rchitecture is a difficult field to pursue in itself and every aspect of it has a fascinating and rising curiosity. Since architecture is a multidisciplinary field it makes an individual a professional, an educator, a researcher, a social worker, but very few are able to achieve the power of words through deep understanding of the past, present and the future. Architectural Journalism is a profession of communication where technical knowledge is expressed in simpler words and graphic for the common public to appreciate. Journalism is not only constricted to words but also includes graphic, photo- journalism, narratives as used in cinemas.
Architectural Journalism is still not a very well explored industry but in the latest years it has developed rapidly. Today, may active architectural journalist like Paul Goldberger, Michael Kimmelman, Rowan Moore and many more contribute in the field with their deep understanding for structures and surroundings that form the marvellous structures we live in.
1. Paul Goldberger
One would definitely have heard of Paul Goldberger if they had been surfing about architectural journalism.Born in New Jersey, USA and lauded as the leading figure of architecturecriticism, Paul Goldberger has achieved greater heights in his career and has held various responsible positions of leading newspapers, architecture magazines and journals. He served as the architecture critic for The New Yorker from 1997-2011.Currently, he is a Contributing Editor at Vanity Fair. Besides having won the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Criticism in 1984, the highest award in journalism, he has been honoured with various others academic and professional honours which include the AIA Medal from the American Institute of Architects. Having extended his career into teaching as well, he has taught at leading universities across the world. He has penned down many books of which, Up from zero, Why Architecture Matters and Building Art: The Life and Work of Frank Gehry are notable ones.
2. Michael Kimmelman
Lauded as the “People’s Critic” by the New York magazine, Michael Kimmelman is presently the architecture critic of The New York Times. Having served more than three decades in America’s one of leading newspapers, Kimmelman in one of his interviews has said that his goal as an architecture critic is to address designing cities that are better, Safer, healthier,and simply fairer for all. His articles on the Syrian refugee camps, the Hudson Yards, climate change have not just been mere interpretations and writings but have helped to reshape policies and have given a whole new perception to discussions about urbanism, architecture and architectural criticism. He is an art critic, author and a pianist as well. Portraits and The Accidental Masterpiece, both which are his best sellers are worth a read especially for artlovers.
3. Rowan Moore
Rowan Moore is an acclaimed trained architect turned architecture critic from Britain. Having trained as an architect from the University of Cambridge,Rowan Moore turned to journalism after having gone into practice. He has been editor of the architecture journal Blueprint. Served as the architecture critic for The Evening Standard and The Guardian.Currently,he is working as architecture critic for The Observer. From 2002 to 2008, he served as the director of the Architecture Foundation-Britain’s first independent architecture centre. Author of many books,he was named Critic of the Year by the UK Press Awards in 2014.His award-winning book, Why We Build is worth a read.
4. Jonathan Glancey
A fan of Le Corbusier, Jonathan Glancey is an architecture critic and writer from London. After having served a span of 15 years as architecture and design editor at The Guardian, Jonathan left his job in 2012 to practice freelance journalism. Currently he works on architecture and design for the BBC Culturewebsite. He has also filmed four films as part of a series called the Outrage Revisited, on the banality of Britain’s post-warbuildings. The Story of Architecture and Architecture: A Visual History are two of the many books he has penned down.
5. Inga Saffron
The 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism awardee, Inga Saffron is an American journalist and architecture critic. With no formal architectural learning, shestarted her writing careerwith writing for the Courier-News of New Jersey. Shethen joined The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1984 as it’s news reporter. In 1999 she started writing the “Changing Skyline “column for the Inquirer and thus began her work as an architecture critic. She has won many awards for her insightful and pointed critiques of architecture, planning and urbanism in her city. Referred as one of the feared columnists of the Inquirer,Saffron’s take on upcoming designs in Philadelphia-be it a sidewalk, waterfront or a skyscraper-is the value they add to the city on the whole and how they affect the city’s urban value.
6. Hugh Pearman
Author of the 30 Bridges and Airports: A Century of Architecture, Hugh Pearman is a London-based architecture critic. Having served as the architecture and design critic for The Sunday Times for over three decades, Pearman is currently the editor of the RIBA journal. He has been associated with other well-known newspaperslike The Guardian and The New York Times. He has held several honorary positions and he frequently teaches and lectures.
7. Allison Arieff
A co-founder of an architecture and design magazine called Dwell, Allison Arieff is a writer, based in the USA. Having held editorial positions at the Oxford University Press, the Random House early in her career, she has worked with various other magazines as it’s editor. Sheis currently the editorial director for the urban planning and policy think tank, SPUR (the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association).She also invested her time writing about architecture, design, cities and technology for the Opinion section of The New York Times.
