ARCHITECTURAL WRITING GUIDE
by Carmen Bettina Silao-Bulaong
In the Philippines today, there is relative lack of constructive criticism, much less, public
discourse and critical thought towards our Architecture, Interior and Landscape design.
While discussion on all kinds of art and performing arts in the country is widely
practiced, a more discerning analysis on our “most public of all the arts” is not. This is in
contrast with the continuous assessment and criticism that are found to be an essential
part of the growth and development of the built environment in other countries,
particularly in developed countries. Elsewhere, Architectural Criticism is a professional
endeavor that is highly respected and beneficial. For them architectural discourse is vital
to enhancing designs, developing building science and technology, and creating more
functional spaces, beautiful landscapes, as well as cityscapes. Moreover, given that our
built environment has been experiencing a lot of changes that have profound effects on
the physical and psychological wellbeing of its end-users, it is pertinent that the end-users
or the public are made aware of what is considered an appropriate design for their
surroundings.
MEDIUM
Architectural criticism has a variety of media at the disposal of whoever wants to do a
critique. This includes the written word, photographs, videos or film, cartoons or
caricature. Architectural writing or the written word is not the only medium through
which people express or record their responses toward a built environment. This is
however the most commonly used and perhaps the most public of all media, since the
works by Architectural writers are usually publicized in architectural, interior design or
landscape design magazines, journals, newspapers, blogs, et cetera. This is not to say
however that this is the best and most effective medium for conveying responses for it
may sometimes lack the spontaneity of oral exchange between residents giving feedback
about their new apartment building, for example. Sometimes, the directness and straightforwardness found in a vandalized wall on the same apartment building is also a more
accurate expression of how the end-users feel about their new residence.
With this perspective, it can be said that other media are also good alternatives in
recording peoples’ responses and insights. Photographs and videos may portray an image
of the whole, a part or an angle of a built environment that is focused onto film, drawing
attention to its distinctive attribute or showing a particular feature in a different light. In
the same manner, an artist might come up with a cartoon or caricature, which is a
drawing or written piece that may also simplify or exaggerate a distinguishing feature or
peculiarity of a certain space or façade. It is from the observations of others that
practicing Architects view their own buildings with a new perspective, they begin to see
things that they have not realized, things they may have over looked. Sometimes they
may have unintentionally done something good but they only realize this when it is
pointed out to them through others’ feedback.
The choice of the medium used for an Architectural criticism may be dependent on the
critic’s preferences and capacities. A critic may be more comfortable in using
photography as a medium because he or she knows how to use the camera and
communicate his or her insights through images. Others may be more incisive in
speaking or writing. Yet others may have the eloquence and aptitude for expression
through drawing. What is more crucial in the choice of the medium is its impact on its
intended “audience”, reader or viewer. It is however for the purpose of this Competition,
which is Architectural Writing, that we focus this Guide toward writing or the written
word as a medium.
Architectural Writing is one way to express how people view their built environment.
This has been the method of recording people’s responses, thoughts, positive as well as
negative feedback on created spaces, architectural form, façades, landscapes, et cetera.
While there is a misconception that Architectural Writing is wholly a negative critique or
judgment of architectural and interior design done by journalists who write in weekly
magazines or daily newspapers, we must realize that it has a more extensive and
constructive purpose. Rather than just expressing negative opinion towards what is built,
the broader task of an Architectural writer is to discern and sift through the aspects that
dictate how a structure or space is designed and built. The designed environment has
different facets that should be looked at and evaluated. Hence the architectural writer
explores, analyzes, and finally, understands built spaces. Accordingly the prime objective
of Architectural writing is to provide an opportunity for one to critically reflect on the
built environment and to communicate one’s insights. This encourages and fosters
constructive and insightful criticism about built spaces that may even become part of
public discourse.
METHOD
The method of Architectural writing must be carefully considered by the writer in order
to ensure its effectiveness. There are several methods that can be employed in
Architectural writing. However, confining oneself to one method of writing about a
certain structure, space or site is more effective rather than employing different methods
of writing in one composition. The writer must understand the nature and qualities of the
method that he or she is employing to be more successful in critiquing a built
environment. Below is a brief discussion of the different methods:
Normative
This method of Architectural writing draws its discussion from existing doctrines or
design principles, system, type and measurement standards.
