A global history of architecture

Listen in on a fascinating discussion with professor and author Francis D.K. Ching about his latest book, "A Global History of Architecture"—a work lauded as “unabashedly huge” in proportion and refreshingly unique in perspective. The work spans the globe from 3500 BCE to the present day, discussing certain styles and historical periods but dwelling primarily on specific architectural works.

The simple home: The luxury of enough

Sarah Nettleton presents her six paths to simple sustainability, each illustrated by examples of human-scaled, unadorned homes with straightforward floor plans from her book, The Simple Home. For everyone who craves a simpler lifestyle, not only in how they live but also where they live, her book features 21 houses and presents six different approaches to creating a home that realizes its full potential both simply and elegantly.

Her six paths to simplicity are each illustrated by human-scaled, unadorned homes with straightforward floor plans and forms. These are open, light-filled houses (with rooms or spaces that are often multipurpose) that express their beauty in their utility and practicality. Simple homes are low maintenance and often green, designed for homeowners who wish to embody a different set of values in their housing choices than the run-of-the-mill starter castles littering the landscape.

The 6 Paths:

1. Simple is Enough
2. Simple is Thrifty
3. Simple is Flexible
4. Simple is Timeless
5. Simple is Sustainable
6. Simple is Refined

In this podcast, Nettleton discusses living in complex times, in a commodified, virtual, and overstimulated culture, and how to escape that reality for a more satisfying life through simplicity. By using architecture, she tries to at once give a vocabulary to common sense concepts of the simple, while at the same time offering concrete examples of what steps can be taken towards living a new lifestyle.

A global history of architecture

Listen in on a fascinating discussion with professor and author Francis D.K. Ching about his latest book, "A Global History of Architecture"—a work lauded as “unabashedly huge” in proportion and refreshingly unique in perspective. The work spans the globe from 3500 BCE to the present day, discussing certain styles and historical periods but dwelling primarily on specific architectural works.

Podcast: Salvador Dali's Forgotten Horizon

This is one of a series of beach scenes at Rosas on the Costa Brava which Dalí painted in 1934-6 using traditional materials applied with a very confident hand. A mahogany panel was prepared with an oil based ground and then the background "set" was painted in paint bound with poppy oil. The figures were painted onto the background with a very liquid oil and resin paint which Dali applied with great skill and precision of placement.

Patricia Smithen is Conservator of Modern and Contemporary Paintings at Tate. She has just completed a study of the paintings by Salvador Dali in the Tate Collection and is contributing to a research project on Tate's Surrealist paintings. She is a member of the Modern Paints Research Project carrying out research and treatments on the surface cleaning of acrylic paintings.

Emerging professional versus architect

How to prevent burglars from entering your home

Listen to this advice packed podcast and stay safe.

Podcast: Feng Shui for residential architecture

Barbara Lyons Stewart, AIA, and Vincent M. Smith, coauthors of Feng Shui: A Practical Guide for Architects and Designers, spoke with the AIA Podcast Network’s C.D. Pangallo, EdD, Managing Director, Continuing Education, about the effects the built environment has on our behavior and how making Feng Shui adjustments can enrich the lives of clients.