffing hats to its raconteur-in-chief, Peter Wynne Rees. -- Intro: “Hairdresser on Fire,” by Morrissey Discussed: Peter Wynne Rees The Square Mile (City of London) Skygarden shitshow at the Walkie Talkie – 20 Fenchurch Cities as information (gossip) machines Jamaica Wine House The George and Vulture Bank of England – John Soane The Royal Exchan...
Episode 20: Hopeful Monsters, Strange Creatures and the Freedom of Choice
March 05, 2022 19:44 - 57 minutes - 78.5 MBDesigners, urbanists, public policy advocates, and any others are who would join the Urban Technology Program at the University of Michigan are “hopeful monsters” & “strange creatures.” Meet their leader. Guest: Bryan Boyer, Director, Urban Technology Program, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan // Co-founder, Dash Marshall Intro: “Hopeful Monsters,” by Charlie Nieland Discussed: · Architecture firms grow a spine (?) over Russia v. Ukraine: Is it a ...
Episode 19: Around the World
February 26, 2022 19:01 - 34 minutes - 32.4 MBThe German publishing house DOM has released more than 130 Architectural Guides to regions, cities and countries around the world, as well as one guide to the Moon. Unified by a spare, colorful, graphic convention, inside each guide is a devoted curator’s unique take on the 20th- and 21st-century architecture of the locality. Unfrozen interviews Bjorn Rosen, Publishing Director, for insights on the history and philosophy of the DOM Guides. Intro: “Around the World,” by Daft Punk Outro: “Sh...
Episode 18: From the Blogchives: Too-Late Modernism?
February 20, 2022 18:02 - 21 minutes - 30.1 MBBrutalism has had a rough time over the past decade. Can it be redeemed before it’s too late? Originally published in The Faster Times on October 8, 2012 and on Unfrozen 1.0 on November 22, 2012. - Intro: “Creep,” by Radiohead - A Teardown? o [“Alma Matters,” by Morrissey] - Truthiness be Told - Brutalism is the Prog-Rock of Architecture o [“2112 – Overture,” by Rush] o [“The Wives of Henry VIII,” by o [“Aqualung,” Jethro Tull] o [“Sailing,” by Christopher Cross] - NU-Wave o [“A...
Episode 17: From the Blogchives: The Spell of Hot Desk
February 12, 2022 16:56 - 20 minutes - 27.9 MBSilicon Valley prides itself on "innovation" and "disruption," and its products are meant to drive "sharing" and "collaboration," but the architecture it builds can be stunningly conservative and insular. From the Unfrozen 1.0 post, May 28, 2013 -- Intro: “I Know Where the Summer Goes,” by Belle and Sebastian Too Much, the Magic Bus [“Magic Bus,” by The Who] Casual Collisions [“Strangers When We Meet,” by David Bowie] Will Code for Pizza [“Pizza Butt,” by MC Chris] Let’s Hang Out /...
Episode 16: Games With New Frontiers, Alien Rococo, and Paper Money
February 05, 2022 23:03 - 41 minutes - 38.5 MBGreg and Dan, back at it again, talking about Olympics architecture and urbanism, the Housing Crisis 2.0, and the greatest hits from the 60s, 70s and 80s, come back to life as Zombie Capitalism. -- Intro: "Games Without Frontiers," by Peter Gabriel Outro: "Paper Money," by Montrose Discussed: · Beijing Olympics 2008 and 2022 games looking very different architecturally – no international superstarchitects The official attendees are largely debtor nations – and Russia China joins WTO ...
Episode 15: Can You Say Velaslavasay?
February 01, 2022 00:29 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBAn interview with Sara Velas, founder, Velaslavasay Panorama, Los Angeles. Intro / Outro: “Heartaches,” Al Bowlly, Sid Phillips & His Melodians Discussed: Robert Barker Ruby Carlson Mush to the Movies with LAFF Magical Urbanism Unrestored Restoration Hauntology The Union Square Florist Shop: A Case of Spectral Immersion Luis Barragan Thom Andersen Mark Fisher Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon, Oakland, CA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, UCLA Revolutionario Taco C...
Episode 14: From the Blogchives: Notes from Underground
January 23, 2022 15:57 - 9 minutes - 8.67 MBA tour of the abandoned Pacific Electric Subway Terminal in downtown Los Angeles. From Unfrozen 1.0, originally posted May 11, 2012. Intro/Outro: "Do Not Feed the Oyster," by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Midsection: "Judge Doom," by Alan Silvestri and the London Symphony Orchestra
Episode 13: What Fresh McMansion Hell is This?