A doctrine or design principle is based on design slogans developed by renowned
architects and designers. These are abstract catchphrases or mottos applied by designers
in their design solutions. Popular slogans would include: form follows function, less is
more, less is a bore, ornamentation is a crime, et cetera.
A system is an assemblage of elements or principles that are interrelated. A building can
be more effectively evaluated in terms of one or two directives since it is made up of
several systems put together in order for the building to function well.
A type is a universal model or design that pertains to a particular period, place or
function. This method of architectural writing considers the structure, space or landscape
based on its own typological category, thus comparing and contrasting it to similar
buildings or landscapes belonging to the same typology. For example, a hospital would
be assessed based on the characteristic spatial provisions of a typical hospital. Does the
emergency room have a provision for handling crowds in the event of disasters or serious
accidents that involved a large number of victims? Does the overall design of the interior
adhere to the typical hospital antiseptic atmosphere or does it now uphold the modern
concepts of luxury and hotel-like ambiance in hospitals?
Architectural writing based on measurement evaluates a building, space or landscape
based on numerical standards of measurement particularly of architectural elements,
distances, heights and spatial dimensions. These standards are usually specified as
minimums, averages and preferred conditions that adhere to anthropometrics, proxemics,
safety standards, et cetera. For example, movie theaters would be assessed for fire safety,
taking into consideration the distance of the emergency exits from any point in the gallery
or the sitting area and comparing this distance to the maximum distances recommended
by Fire Safety Regulations.
Under this method, technical, functional and behavioral considerations are also included.
For example, under the technical considerations structural design is evaluated based on
standards that ensure the durability of the building fabric. Functional considerations shall
assess the building in terms of its favorability as a venue for a particular use or activity.
Behavioral considerations will observe the kind of experience the space creates and its
psychological impact on the individuals. How the space provokes certain behavioral
patterns or actions in its end users is analyzed.
Interpretive
Interpretive architectural writing is based on the personal perspective of the writer. As
opposed to the Normative method, this method is more subjective and its purpose is to
make the reader see the built environment with the point of view of the writer. This
method uses metaphors and analogies through which a building may be perceived.
There are two kinds of Interpretive architectural writing: Evocative and Impressionistic.
Evocative criticism aims to arouse feelings and emotions in the reader. These feelings and
emotions may have been actually experienced by the writer upon visiting the space or
built environment. A good example of such an evocative composition is this excerpt from
a critique of the London Underground:
“I went down into your intestines, London, through your mouth, through your
dirty lips, cracked tile, patched tarmac, down endless escalators, trundling in the
half-light; strap-hanging in the acheing compartments, strap-hanging across a city,
across a continent, strap-hanging, balancing, reading, single-handed giant
newspapers, breathing again the ten times breathed air.”
An Impressionistic architectural writing draws focus away from the actual built
environment and creates another work of art. This may be in the form of an essay, a
poem, a photograph and the like. Just like what is done with Photocriticism, where an
impressionistic picture of a particular object or built environment is created giving a
different perspective to the observer. This new perspective depends on the personal
interpretation of the photographer.
Descriptive
Descriptive Architectural writing is a method that does not intend to evaluate or interpret,
but instead seeks to relate facts and perhaps explain the process that causes the building
or landscape to be designed in a certain manner. Under this method are three submethods: Depictive, Biographical and Contextual.
Depictive architectural writing is a chronicle of the material specifications, constructive
methods and even the design process of the built environment. It may sometimes describe
the sequence of events or activities during the construction. It may also relate how the
building or an urban environment contributes to the vitality of the community and the
people that occupy it.
Biographical architectural writing aims to reveal relevant facts or ideas about the
architect, designer or even the owner of the built environment. Who the architect is, who
the designer is, who the builders are and who the owners are and what their lives are like
may explain why a certain building, space or site is built in a certain fashion. All the
stakeholders in the building industry have an impact on the built environment. For
example, the word Tequitqui was coined to refer to the first Spanish colonial church
architectural style, which the Spanish colonizers tasked the native Mexicans to build.