8. Martin Filler
An architecture journalist and critic who has gotten into major rows with not just one but two famous architects-Martin Filler is a prominent and outspoken architecture critic from the USA. He has been involved with many of the leading architecture magazines and journals across the world. Nearly 1.100 of his writings have been published in more than thirty-five journals, magazines, and newspapers in the US, Europe, and Japan during his five-decade career. Since 1985 his essays on modern architecture have appeared regularly in The New York Review of Books. These essays led to the book,” Makers of Modern Architecture “which have been published as three volumes from 2007-2018.
9. Blair Kamin
The 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism awardee, Blair Kamin is the architecture critic of the Chicago Tribune since 1992.He also serves as a contributing editor to the Architectural Record. Having served as the juror himself for the Pulitzer Prize two times,Kamin is based from the US and has won more than forty awards for his exceptional career as an architecture critic. From appearing in TV shows on discussions about architecture to having lectured widely and having authored books,Kamin has previously worked for The Des Moines Register.”Why Architecture Matters: Lessons from Chicago”, “Terror and Wonder: Architecture in a Tumultuous Age,” are collections of his writings published by the University of Chicago Press.
10. Kenneth Frampton
Writings on twentieth century architecture-Kenneth Frampton is the name. Kenneth Frampton is an architect,critic,historian,author and educator from Britain. He is a professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) for more than 45 years. Modern Architecture: A Critical History, Studies in Tectonic Culture and Towards a Critical Regionalism are some of his notable writings. Frampton is regarded as one of the world’s leading architecture historians of architecture. His writings have helped to gain an insight on modern architecture and the impact it has had on the changing world,people,place and culture.
11. Tom Dyckhoff
“A teenager who got obsessed over buildings, bollards and town planning”- A self-description of Tom Dyckhoff from his very own book “The Age of Spectacle: the rise and fall of iconic architecture“Tom Dyckhoff is a Britain based historian, writer and broadcaster. Well known for the architectural documentaries and series he has written and presented, he is also known for many of his radio documentaries and podcasts. Having worked for a decade as the architecture and design critic for The Times, he has also served for The Guardian and other major international publications and websitesteaches at the UCL,gives talks and lectures widely. He also hosts events for all sorts of people, companies and organizations. The Great Interior Design Challenge, The Secret Life of Buildings, The Culture Show and Saving Britain’s Past are worth a watch, especiallyduring this lockdown time. The Design Dimension is the podcast that he had published in BBC Radio 4.
12. Alexandra Lange
“The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids”, is the latest book published by the New York based architecture and design critic and author, AlexandraLange. An acclaimed designcritic, she has worked with several of the world-renowned architectural magazines and journals. Having published four books to date on varied topics, she has also penned down chapters for books written by other authors. Sheis currently the architecture critic at the Curbed. Like her fellow journalists, Lange has taught design criticism at universities, has lectured widely on topics ranging from the history of women architecture critics to the opulent modernism of Alexander Girard to the proper use of social media by architects.
13. Robert Campbell
An architecture critic at the Boston Globe, Robert Campbell is a writer and architect based in the USA. Having entered into practice as an architect, Robert Campbell took to the architectural fourth estate and has won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1996.He has also won the AIA’s Medal for criticism from the American Institute of Architects. In 2018, Campbell was one of two architecture critics to be honoured with the Vincent Scully Prize, awarded by the Museum. His fellow honouree was Inga Saffron.“Cityscapes of Boston: an American city through time” and “Civic builders” are books that he has co-authored.
14. Justin Davidson:
Born in Rome, Italy Justin Davidson is an acclaimed architecture and classical music critic. Having begun his journalism career as a local stringer for the Associated Press in Rome, Davidson became a staff writer for the Long Island newspaper Newsday in 1996, where he also wrote about architecture.In 2007, he was hired by Magazine. “Magnetic City: A Walking Companion to New York” was authored by Davidson.
15. Sarah Williams Goldhagen
Described as an “excellent critic” by Paul Goldberger, Sarah Williams Goldhagen is an award-winning author and architecture critic from the USA.Goldhagen in her writings focuses on the historical, political and economic forces that shape the built environment. Her extensive research on psychological and perceptual impacts, thata built environment has on a person led to the penning of the book, Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives. She is currently a contributing editor at Art in America and Architectural Record. She previously served at the New Republic for many years. Having taught ten years at Harvard’s School of Graduate and Design, she has also enjoyed talking about her ideas in public settings. Hercareer in architectural teaching, furtherhelped her in shaping her writing. The role of design to well-being is her core element of research and writing. And who can deny the fact that, one’swellbeing is the horcrux to their lives?
