What Buildings Do:An architecture podcast.
by Story, Building
An architecture and design podcast made in Ireland - Buildings are everywhere and right now we have never been more aware of the built world around us. But what are the stories of our buildings – who designs them, who pays for them, who uses them, what of their architecture – why do some buildings survive and other buildings die and why do some buildings become sites of protest or others get attached to our very identities? In this podcast host Emmett Scanlon speaks to a range of people about architecture and the buildings that matter to them.
Episodes
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43. John Tuomey & Adrian Duncan | Books Downstairs
This special episode is a live recording made at IAF House, Dublin on June 10th, 2024.As part of conversation series, Books Donwstairs, on books and architecture, architect and writer John Tuomey and author and visual artist Adrian Duncan discussed their books, writing, memory, growing up with...
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42. Aisling Rusk & Anthony Engi Meacock | Reimaginging Elderhood 2
In this episode Emmett Scanlon speaks to Aisling Rusk (Studio Idir, Belfast) and Anthony Engi Meacock (Assemble, London) on their recent collaboration as part of the Reimagining Elderhood project, produced by Self Organised Architecture, (SOA, Dublin).
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41. Reimagining Elderhood 1 | Ailbhe Cunningham + Inka Drohn
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...
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40. Luke McManus | North Circular
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...
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39. Valerie Mulvin | Group 91
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...
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38. Adam Nathaniel Furman
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,...
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BONUS: Review: I see earth, an exhibition by Tom dePaor
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...
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37. Ellen Rowley
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…
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36. Story, Building is here.
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…
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35. Derek Tynan | GROUP 91
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…
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34. BOOK REVIEW | The Dublin Architecture Guide+The Dignity of Everyday Life
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...
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33. Part W Collective | Zoë Berman
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...
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32. Soil Lab
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...
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31. Ryan W. Kennihan
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…
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30. FAF: Future Architects Front | Charlie Edmonds
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....
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29. BRAUN | Emma Geoghegan
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...
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28. RetroFirst Campaign | Will Hurst
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…
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27. Annex | ENTANGLEMENT | Venice Biennale 2021
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…
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26. Self Organised Architecture | SOA | HOUSING
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...
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25. NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS | Orla Murphy
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…
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24. UP NORTH | A Conversation on architecture in Northern Ireland
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…
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BONUS: The Crawford Gallery
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,...
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23. Nathalie Weadick | DESIRE
In this episode host Emmett Scanlon meets Nathalie Weadick. Nathalie is the director of the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF). The IAF is an independent organisation dedicated to the promotion of architecture as culture. In a wide ranging conversation, Nathalie recalls her early career in…
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BONUS: Home of the Year
In this bonus episode of the podcast Emmett Scanlon offers some thoughts on the popular television show Home of the Year. Far from being passive entertainment, or a how-to-do-it program about making better homes, home-based lifestyle television shows become occasions for viewers to gain an...
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22. Derek Poppinga | DEVELOPMENT
In this podcast host Emmett Scanlon talks to property developer Derek Poppinga of Mm Capital. In 2015 Mm Capital purchased the Phibsborough Shopping Centre site. In 2020 Mm Capital lodged an application to amend their previously approved project for student housing, proposing instead to include...
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21. Ben Channon | HEALTH
In this episode Emmett Scanlon talks to Ben Channon about mental health in architecture in education, practice and the wider construction industry. The conversation also engages with wider design principles for "healthy buildings" and post-occupancy evaluation. About Ben Channon: Ben Channon is…
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20. Eoin Ó Broin | ARCHITECTURE
In this episode Emmett Scanlon talks to Eoin Ó Broin about architecture, planning, participation and the public value of architecture. And a little about housing too. About: Eoin Ó Broin: Eoin Ó Broin is a Sinn Féin TD for Dublin Mid West and the party’s spokesperson for Housing, Local Government...
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19. EMERGING POSITIONS | Noreile Breen | Tom O Brien | Jennifer O Donnell | Andrew O Murchu
In this episode, recorded on zoom from Dublin, Kerry, Berlin and Limerick, Emmett Scanlon speaks to Noreille Breen, Tom O Brien, Jennifer O Donnell and Andrew O Murchu. The conversation begins with the notion of architects being asked or expected to "take a position", with each architect in turn...
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18. End of Year Show 4 | CITIES | Philip Lawton
This is the fourth and final episode of the End of Year Show. The End of Year Show is a look back on some of the things that happened and were discussed in architecture and built environment in 2020. Previous episodes covered housing, towns and culture and this episode focuses on the city. Emmett...
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17. Piet Mondrian | Rooms for Manoeuvre | The artist and his studio.
This is a special edition of the podcast commissioned by the National Gallery of Ireland on the occasion of their Mondrian exhibition. In the podcast host Emmett Scanlon recalls his first encounters with Mondrian and then speaks to Professor Michael White from the University of York. Michael has...
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16. End of Year Show 3 | CULTURE | Michael Hayes
It is the End Of the Year Show 2020, Part 3, a look back at some key moments in architecture and design and the world in which they operate in Ireland in 2020. In this third episode Emmett talks to Michael Hayes about architecture culture in 2020. Having to move online had an impact on the way...