There was a new interpretation to the unfamiliar European classical forms and
architectural elements that the natives had to carve out of stone to adorn the church
facades. This was due to the fact that, firstly, these natives were used to their own forms
and motifs quite different from what is mainly European. Secondly, these natives never
set foot in Europe, thus they have not been exposed to European Architecture. In other
words, they were building based on two-dimensional drawings, perhaps prints from
books that the Spanish colonizers brought with them. Moreover, they were building
through the directives of the Spanish friars who, in the absence of drawings or prints,
would resort to verbal descriptions of their memories of the architecture they left behind.
Given this information about the builders involved in the erection of the first Spanish
colonial churches in Mexico, one can understand why these churches looked a certain
way.
Contextual architectural writing describes the political, economic, social and cultural
situation when a particular built environment is designed. This may also include the
consideration of the environment, with the corresponding physical attributes of the place,
the climate, the topography, et cetera. These are factors to which the building or space
design responds. For example, the climate of the place where a building is located may
dictate how the building envelope is designed. This includes among others the building
fenestrations, the pitch of the roof and the building materials used.
The social, economic, political and technological events taking place during the time of
the construction of a particular building or space has an impact on the kind of architecture
that is produced. For example, the advancement in building technology particularly the
discovery by William LeBaron Jenney of a way to use steel beams for the skeleton of
buildings in the nineteenth century anticipated a new type of building. The Skyscraper.
This use of structural steel frame in building enabled the construction of the ten-storey
high Home Insurance Building in Chicago, then the tallest building in the world. Another
innovation was soon developed after this. The demand for a mechanism to safely
transport people and equipment from the ground floor to the higher storeys of buildings
such as this set in motion the invention of the elevator.
AUDIENCE
While the objective of the Architectural writer is important, the method used is an
integral part of the process of writing. However, before the writer can make a decision as
to what method he or she shall employ in his or her writing, he or she has to first consider
the readers or the “audience” for whom he or she is writing. Who are going to read the
Architectural text and how will the manner and style of writing affect these readers? In
other words, the method of the writing is directly related to the reader. A good example
would be a post-occupancy feedback written by the end-users of a newly constructed
building where the likely reader would be the architect who designed the said structure.
In this case, the clients are offering feedback to the architect as to how the building
performs after being occupied. Perhaps the writer can employ the Depictive method of
writing, describing how the spaces are used and whether or not they are functional. Is the
room temperature caused by a certain window design comfortable for the users? What
kind of experience does the design of the landscape create for the end-users?
Other architects may also be identified audiences to many Architectural writings.
Especially since writings like these are very effective medium for instruction or learning.
These are highways for advocating new principles and ideas, for disseminating
information or promoting new products and technologies in building.
OTHER GUIDELINES IN WRITING
In Architectural writing, it is crucial that the writer is mindful of two very important
aspects. One should be conscious of his or her writing style and presentation as well as of
good writing ethics.
Writing Style and Presentation
Before a writer begins to write, the flow of thoughts and ideas are organized in a
preliminary outline. This is to make certain the direction and incisiveness of the
discussion. How one’s thoughts unfold. This is important for achieving brevity and
clarity in the writing.
An Architectural writer carefully chooses the writing style used. This may sometimes be
affected by the writing method one chooses to use and as discussed earlier, the choice of
method may also be determined by who the “audience” or the readers are. For example,
should the writer choose the Evocative or Impressionistic methods of writing, the
tendency of the style used might be suggestive, sentimental, emotional or even romantic.
This is in contrast with the Depictive method of writing where the discussion revolves
around the design details of a building and its relationship to its urban context. In this
case, one can expect a more technical and objective style of writing as in the following
example of a critique on the Renaissance Center in Detroit written by Bruce Wright in the
1978 issue of Progressive Architecture:
The mixed-use complex was divorced from the city by its placement on a 14-acre
concrete podium between the 10-lane Jefferson Avenue and the Detroit River.
