The Nine-Step Architectural Beauty Detox Plan
03.15.2017
In envisioning a new way forward, it’s helpful to remember what we need to discard.
In envisioning a new way forward, it’s helpful to remember what we need to discard.
Opinion
It’s Time for Leaders in Architecture and Design to Step Up and Join the Resistance
02.17.2017
Normalizing this administration – “collaborating” with them – is a huge mistake.
Normalizing this administration – “collaborating” with them – is a huge mistake.
An Open Letter to AIA Executive Director Robert Ivy
01.20.2017
Dont resign: engage, resist and confront.
Dont resign: engage, resist and confront.
The Rise and Fall of New York’s Municipal Art Society
01.18.2017
How a once great civic organization was co-opted by the very forces it was supposed to watch.
How a once great civic organization was co-opted by the very forces it was supposed to watch.
Is Cost Architecture’s Weakest Link To Reality?
12.11.2016
Unless budgets become an integral part of architectural education and criticism, design will continue to live in an aesthetic bubble and fall easy prey to bean counters.
Unless budgets become an integral part of architectural education and criticism, design will continue to live in an aesthetic bubble and fall easy prey to bean counters.
The AIA’s Tone-Deaf Response to the Election of Donald Trump
11.15.2016
The mistake of treating it as a business-as-usual event when it was nothing of the kind.
The mistake of treating it as a business-as-usual event when it was nothing of the kind.
How to Be a Citizen in President Trump’s America
11.11.2016
Don’t lose hope, but buckle up your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Don’t lose hope, but buckle up your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
How to Prevent the Mauling and Malling of New York
11.02.2016
A manifesto for a more human—and more human scaled—city.
A manifesto for a more human—and more human scaled—city.
Why Louisiana’s Disappearing Coastline is a Political Problem
10.20.2016
The design and engineering solutions are viable, but more importantly the people of the state need to demand action from their elected officials.
The design and engineering solutions are viable, but more importantly the people of the state need to demand action from their elected officials.
What Architecture Has in Common with Organized Religion
10.05.2016
Faith in both architects and clerics is rapidly waning.
Faith in both architects and clerics is rapidly waning.
What Do Architects and Commerical Fishermen Have in Common?
09.16.2016
As it turns out, high rates of suicide. But blaming the design studio “culture” for it seems short sided and lacking in evidence.
As it turns out, high rates of suicide. But blaming the design studio “culture” for it seems short sided and lacking in evidence.
In Architects We Trust? 10 Trusts Worth Busting
09.01.2016
How the profession sabotages its value and relevance.
How the profession sabotages its value and relevance.
More Thoughts on Jane Jacobs from One of Her Closest Collaborators
08.25.2016
Author Roberta Brandes Gratz clears up some misperceptions about the legendary urbanist.
Author Roberta Brandes Gratz clears up some misperceptions about the legendary urbanist.
10 Lessons Learned by Rereading Jane Jacobs
08.08.2016
Last week I was in the middle of packing and came across a well thumbed copy of The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
Last week I was in the middle of packing and came across a well thumbed copy of The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
Donald Trump as Architecture’s Nightmare Client
08.02.2016
Not since Thomas Jefferson has there been a presidential candidate more involved in designing and building structures than the Republican nominee.
Not since Thomas Jefferson has there been a presidential candidate more involved in designing and building structures than the Republican nominee.
How Brandcentric Architecture is Destroying Our Sense of Place
07.13.2016
National chains have brought a mix of outcomes in terms of job creation, quality of life, and national identity, but what are the consequences to our built environment?
National chains have brought a mix of outcomes in terms of job creation, quality of life, and national identity, but what are the consequences to our built environment?
The Pleasures and Futility of Teaching Drawing to Architecture Students
07.05.2016
Sometimes it feels like I spend as much time advocating for its usefulness as I do teaching it.
Sometimes it feels like I spend as much time advocating for its usefulness as I do teaching it.
Staging Trump: The Republican Convention Reveals Its Set Design
06.30.2016
If the designers had been asked to create a setting that signals the chaos of this campaign, they could not have done it better.
If the designers had been asked to create a setting that signals the chaos of this campaign, they could not have done it better.
Watching the George Lucas Fiasco from the Cheap Seats
06.28.2016
In the face of considerable opposition, a relentless civic organization, a pesky lawsuit, and a sympathetic judge, the legendary filmmaker has decided to pull his Museum of Narrative Art out of Chicago.
In the face of considerable opposition, a relentless civic organization, a pesky lawsuit, and a sympathetic judge, the legendary filmmaker has decided to pull his Museum of Narrative Art out of Chicago.
When Intellectual Diversity Mattered
06.21.2016
Cornell’s architecture school in the 1970s wasn’t a particularly diverse place, but it was open to different ideas about the profession.
Cornell’s architecture school in the 1970s wasn’t a particularly diverse place, but it was open to different ideas about the profession.
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