The Smell of Concrete After Rain
99% Invisible29 Huhti 2020

The Smell of Concrete After Rain

There have been over 200,000 deaths as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. All have been tragic, but there are two people in particular we’ve lost due to COVID that were part of the world of architecture and design that we want to honor with a couple of stories today. First, we are mourning the loss of architect Michael McKinnell. Along with Gerhard Kallman, McKinnell designed the unforgettable Boston City Hall, completed in 1968. They won the commission for Boston City Hall after submitting their brutalist, heroic monument in a contest when Michael McKinnell was just 26 years old. It was always a controversial structure, much of the public found it ugly and too unconventional, but architects and critics tend to love it. This is the often the case with Brutalism in general and that is the subject of our first story starring Boston City Hall.

Another voice who is gone too early was Michael Sorkin. Sorkin was a designer and the Village Voice architecture critic in the 80s. He brought a totally new kind of approach to writing about buildings, one that focused on people and politics. We spoke with design critic at Curbed, Alexandra Lange, about Sorkin's work, and Roman Mars reads excerpts from one of his pieces called Two Hundred and Fifty Things an Architect Should Know.

The Smell of Concrete After Rain

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(779)

The Lost Subways of North America

The Lost Subways of North America

Los Angeles actually used to have a massive electric railway system in the early 1900s, called the Red Car. Jake Berman, the author of The Lost Subways of North America, tells us about how, time after...

22 Touko 202426min

The Power Broker #5: Brandy Zadrozny

The Power Broker #5: Brandy Zadrozny

This is the fifth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Brandy Zadrozny,...

18 Touko 20242h 11min

Rocket Man

Rocket Man

In the twentieth century, the jetpack became synonymous with the idea of a ‘futuristic society.’ Appearing in cartoons and magazines, it felt like a matter of time before people could ride a jetpack t...

14 Touko 202440min

It's Howdy Doody Time!

It's Howdy Doody Time!

The Howdy Doody Show is one of those pieces of 1950s ephemera that has come to symbolize mid-century American childhood. For over a decade, every weeknight at 5pm, kids all across the country would si...

7 Touko 202437min

Towers of Silence: Vulture Conservation

Towers of Silence: Vulture Conservation

Recently we published an episode called Towers of Silence. It's about how the Parsis in India are grappling with the loss of vultures and how it changed something very intimate and meaningful for the ...

3 Touko 202432min

Mr. Yuk

Mr. Yuk

Mr. Yuk is a neon green circular sticker with a cartoon face on it. His face is scrunched up with his eyes squeezed tight and his tongue is sticking out of its mouth. It's the face you make when you t...

30 Huhti 202456min

Towers of Silence

Towers of Silence

Situated right in downtown Mumbai, India is an area of about 55 acres of dense, overgrown forest. In one of the most populous cities in the world, this is a place where peacocks roam freely -- a space...

23 Huhti 20241h 11min

The Power Broker #4: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The Power Broker #4: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

This is the fourth official episode, breaking down the 1974 Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Power Broker by our hero Robert Caro. This week, Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan sit down with Rep. Alexandria...

19 Huhti 20242h 39min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-rahapodi
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahamania
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
pomojen-suusta
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-sisalto-kuntoon
taloudellinen-mielenrauha
rss-lahtijat
rss-20-30-40-podcast
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-bisnesta-bebeja
rss-karon-grilli
sijoituspodi
rss-startup-ministerio
rss-inspiroivat-naiset
rss-inderes
rss-siksi-viestinta