January 19, 2022 02:36 - 45 minutes - 42.2 MBUnfrozen interviews Kate Wagner, creator and curator of McMansion Hell. Intro: "Suburbia," by Pet Shop Boys Discussed: - The special McMansion Hell that is Barrington, IL - Why surprise-visiting teachers in their suburban homes is a bad idea - The best the Metaverse can do is take us shopping at Wal-Mart and just browsing at H&M? - Best places to see a McMansion in the Wild - What it's like to be a critic during the media meltdown of the early 2020s - I'd rather be biking Outro: "Bi...
Episode 12: From the Blogchives: For Sale: Kindling $10.9 million (OBO)
January 15, 2022 16:49 - 5 minutes - 4.68 MBThe sordid tale of a totally avoidable fire in the Hollywood Hills: a McMansion used as a set for a reality TV show goes up in smoke. From the Unfrozen 1.0 blog, Feb. 21, 2012 Intro/Outro: "On Fire," by Van Halen
Episode 11: Are You Experienced? Join Team Insurgent!
January 11, 2022 03:49 - 46 minutes - 43.5 MBInterview with Daniel Meyers and Traci Sym of +&> (Plus and Greater Than), an exhibition design firm in Portland, Oregon. Intro / Outro: "Are You Experienced?" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience Cover Art: "Tubes" by +&> (Plus and Greater Than) Discussed: - Cambridge Seven - High Museology versus Themed Entertainment - Exhibition design is really “schmoopy” - Encountering conflict is part of the training of performing artists, so it's good to have a theater person on your design team - S...
Episode 10: From the Blogchives: Can the Dome Home Finally Find a Mass Audience?
January 03, 2022 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBA certain subset of architects and futurists have long obsessed with mass-marketing domes, foam houses, spheres, and combinations thereof. Could their time be nigh? From a story originally posted on Unfrozen 1.0, Sept. 3, 2012. -- Intro: "Xanadu," by Rush 1. All Yesterday's Tomorrows 2. An Architect to the Stars Dreams of Domed Domesticity 3. Sprung From the Foam [Musical interlude: "Xanadu," by ELO and Olivia Newton-John] 4. Domes as Doom Defense Outro: "Ridin' the Storm Out," by REO...
Episode 9: Ghost Grocers, Dark Stores, and Street Life
December 27, 2021 23:15 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBUnfrozen interviews Lev Kushner, Partner, Department of Here, co-author of “The Dark Side of 15-Minute Grocery Delivery,” Bloomberg CityLab, Dec. 7, 2021, with Greg Lindsay
Episode 8: In Praise of Words and Letters, Union Shops, and the New Sincerity
December 23, 2021 19:02 - 53 minutes - 49.8 MBGreg and Dan host Eva Hagberg, author of “Dark Nostalgia,” “How to be Loved,” and the upcoming “When Eero Met His Match”. Intro: “The Letter,” by The Box Tops Topics: · Eero and Aline: “They met and immediately started banging”… and launched the modern world of Architecture PR · “Publicists make their jobs look a lot harder than they are” · Don’t piss off OTTO and ESTO · “I blew my entire advance on seven Iwaan Baan photos” · A Union SHoP? o Tyler Goss cut the cord · Architecture Tw...
Episode 7: From the Blogchives: Architect, Designer, Lover, Spy: The Eero You Never Knew
December 19, 2021 20:00 - 16 minutes - 22.4 MBThe complex (abridged) history of Eero Saarinen. From the Unfrozen 1.0 blog, an audio version of an article that originally ran on October 20, 2012 in The Faster Times, and on November 22, 2012 on Unfrozen. Music: "Jet," by Wings "Rescue," by Echo and the Bunnymen "Futurama," by Christopher Tyng "Mais que Nada," by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 "Mork and Mindy," by Perry Botkin Jr. "Do the Whirlwind," by Architecture in Helsinki
Episode 6: Get Back to the Tunnel of Love: Marriage Dynamics in Design Firms, Why We Can't Have Nice Things and a Lot of Other Things
December 02, 2021 03:38 - 43 minutes - 39.8 MBIt's a rambler, folks, but full of nuggets: Intro: "Tunnel of Love" by Dire Straits - Can BIG Transcend Bjarke? - Angry Foursomes, Unwieldy Threesomes in Rock and Architecture - Sole proprietors aspiring to be corporate - The Holland Tunnel aspiring to be the Lincoln Tunnel - A Section of Now at the CCA - Department of Care is a thing - Walton in Buffalo, Wu in Boston, call it a draw? - George Floyd died in a bike lane, or, infrastructure ain't shit without access - Clearing the bl...
