Night Waves - Free Thinking 2009 - Dan Cruickshank: Building Memories

Free Thinking 2009 In front of an audience at the Sage Gateshead as part of Radio 3's Free Thinking festival, Rana Mitter hosts a talk given by architectural historian Dan Cruickshank making the case for the restoration, repair and recreation of lost historic buildings, which have been destroyed beyond recognition or simply demolished. Dan's talk, entitled Building Memories, argues that we underestimate the aesthetic and emotional consequences of this conservation. We need to restore architecture to a prominent place in our understanding of ourselves, our history and our society. Dan has been leading the campaign for the restoration of the Euston Arch, the gateway to the London station which was torn down in the early 1960s. But he also asks: perhaps we have to admit that great buildings live in the imagination more powerfully than they do in the real world? The globe-trotting architectural historian best known for his dynamic television appearances in series such as Around the World in 80 Treasures and Britain's Best Buildings, Dan holds major public roles with organisations including The National Trust and the Royal Institute of Architects and has been an adviser to Prince Charles.