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15. End of Year Show 2 | TOWNS | Miriam Delaney
It is the End Of the Year Show 2020, Part 2, a look back at some key moments in architecture and design and the world in which they operate in Ireland in 2020. In the second of four short episodes Emmett Scanlon talks to Miriam Delaney, architect and lecturer at TUD, Dublin. Miriam identifies…
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14. End of Year Show 1 | HOUSING | Lorcan Sirr
It is the End Of the Year Show 2020, a look back at some key moments in architecture and design and the world in which they operate in Ireland in 2020. In the first of four short episodes Emmett Scanlon talks to Dr. Lorcan Sirr, Senior Lecturer in Housing at TUD, Dublin. Lorcan identifies some…
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13. Neasa Hourigan | PUBLIC GOOD
This week host Emmett Scanlon talks to Neasa Hourigan. Neasa is the Green Party TD for Dublin Central. Neasa is Green Party Finance & Health Spokesperson and Chair of Policy Council for the party.. Neasa also studied architecture at TUD Dublin, did a Masters by research in University College…
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12. Conor Sreenan | PUBLIC GOOD
In this episode Emmett Scanlon talks to Conor Sreenan. Conor is the Director of Strategy & Design at Grangegorman Development Agency. Conor's work involves being involved with a dizzying array of design and building projects across this part of Dublin. The Grangegorman Development area is a...
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11. Sheila O' Donnell | HOUSES
In this episode host Emmett Scanlon talks to Sheila O Donnell, one of Ireland’s most celebrated architects. With John Tuomey, Sheila has been running their practice O Donnell+Tuomey in Dublin for over 30 years. The practice have designed and built theatres, cinemans, primary schools, university...
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10. Sean Finegan | ROOMS
In this episode host Emmett Scanlon talk to Sean Finegan, a comedian who is one part of the very successful and very funny comedy trio Foil Arms and Hogg. Now together for 12 years, the men found each other and began working together in the concrete bowels of the Belfield campus in University...
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9. Hari Phillips | HOUSING
In this episode Emmett Scanlon talks to Hari Phillips in London. Hari tells his side of the story about one housing project he and his architecture practice completed in 2018 on the Kipling Estate in London. It is a fascinating story of community initiative, ambition, local authority support and...
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8. Jeanette Lowe | HOUSING
In this episode, Emmett Scanlon talks to Jeanette Lowe. Jeanette is a photographer based in Dublin. The conversation is about architecture, housing and the people that live in it, specifically Pearse House, a housing scheme designed by Herbert Simms and built between 1935-40 in Dublin. Jeanette...
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7. Shane O' Toole | GROUP 91
In this episode host Emmett Scanlon, talks to architecture critic Shane O' Toole. 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...
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BONUS: What's It All About Elphie?
This is a bonus edition of the podcast What Do Buildings Do All Day? In this second bonus episode you will hear a text written by host Emmett Scanlon following a visit to the Elbephilarmonie in Hamburg, in June 2018. "What's It All About Elphie?" is read by actor Ste Murray. Building Me, Building...
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6. COSMOFORM | Eamonn Hall + Cormac Murray
In this episode, Emmett Scanlon talks to Eamonn Hall and Cormac Murray about their new publication COSMOFORM. This is a 'zine on the Met Eireann Building in Glasnevin, Dublin 9 by architect Liam McCormick. During the conversation, we hear some of the history of this building and how the architect...
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BONUS: Building Palestine
This is a bonus edition of the podcast What Do Buildings Do All Day? In this first bonus episode you will hear a text by Conor Sreenan, read by actor Ste Murray. Building Me, Building You is the title of this occasional bonus edition of the main long-form podcast. New writings on encounters with…
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5. Adrian Duncan
Adrian Duncan is an artist and award-winning writer based in Ireland and Berlin. In this podcast, a recorded conversation between Dublin and Berlin, Adrian talks to Emmett Scanlon about bungalows, building sites, books and Berlin. Two excerpts from his debut novel are read by actor Ste Murray....
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4. Valerie Mulvin + Ruth O' Herlihy | McCullough Mulvin Architects
In this episode, host Emmett Scanlon speaks to Valerie Mulvin and Ruth O Herlihy of McCullough Mulvin Architects based in Dublin, Ireland. The pair, together with Niall Mc Cullough and Corán O’Connor, lead the team for the Thapar University Project, in the Punjab, India. The final project,...
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3. Rosie Lynch | Callan Workhouse Union | COLLABORATION
In this concluding episode of a three part podcast introduction on collaboration in architecture, design and space making, host Emmett Scanlon talks to Rosie Lynch, the Creative Director of Callan Workhouse Union. They speak at length about one project, Nimble Spaces - New Cultures of Housing.…
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2. Jeffrey Bolhuis + Laurence Lord | AP+E | COLLABORATION
Laurence Lord and Jeffrey Bolhuis together run AP+E, (Architecture, Practice and Experimentation), an architecture office based in Ireland and The Netherlands. The office has a strong interest in the social and cultural value of architecture and has gained a reputation for working internationally...
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1. Molly O Cathain | COLLABORATION
Molly O Cathain is a Swedish-Irish Set and Costume designer based in London and a co-founder of MALAPROP Theatre. In this episode, recorded in lockdown, Molly discusses with host Emmett Scanlon, her new realationship to home emerging in lockdown and through over fifty days of creative…
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TRAILER - What Do Buildings Do All Day?
Buildings are everywhere and right now we have never been more aware of the built world around us. But what are the stories of our buildings – who designs them, who pays for them, who uses them – why do some buildings survive and other buildings die and why do some buildings become sites of…
more
About this show
An architecture and design podcast made in Ireland - Buildings are everywhere and right now we have never been more aware of the built world around us. But what are the stories of our buildings – who designs them, who pays for them, who uses them, what of their architecture – why do some buildings survive and other buildings die and why do some buildings become sites of protest or others get attached to our very identities? In this podcast host Emmett Scanlon speaks to a range of people about architecture and the buildings that matter to them.
Hosted by
Story, Building