Architectural journalism is a niche of writing about architecture and design for various forms of media. Architecture Journalists possess the ability to interpret design methodologies and prowess and have advanced architectural skills. Architecture, being a multidisciplinary field, people tend to achieve a flair of writing throughout their academic period, though very few tend to develop a deep understanding of the past, present, and future. Architecture Journalists communicate their ideas to the public through their words. There have been a few architects who have imprinted their name in the publics’ minds as well-known architectural journalists and critics.
1. Amy Astley | Architectural Journalists
The editor-in-chief of Architectural Digest, Amy Astley founded the award-winning magazine Teen Vogue in 2003. She is a graduate of Honours from Michigan State University and a resident of New York City. Throughout her career, she has focused on art, design, and fashion. She has also served as an associate editor at House & Garden before joining Vogue. Describing herself as a ‘bookworm’, she always dreamt of becoming a ballet dancer. Co-chairing American Ballet Theatre, Youth America Grand Prix, and National Dance Institute, her other interests include arts, dance, and education.
2. Marcus Fairs
The founder and editor in chief of Dezeen, Marcus Fairs is a 3D design graduate. He began his journalism career by writing for the architecture title ‘Building Design’. He has also freelanced for popular publications like Blueprint, The Guardian, and Conde Nast Traveller. He is the first digital journalist to be endowed with an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Winning several awards including the journalist of the year and the BSME award for the best brand-building initiative, he also launched Icon, Architecture, and Design Magazine. Under him, this magazine grew rapidly as an influential design journal and also won a string of awards.
3. Vertica Dvivedi | Architectural Journalists
Vertica Dvivedi is one of the top Architecture journalists rooting from India. She is also the founder of Asia’s largest platform for women in design, WADE Asia. She is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and Asia Book of Records holder. A firm believer in water conservation, she also encourages startups and female-owned businesses to rise. Currently, she enjoys leading Surfaces Reporter, a design and architecture magazine, as the Editor in chief. Her work is appreciated by several organizations including Women Economic Forum, ASSOCHAM, and more. She is also motivational, talking about her journey from a ‘victim to victory’ and removing key barriers for amazing success.
4. Allison Arieff
Allison Arieff, a journalist, is the editorial director of the urban planning and policy think tank, SPUR. Actively writing about architecture, design, and cities for numerous publications, she has also been a fervent contributor to the New York Times as a columnist. Previously, she worked as an editor in large for GOOD and Sunset magazines, a senior content lead for IDEO. Also the editor in chief and the founding editor for Dwell, the magazine won the award for General Excellence under her tenure.
5. Tom Dyckhoff | Architectural Journalists
Tom Dyckhoff is a British journalist, broadcaster, and historian on architecture, design, and cities. Also working in television, radio, and online media, he is popularly known as BBC TV presenter of The Great Interior Design Challenge, The Culture Show, and more. He has worked as an assistant editor at Design magazine at the Royal Institute of British Architects. Also trying his hand at teaching fellowship, Tom Dyckhoff was a part of Bartlett School of Architecture in history and theory of architecture.
6. Cathleen McGuigan
Cathleen McGuigan is the editor in chief of Architectural Record as well as editorial director of McGraw Hill Construction’s GreenSource and SNAP. Primarily responsible for leading the editorial team to deliver covering news, projects, and practice issues to designers, architects, and building product manufacturers, she has broad experience as an editor and journalist. Previously, her work was also published in The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and Rolling Stone. She holds experience as a Newsweek Architecture critic.
7. Robin Pogrebin
Robin Pogrebin, the journalist and staff reporter associated with The New York Times, covers cultural institutions, the art world, and architecture. Previously, She covered the media for the business desk and city news. Also an associate producer for Peter Jennings’ documentary unit at ABC News, she has authored various books like The Education of Bret Kavanaugh: An Investigation, etc.
8. Owen Hatherley | Architectural Journalists
The author of three popular books A guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain, Landscapes of Communism, and The Ministry of Nostalgia, Owen Hatherley is an author and the cultural editor of Tribune. He predominantly writes about architecture, politics, and culture. He has written for Dezeen, Building Design, The Guardian, Icon, and many more. Starting his career with blogging, he still maintains three blogs.
9. Blair Kamin
The Pulitzer Prize winner, Blair Kamin, is the former architecture critic of the Chicago Tribune. He also serves as a contributing editor for Architectural Record. He has extensively worked on a series of articles about the problems of Chicago’s greatest public space, its lakefront, which shed a light on numerous problems along the city’s shoreline. Other lists of his awards include the American Institute of Architects’ Institute of Honor for Collaborative Achievement and AIA’s Presidential Citation.
10. Martin Filler | Architectural Journalists
A prominent architecture journalist and critic, Martin Filler is popular for his pieces on modern architecture appearing in The New York Review of Books. This book served as the basis for his book later published, Makers of Modern Architecture, published by New York Review Books. His writings about architecture, art, and design have appeared in a broad range of periodicals, newspapers, journals, and catalogs, including a few pieces for The New York Times. He has won several awards and honors for his works in journalism.
References:
- YOURNAME (n.d.). Famous Architectural Journalists. [online] Available at: https://samboreson.blogspot.com/2020/08/famous-architectural-journalists.html [Accessed 25 Feb. 2022].
- www.patrickmcmullan.com. (n.d.). Patrick McMullan. [online] Available at: https://www.patrickmcmullan.com/events/5b3ef4dd9f92906676441e8b/ [Accessed 13 Mar. 2022].
- Wikipedia. (2021). Martin Filler. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Filler [Accessed 13 Mar. 2022].
