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Building Fleet Street: The Golden Age of Newspapers
Newspapers are the flimsiest, most ephemeral of media; here today, gone tomorrow. By contrast, architecture is the most steadfast of all media. In the inter-war period, reading a daily newspaper was one of the defining customs of British life. In a bid to cement their influence in the fabric of the city, press agencies commissioned lavish headquarters. Architecture critic Edwin Heathcote considers how the grand Art Deco buildings of Fleet Street reflected the aspirations of the industry.
The printed newspaper form may be going out of fashion, but the buildings which housed them have stood the test of time.
Time Period:
20th century
Themes:
Edwin Heathcote is the architecture and design critic of The Financial Times. He is an architect and designer and the author of over a dozen books including The Meaning of Home (2012). He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of online design writing archive Readingdesign.org and a columnist and contributor to a number of magazines, including GQ and Icon.
09:34
Inside Cosmic House: A Postmodern Icon
Charles Jencks’ Cosmic House is the architectural historian’s “built manifesto of Postmodernism”.
13:53
Richard Westmacott’s Pediment Sculptures for the British Museum
British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer reflects on the story and inspiration behind Sir Richard Westmacott’s pediment sculptures.
15:03
Metamorphosis of Narcissus: When Salvador Dalí met Sigmund Freud
Dawn Adès tells the story of the historic meeting between Salvador Dalí and Sigmund Freud, and unpacks the mind-boggling painting the artist took with him.
09:34
Charles Jencks’ Cosmic House is the architectural historian’s “built manifesto of Postmodernism”.
13:53
British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer reflects on the story and inspiration behind Sir Richard Westmacott’s pediment sculptures.
15:03
Dawn Adès tells the story of the historic meeting between Salvador Dalí and Sigmund Freud, and unpacks the mind-boggling painting the artist took with him.
8:44
Join Ashley Bickerton on the Hawaii beach where he first caught a wave to hear how a nomadic lifestyle has influenced his practice.
10:41
Discover the astonishing skull hidden in plain sight in Holbein’s masterpiece, The Ambassadors.
9:13
David Boyd Haycock traces the life and career of Paul Nash, who 're-dreamt the landscape in a Modernist manner'.