What New Orleans Taught Me
04.30.2025
Lessons from a decade in the Crescent City.
Lessons from a decade in the Crescent City.
Essays
Redefining Authorship: How AI Is Changing What It Means to Be an Architect
04.09.2025
The rise of artificial intelligence will challenge architects to rediscover their unique value.
The rise of artificial intelligence will challenge architects to rediscover their unique value.
Wine and Architecture, Legibility and the Art of Making
03.12.2025
Why should design and construction be more like the process of bottling wine?
Why should design and construction be more like the process of bottling wine?
Pableaux Johnson: Be Where Your Feet Are
03.03.2025
A New Orleanian pays a Mardi Gras tribute to the Cajun Dalai Lama.
A New Orleanian pays a Mardi Gras tribute to the Cajun Dalai Lama.
The Importance of Cultivating Empathy in Design Education
02.26.2025
Grounding studio assignments in historical and current cultural issues is the best way to foster empathy in students.
Grounding studio assignments in historical and current cultural issues is the best way to foster empathy in students.
People, Places, Cities: Making the Case for Placemaking
02.25.2025
Why it’s the solution to livable cities.
Why it’s the solution to livable cities.
“AI Is Just a Tool”—and Other Fictions
02.18.2025
AI usurps the freedom to experience the pains and satisfactions of true artistic and design growth.
AI usurps the freedom to experience the pains and satisfactions of true artistic and design growth.
Architects vs. Algorithms: A 2025 Love Story
01.29.2025
This year, AI will assert itself on both the designer and the client sides of the construction industry.
This year, AI will assert itself on both the designer and the client sides of the construction industry.
L.A.’s Cultural Crescent and the Land That Draws People to It
01.22.2025
The City of Angels is that rare metropolis where landscape shapes ways of being.
The City of Angels is that rare metropolis where landscape shapes ways of being.
Space to Dream: Reflections and Projections from a New Generation of Designers
01.21.2025
A Common Edge–led workshop engages architecture students to consider where they want to take the profession.
A Common Edge–led workshop engages architecture students to consider where they want to take the profession.
Letter From Malibu: Do We Stay or Do We Go?
01.20.2025
The recent conflagration threatens to permanently alter a rare example of California livability.
The recent conflagration threatens to permanently alter a rare example of California livability.
Architecture Students on AI
01.15.2025
What happens when a studio course offers AI tools and a real-world housing crisis.
What happens when a studio course offers AI tools and a real-world housing crisis.
Confronting the Leviathan in Vietnam
01.08.2025
An architect’s search for clarity in a far-off land.
An architect’s search for clarity in a far-off land.
On the Value of Miniatures and Scale Models
12.18.2024
Thinking small can help us answer the challenges of our time.
Thinking small can help us answer the challenges of our time.
Notre Dame Cathedral and the Rebirth of Artisanship
12.17.2024
The miraculous rebuild was enabled by the century-old French system of trade guilds and education.
The miraculous rebuild was enabled by the century-old French system of trade guilds and education.
Architecture With Empathy In An Age of Division and Discord
12.10.2024
Buildings can be designed to antagonize communities, or serve as welcoming presences.
Buildings can be designed to antagonize communities, or serve as welcoming presences.
Why Gardening Should Be Our Metaphor for Local Development
12.04.2024
If your town isn’t cultivating its own economic growth, then it’s being mined for someone else’s profit.
If your town isn’t cultivating its own economic growth, then it’s being mined for someone else’s profit.
The Art and Angst of Architecture in Southern California
11.26.2024
An excerpt from An Urban Odyssey: A Critic’s Search for the Soul of Cities and Self.
An excerpt from An Urban Odyssey: A Critic’s Search for the Soul of Cities and Self.
In Marseille’s Cours Julien, Street Art Creates Dynamic Context
11.19.2024
Submitting to this area’s urban rhythm reveals the power of public art to define a place.
Submitting to this area’s urban rhythm reveals the power of public art to define a place.
What I Learned From Six Recessions in Architecture
11.18.2024
Life is imperfect, and architects understand this better than most.
Life is imperfect, and architects understand this better than most.
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