In Search of Frederick Law Olmsted
02.04.2026
The de facto founder of landscape architecture was a complicated and contradictory figure.
The de facto founder of landscape architecture was a complicated and contradictory figure.
Post Archive
Design Posts
Why Disband the Urban Design Group Just as New York City Ramps Up Housing Development?
02.02.2026
As the saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
As the saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Driving Toward Bankruptcy? L.A. Is Almost There
01.21.2026
We should be designing Los Angeles for 2075, not 1975.
We should be designing Los Angeles for 2075, not 1975.
How Home Design Can Break the Housing Crisis
01.14.2026
When it comes to single-family houses, custom construction can provide good design for less.
When it comes to single-family houses, custom construction can provide good design for less.
The Coming Redesign of Ruben Salazar Park
01.13.2026
Los Angeles should use this opportunity to capture the many Chicano memories and stories of August 29, 1970.
Los Angeles should use this opportunity to capture the many Chicano memories and stories of August 29, 1970.
David Adjaye’s 30 Shades of Gray
01.12.2026
The new Princeton University Art Museum runs the gamut from awesome to awful.
The new Princeton University Art Museum runs the gamut from awesome to awful.
Trump’s Monumental Legacy Theft
01.07.2026
How far will the president’s campaign to appropriate America’s civic monuments go?
How far will the president’s campaign to appropriate America’s civic monuments go?
Some of a Good Thing: The Legacy of Frank Gehry
01.06.2026
The architect was an apostate, but also completely of his era. Perhaps more important, Gehry was a unicorn, one whose creations are not easily replicated.
The architect was an apostate, but also completely of his era. Perhaps more important, Gehry was a unicorn, one whose creations are not easily replicated.
It’s 2026: Time for a Comprehensive Plan for New York City
01.05.2026
Mayor Mamdani has the opportunity to finally provide a planning vision that supports residents and social value instead of the real estate industry.
Mayor Mamdani has the opportunity to finally provide a planning vision that supports residents and social value instead of the real estate industry.
As Disney Hall Showed, Frank Gehry’s Los Angeles Was Urban, but Not Urbanist
12.30.2025
Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. should be one of the great streets in the world. Instead, it’s got a bunch of starchitect monuments strung along it.
Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. should be one of the great streets in the world. Instead, it’s got a bunch of starchitect monuments strung along it.
You’re Not Antisocial, But Your Neighborhood Might Be
12.22.2025
When the physical form of a place supports proximity, routine encounters, and a diversity of public life, civic engagement doesn’t need to be engineered; it emerges.
When the physical form of a place supports proximity, routine encounters, and a diversity of public life, civic engagement doesn’t need to be engineered; it emerges.
Embracing Ambiguity and Chaos
12.17.2025
How architecture school prepared me to teach in Papua New Guinea.
How architecture school prepared me to teach in Papua New Guinea.
A Broadway Bathroom Soliloquy
12.14.2025
For all the good it has done, the ADA has had limited success in correcting a nettlesome part of the theatergoing experience.
For all the good it has done, the ADA has had limited success in correcting a nettlesome part of the theatergoing experience.
The Contradictions of Disney Hall
12.11.2025
An architecture critic’s history—professional and personal—with Frank Gehry’s most celebrated Los Angeles building.
An architecture critic’s history—professional and personal—with Frank Gehry’s most celebrated Los Angeles building.
Remembering Robert A.M. Stern, Historic Preservationist
12.10.2025
The architect didn’t just appreciate New York’s built history; he was also passionate about ensuring the best parts of it were saved for future generations.
The architect didn’t just appreciate New York’s built history; he was also passionate about ensuring the best parts of it were saved for future generations.
What Japan Gets Right (A Partial List)
12.09.2025
A few things that demonstrate the gulf between the island nation’s philosophy of how cities should work and America’s.
A few things that demonstrate the gulf between the island nation’s philosophy of how cities should work and America’s.
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