This essay was published by Unherd in June 2023 The last weeks of Charles Byrne’s life were nightmarish. Known as the Irish Giant, the seven-foot seven-inch man from Ulster had made his way in 1782 to London, where he earned money by exhibiting himself as a freak. By the end of that year tragedy was … Continue reading Dilemmas of Displaying the Dead

This article was written for my regular newsletter, The Pathos of Things, in May 2023. Read more and subscribe here. Though originally designed in the 1960s, the Boeing 737 is an unsung hero of the early 21st century. A flimsy-looking airplane, its cramped conditions and unnerving tendency to rattle on take-off have driven many a short-haul passenger … Continue reading The Uberisation of Everything

This article was originally published by Unherd in February 2023. “You have, ladies and gentlemen, to give this much to the Luftwaffe: when it knocked down our buildings, it didn’t replace them with anything more offensive than rubble. We did that.” That was the famous barb which the then-Prince Charles aimed at modern architecture in … Continue reading Christopher Wren: Godfather of the Technocrats

This article was originally published by Unherd in November 2022. Read it here. For a building project marketed like a Hollywood blockbuster, the latest footage from the deserts of northwestern Saudi Arabia is a little underwhelming. A column of trucks is moving sand, a row of diggers poking at the barren landscape like toys arranged on a … Continue reading The Architecture of Autocracy