architecture Archives - TPR: The Public's Radio

Is reality TV selling us a broken dream?

NPR

The ugly truth of America’s expensive homes

by Brittany Luse April 24, 2026April 24, 2026

Do you feel poor every time you turn on Bravo television?

You’re not alone – the beautiful homes of the rich and famous showcased on reality TV shows from Keeping Up with the Kardashians to the Real Housewives of Atlanta are meant to be something of a fantasy for audiences everywhere. But what are the housing realities behind the glitz and glamour? And how are your favorite reality TV stars shaping your own ideas of home and stability? To find out, Brittany is joined by Jack Balderrama Morley, author of Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV, and Liam Dillon, staff writer at Politico who covers housing in California.

Want more about cultural deep dives into Reality TV?

Check out these episodes:

Is this the end of reality TV?
The molten center of ‘The Real Housewives’ multiverse

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Artist renderings and diagrams for President Trump's proposed triumphal arch released by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on April 10, 2026.

NPR

Trump touts newly released plans for D.C. triumphal arch

by Chloe Veltman April 11, 2026April 11, 2026

The proposed 250-feet-tall, white-and-gilded monument would stand on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., by the Potomac River.

"I love the relationship with the clients," said architect Frank Gehry. In Bilbao, Spain, where he designed the groundbreaking building for the Guggenheim museum, "people come out and hug me," he said.

NPR

Frank Gehry, whose designs defied gravity and convention, dies at 96

by Susan Stamberg December 5, 2025December 5, 2025

Gehry transformed modern architecture with exuberant buildings such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim Museum. “I’ve always been for optimism and architecture not being sad,” he said.

The Jefferson Memorial and US Capitol are seen alongside the Tidal Basin in an aerial photograph taken on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, DC, on October 22, 2024.

NPR

White House fires entire commission that reviews designs for federal buildings

by Elizabeth Blair October 29, 2025October 29, 2025

The White House has fired all six members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the independent federal agency that reviews design plans for monuments, memorials, coins and federal buildings.

NPR

Some ant architects design a colony to cut the risk of disease. Humans, take note!

by Ari Daniel October 21, 2025October 21, 2025

One kind of tiny ant can serve as a monumental example for how to keep members of a community safe from pathogens. A new study shows how they do it.

NPR

Beloved historic landmarks navigate an uncertain future after the LA fires

by Chloe Veltman March 31, 2025March 31, 2025

In Pasadena, The Gamble House was in a fire evacuation zone and its custodians are trying to safeguard its future. In Altadena, only concrete walls are left from the former home of novelist Zane Grey.

Artscape, Education, Local, South Coast Bureau

UMass Dartmouth’s $660 million problem: preserving its Brutalist campus

by Ben Berke March 6, 2025March 7, 2025

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Brutalism had its heyday 60 years ago, but this polarizing style of architecture is back in the spotlight. At the Oscars, Adrien Brody won Best Actor for his performance of a Brutalist architect. In Washington, President Trump has re-issued an executive order deploring Brutalism. And in southeastern Massachusetts, our reporter Ben Berke brings us this story about a Brutalist college campus designed by a celebrated architect whose buildings are disappearing across the country.

NPR

Chinese architect Liu Jiakun wins the 2025 Pritzker Prize

by Neda Ulaby March 4, 2025March 4, 2025

The jury cited Liu’s “reverence for culture, history and nature, chronicling time and comforting users with familiarity through modern interpretations of classic Chinese architecture.”

NPR

Will all new federal buildings look like ancient Rome now? Not quite.

by Andrew Limbong January 21, 2025January 21, 2025

Among his day one actions, President Trump is reviving his first-term efforts to promote classical architecture for federal buildings.

NPR

Riken Yamamoto, who designs dignity and elegance into daily life, wins Pritzker Prize

by Neda Ulaby March 5, 2024July 9, 2024

Yamamoto’s postwar childhood in Japan shaped his interest in the interplay of architecture and community. The jury of the prestigious architecture award cited the intergenerational power of his work.