In Metropolis Venice, presenter Julian Davison explores the history of one of the world’s most extraordinary cities through its architecture. From its beginnings as a tiny group of settlements in a muddy lagoon, to its rise as one of the most powerful commercial empires the world has ever known, Venice offers an up an incredible array of architectural wonders that start with its very foundations.
In Metropolis Syria, presenter Julian Davidson explores the country’s ancient architectural legacy and discovers that in many ways it chronicles the history of civilisation itself and provides a unique and fascinating insight into some of the greatest architectural forms ever devised.
Host Julian Davison explores one of Asia’s most modern cities, Singapore. In the last half century this small island state, situated in the heart of the tropics close to the equator, has transformed itself into a well organised, vibrant, business and banking hub servicing the Asian region. Singapore was established as a British trading post by Englishman, Sir Stanford Raffles, in the early 19th century. Raffles mapped out the city’s districts along ethnic lines, where its populations of Chinese, Indians and Malays, brought in as a labour force, and Europeans , lived separately.
Barcelona, capital of Catalunya - an empire which once straddled the Pyrénées and ruled the trading routes of the Mediterranean – is a proud nation with its own language, customs and traditions, all forged by a fierce democratic history…
Hosted by passionate architecture and design expert Charlie Luxton, Metropolis Los Angeles charts the rise of a city founded on oil, and one which grew to become one of the richest and most famous in the world. This is a place where dreams come true and anything is possible – and that includes the architecture.
Hosted by passionate architecture and design expert Charlie Luxton, Metropolis Balli features contributions from dynamic local designers and architects, including the King of Ubud’s son, Prince Jokorda Jed Rak Sukawati - the brain-child behind the opulent Royal Pita Maha Hotel.