Writing Architecture

For ages, architects have been criticized for speaking an insular language, known to some as "archispeak." Writing Architecture considers the process, methods, and value of architecture writing based on Carter Wiseman’s 30 years of personal experience in writing, editing, and teaching in young architects how to write. This book creatively tackles a problematic issue that Wiseman considers to be a crucial characteristic of successful architecture writing: clarity of thinking and expression. He argues that because we live our lives within the built environment, architecture is the most comprehensive and complex of all art forms. Even brilliantly inspired and complex architectural structures would only amount to misunderstood abstractions without the support and reinforcement of the clear explanation.

Written as a primer for both college level students and practitioners, Writing Architecture acknowledges and explores the boundaries between different techniques of architecture writing from myriad perspectives and purposes. A poetic description of the beauty and impact of a bridge will not illuminate the mechanical knowledge housed in the structure, but at the same time, dense architectural theory will not encourage individuals experiencing and supporting the bridge to perceive significance and usefulness in the design. Using excerpts and from writers in different genres and from different historical periods, Wiseman offers a unique and authoritative perspective on comprehensible writing skills needed for success.

Carter Wiseman is a graduate of Yale and Columbia Universities. He was architecture critic and/or editor for a number of magazines including Newsweek, New York Magazine, Architectural Record, Interior Design, and ARTnews. He is currently a lecturer at the Yale School of Architecture, where he teaches courses that focus on architectural writing and criticism. His books include Twentieth-Century American Architecture: The Buildings and Their Makers and his biographical books on Louis I. Kahn and I.M Pei. He lives in Weston, Connecticut.