The Editors: Staffan Ericson is Associate Professor in Media and Communication at Södertörn University, and head of the research project Media Houses.Kristina Riegert is Professor in Media and Communication at Stockholm University.

• Contents: Staffan Ericson/Kristina Riegert/Patrik Åker: Introduction – Staffan Ericson: The Interior of the Ubiquitous: Broadcasting House, London – Kristina Riegert: The End of the Iconic Home of Empire: Pondering the Move of the BBC World Service from Bush House – Patrik Åker: Ostankino TV Tower, Moscow: An Obsession with Space – Peter Jakobsson/Fredrik Stiernstedt: Googleplex and Informational Culture – Shannon Mattern: Edge Blending: Light, Crystalline Fluidity, and the Materiality of New Media at Gehry’s IAC Headquarters – Sven-Olov Wallenstein: Looping Ideology: The CCTV Center in Beijing – Helena Mattsson: Real TV: Architecture as Social Media.

«The fascinating studies of the architecture of ‘media houses’ – the head-office buildings of powerful media corporations – brought together in this edited book, make a strikingly original contribution to current debates about the power of so-called ‘central media’. Together they are a significant addition to our understanding of the ways in which the spaces and places of central media institutions contribute to defining the common, globalized world of the early twenty-first century. A ‘must-read’ for all of us concerned with global media today.» (Paddy Scannell, University of Michigan)«This collection follows a wonderfully original pathway to understanding media: through the buildings that house them. The book offers a harvest of insight about the historical and cultural footprint of media by reading the built environments of media institutions in a diverse array of nations, styles, and moments.» (John Durham Peters, University of Iowa)