About Buildings + Cities

In the second episode of our series on Giovanni Battista Piranesi, we discussed his multi-volume project, Le Antichità Romane de' tempo della prima Repubblica e dei primi imperatori, a deep study and representation of Roman Antiquity, channelled through his vivid imagination, mixing rigorous archaeological measurement and close attention to constructional details with romanti...

This episode takes a new format! Instead of fitting into a larger series or a particular theme, Luke and George simply chose two interesting pieces of architecture each that they wanted to discuss and draw out particular ideas or themes from. Let us know if you liked this format, and we will consider doing more of them in between regular episodes!

In this episode, we d...

In our final episode of 2025, we discussed William Golding's 1964 novel 'The Spire', a deeply psychological portrayal of the construction of a cathedral spire in the 14th century, heavily influenced by Salisbury Cathedral. One of the great architectural novels, this episode contains extensive spoilers, so we recommend reading it or listening to the audiobook before you listen...