Building Soul – with Thomas Heatherwick

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Building Soul - with Thomas Heatherwick

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Building Soul - with Thomas Heatherwick: The Cult of Modernist Architecture

The Cult of Modernist Architecture

BBC Radio 4 - Building Soul - with Thomas Heatherwick, The Cult of Modernist Architecture

Designer Thomas Heatherwick asks when and why our buildings became so boring.

Designer Thomas Heatherwick asks if one man, known as Le Corbusier, is really responsible for creating our age of boring buildings.

Why and when did our buildings become so boring? Anyone exploring the streets of our oldest cities can see this wasn’t always the case. 

In part 2 of this series, Thomas Heatherwick argues that a cult of Modernism took hold of the architectural establishment in the 20th century, with an obsessive focus on form follows function at the expense of visual complexity and delight. Is one man, known as Le Corbusier, really responsible for creating our age of boring buildings?

Join Thomas as he challenges the architectural establishment to stop slavishly following Le Corbusier’s vision long after it ran out of steam. Thomas also argues that the legacy of modernism conveniently suits developers whose primary concern is the maximisation of short-term profits, at a huge cost to the environment as well as to our civic identity and personal wellbeing.

Producer: Tom Pooley
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Building Soul - with Thomas Heatherwick

The Cult of Modernist Architecture

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