Essays

Some of a Good Thing: The Legacy of Frank Gehry

01.06.2026

By Li Wen

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.

38374.003.HR

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.

You’re Not Antisocial, But Your Neighborhood Might Be

12.22.2025

By Lisa Chamberlain

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.

Stroad example (1)

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.

A Broadway Bathroom Soliloquy

12.14.2025

By Ekemini Ekpo

For all the good it has done, the ADA has had limited success in correcting a nettlesome part of the theatergoing experience.

Image 03

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

By Sam Hall Kaplan

An architecture critic’s history—professional and personal—with Frank Gehry’s most celebrated Los Angeles building.

Walt_Disney_Concert_Hall via wikipedia smaller

An architecture critic’s history—professional and personal—with Frank Gehry’s most celebrated Los Angeles building.

Raving Amid the Ruins

11.24.2025

By John Kamp

Using the underground dance party milieu as a tool for dreaming up and building a new urban future.

rave dancing larger

Using the underground dance party milieu as a tool for dreaming up and building a new urban future.

Newsletter

Get smart and engaging news and commentary from architecture and design’s leading minds.

Donate to CommonEdge.org, a Not-For-Profit website dedicated to reconnecting architecture and design to the public.

Donate