Unfrozen, Episode 5: Going Mobile, Productizing Everything
November 17, 2021 02:18 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn which Greg and Dan discuss: CoMotion LA 2021, Conveyor-Belt Sushi, Sidewalk Labs' Mass Timber Factory, Carehaus at the CCA, Cold-Fusion Affordable Housing in the Great White North, the Benediction of St. Jane. Intro: "Going Mobile," by The Who Outro: "I Am a Tree," by Guided by Voices Links: Will Real Estate Ever Be Normal Again? - New York Times Magazine
Episode 5: Going Mobile, Productizing Everything
November 17, 2021 02:18 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn which Greg and Dan discuss: CoMotion LA 2021, Conveyor-Belt Sushi, Sidewalk Labs' Mass Timber Factory, Carehaus at the CCA, Cold-Fusion Affordable Housing in the Great White North, the Benediction of St. Jane. Intro: "Going Mobile," by The Who Outro: "I Am a Tree," by Guided by Voices Links: Will Real Estate Ever Be Normal Again? - New York Times Magazine
Unfrozen, Episode 4: It's Mark's Mungerverse, We're Just Living in It
November 06, 2021 01:27 - 42 minutes - 39.5 MBConsidering: the Munger Nightmare Dorm at UCSB, the Metaverse, Pokemon Go, how BIM, CAD and CATIA can play the god game too, Planetary Computation, Really Feeling the Room, Snow and Stars as Fungible Tokens, Climbing Up the Walls. Intro/Outro: "Climbing Up the Walls" by Radiohead Show notes/Links: Maybe the Munger Nightmare Dorm is the best we can do Zuckerberg’s endgame is monetizing everything The Intersection by Superflux Crypto Cities => CityDAO CAD’s Boring Future — And Why That’...
Episode 4: It's Mark's Mungerverse, We're Just Living in It
November 06, 2021 01:27 - 42 minutes - 39.5 MBConsidering: the Munger Nightmare Dorm at UCSB, the Metaverse, Pokemon Go, how BIM, CAD and CATIA can play the god game too, Planetary Computation, Really Feeling the Room, Snow and Stars as Fungible Tokens, Climbing Up the Walls. Intro/Outro: "Climbing Up the Walls" by Radiohead Show notes/Links: Maybe the Munger Nightmare Dorm is the best we can do Zuckerberg’s endgame is monetizing everything The Intersection by Superflux Crypto Cities => CityDAO CAD’s Boring Future — And Why That’...
Unfrozen, Episode 3: Turin-a-bout is Fair Play, Tracing Roots, Chasing Utopias
October 30, 2021 18:24 - 24 minutes - 23 MBGreg, Dan and special guest Alexandra Siebenthal, host of the Design in the City Podcast by RESITE, convene in Turin, Italy, to discuss their "redpill" moments that got them hooked on architecture and urbanism, and what they're looking forward to seeing at Utopian Hours, the urban design festival held 8-10 October, 2021. Intro/Outro: "Euro-Trash Girl" by Cracker
Episode 3: Turin-a-bout is Fair Play, Tracing Roots, Chasing Utopias
October 30, 2021 18:24 - 24 minutes - 23 MBGreg, Dan and special guest Alexandra Siebenthal, host of the Design in the City Podcast by RESITE, convene in Turin, Italy, to discuss their "redpill" moments that got them hooked on architecture and urbanism, and what they're looking forward to seeing at Utopian Hours, the urban design festival held 8-10 October, 2021. Intro/Outro: "Euro-Trash Girl" by Cracker
Episode 2: Biennale Breakdown
October 30, 2021 17:53 - 43 minutes - 40.5 MBGreg and Dan visit the Venice Biennale and share their thoughts on "How Will We Live Together?" Intro/Outro: "Isolation" by Joy Division Links:
Unfrozen, Episode 2: Biennale Breakdown
October 30, 2021 17:53 - 43 minutes - 40.5 MBGreg and Dan visit the Venice Biennale and share their thoughts on "How Will We Live Together?" Intro/Outro: "Isolation" by Joy Division Links:
Unfrozen, Episode 1: Deth in Venice
October 30, 2021 15:49 - 43 minutes - 40 MBGreg and Dan successfully make it to the 2020 > 2021 Venice Biennale, on their fourth attempt, only to find it is closed on Mondays. Fortunately, there are other things to talk about and see. Intro/Outro: "Reverence" by Jesus and Mary Chain Links: Scuola Grande di San Rocco 2014 Venice Biennale - Elements of Architecture Eva Hagberg Basilica San Marco MOSE University of Oregon School of Architecture & Environment Rem Koolhaas Fondaco dei Tedeschi Palazzo Grassi San Giorgio Maggio...
Episode 1: Deth in Venice
October 30, 2021 15:49 - 43 minutes - 40 MBGreg and Dan successfully make it to the 2020 > 2021 Venice Biennale, on their fourth attempt, only to find it is closed on Mondays. Fortunately, there are other things to talk about and see. Intro/Outro: "Reverence" by Jesus and Mary Chain Links: Scuola Grande di San Rocco 2014 Venice Biennale - Elements of Architecture Eva Hagberg Basilica San Marco MOSE University of Oregon School of Architecture & Environment Rem Koolhaas Fondaco dei Tedeschi Palazzo Grassi San Giorgio Maggio...