Architecture and Leisure

Architectural History

In this episode we talk about spaces for leisure and socialising. The pandemic has radically altered our experience of public spaces for socialising. Now we are out of lockdown and spaces for nightlife and indoor socialising are open again, they have taken on new meanings and significance. So we wanted to look at how spaces for leisure and socialising have always been shaped by the cultural values, social norms and fashions of a time.

The contributors to this episode are:

Dr James Nott is Lecturer in the School of History at the University of St Andrews. James is a social and cultural historian, his book Going to the Palais: a social and cultural history of dancing and dance halls in Britain 1918-1960 was published in 2015

Dr Catharine Rossi is Associate Professor in Design History at Kingston University. Catherine’s research interests range from craft to nightclubs and in 2018 she co- curated an exhibition titled Night Fever: Designing Club Culture 1960 to Today which opened at the Vitra Design Museum and toured various museums, most recently the V&A Dundee in May 2021.

Dr Alistair Fair who is Reader in Architectural History at The University of Edinburgh. Alistair is interested in the relationship between architecture and wider social and political history, his book Modern Playhouses: an Architectural History of Britain’s New Theatres, 1945-1985 was published in 2018

This podcast has been produced by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain - SAHGB. Established in 1956, we’re the leading subject association for architectural history in the United Kingdom. Our educational mission is to promote architectural history inclusively to diverse audiences. Our mantra is: ‘All places, all periods, all welcome.’

We promote knowledge, through learning education and research. We disseminate that knowledge through programming, content and publications. And we advocate for the discipline and our members. To find out more about our work and to support our educational mission please visit our website: sahgb.org.uk, or follow us @theSAHGB on Twitter, or on Facebook. We are open to all.

Credits:

This podcast series has been created by Jessica Kelly, Matthew Lloyd Roberts and Neal Shasore. The series is produced by Front Ear, to find out more about them visit frontearpodcasts.com.