Architecture in the 20th Century

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.9K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 1999

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rise in so-called spectacular architecture at the end of the 20th century. Is architecture to do with what we live in, where it’s located, the buildings that accommodate at best so much more than a few private bodies, or is it the spectacular, even show-off, extravagance, even fantasy, of architects - or is it engineers who see the huge swash of public money as an opportunity to plant a place in posterity? Daniel Libeskind has been heralded as one of the greatest architects of his generation and of the latter half of the 20th century. He is the architect of some spectacular buildings - two of which are the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the highly controversial Spiral Extension to London’s own Victoria and Albert Museum, which his critics have described as looking like imploding cardboard boxes.But why are we witnessing at the end of the century a sudden glut of spectacular buildings, such as Libeskind’s? What do they say about the state of contemporary architecture? And do they show a blatant disregard for history? Is it merely‘the architecture of excess in a world of diminishing resources, a chic counterpoint at the end of the 20th century’?With Daniel Libeskind architect of the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Spiral Extension to London’s Victoria and Albert Museum; Richard Weston, architect and lecturer at De Montfort University.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:08.5	As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.
0:18.0	What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,
0:24.6	poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.
0:29.7	If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds.
0:36.0	Thanks for downloading the In Our Time Podcast.
0:39.0	For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.
0:43.7	UK forward slash radio for.
0:45.7	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:47.7	Hello Daniel Leib'skin has been heralded as one of the greatest architects of his
0:51.7	generation and of the latter half of the
0:53.8	20th century. He is the architect of some spectacular buildings, two of which are the Jewish
0:57.9	Museum in Berlin, which has just been completed, and the highly controversial yet to
1:02.1	be built spiral extension to London's Victoria and Albert Museum,
1:06.0	which his critics have described as looking like imploding cardboard boxes.
1:10.0	But why are we witnessing at the end of the century a sudden glut of spectacular buildings such as Leibaskins?
1:16.0	What do they say about the state of contemporary architecture and our society?
1:20.0	And do they show a willful disregard for history?
1:22.7	Joining Daniel Leibeskin with me to discuss these issues is Richard Weston.
1:26.3	He too is an architect and lecturer at the Monfort University as well as being a prize-winning author
1:30.8	and critic.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.