Two large concrete beams containing HVAC equipment further blockaded it from
Jefferson Avenue and the rest of downtown. Elevated roads girdled the complex
on the east, west, and south. Inside, the visitors got lost among a disorienting
array of ramps, escalators, and elevators created by a repetitive circular geometry
of the poured-in-place concrete atrium and hotel. Views of the water were
obstructed from inside the atrium: Only by taking the glass elevator up the outside
of the hotel shaft to the revolving restaurant could visitors be fully aware of the
Detroit River.
It is however important to note that since Architectural writing is an academic form of
writing, it is expected that regardless of the writing style, formal language should be
used. This means that slang or colloquial language must be avoided. Instead, a strong
vocabulary and technical terminology with which to describe a building or built
environment must be used with a continuum of formality.
It is the responsibility of the Architectural writer to write with clarity. This entails the use
of correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It is also important that to achieve clarity
in one’s discussions, expression of thought should be clear-cut, precise and straight to the
point.
Ethical Writing
Good writing ethics is an essential part of Architectural writing. To practice good writing
ethics, one must diligently avoid two things, namely: Defamation and Plagiarism.
Defamation is the destruction of the reputation of another person or entity by
communicating false information via any medium, be it spoken (in which case, one
commits Slander) or written (in which case, one commits Libel). Plagiarism is defined as
the imitation or copying of someone’s work, idea, expression, language, et cetera and
wrongfully representing it as one’s own.
In any form of writing, especially in non-fiction writing, the first obligation of the writer
to his “audience” or readers is truthfulness. Defamatory statements (defined as insulting
and malicious statements) or false information about a structure, space or site, about the
architect or designer or even the users of the built environment may have serious effects.
These statements may result in damaging the reputation of people, persons or entities
being discussed in one’s essay. These may also unnecessarily destroy the beliefs or
opinions that are generally held by one or more persons about that particular built
environment. This Defamation by the writer may result to charges of Slander or Libel
against him or her. To avoid serious charges like this, it is the responsibility of the
Architectural writer to do research, know the facts and to communicate the right
information in his or her discussions.
While there are laws on Defamation under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines,
legalities on Plagiarism is non-existent. In other words, Plagiarism is not a crime but it is
deemed a moral offense and an academic fraud that may result in suspension or expulsion
for students and severe career damages including loss of credibility and integrity for
professors, researchers and other persons in the academic sector as well as for those in the
sector of journalism.
There are several kinds of Plagiarism: namely, verbatim plagiarism; lifting selected
passages or phrases; and paraphrasing a text but. Verbatim plagiarism is the direct wordfor-word copying of a text without the use of quotation marks and without the proper
acknowledgement of the author. Lifting selected passages or phrases from another text
and inserting these into one’s own writing also requires the proper use of quotation marks
and the proper citation of the author. Lastly, paraphrasing a text is rewording a text or
using a condensed version of it but maintaining the same paragraph or sentence structure
without proper acknowledgement of the original author.
Plagiarism is considered theft of intellectual property and under the terms of Ethical
Writing it is regarded as dishonesty and against the first obligation of any writer, which is
truthfulness. Therefore, it is recommended that writers never fail to give credit to the
authors of ideas, language or expressions they might use in their discussions, whether
they copied it word-for-word or paraphrased it. One acknowledges the works of others by
using citations, the prime purpose of which is to attribute to the author the ideas he or she
has previously expressed.
CONCLUSION
One must remember that for an Architectural writer to be effective, he or she must be
well informed about the built environment in question and all its aspects before he or she
makes a critique. It is also crucial that the writer has sufficient knowledge and
understanding about architectural practice, history and theory so that the subject building,
space or landscape may be placed within the right context and within a broader
framework of analysis. A good critic should be able to write incisively about the built
environment and about the evaluation process itself in an engaging, insightful, clear, and
eloquent manner. As one is able to pitch his or her critique appropriately with the right
medium and using the most suitable method, one is able to bring awareness to the
intended audience and perhaps provoke a richer exchange of opinions and ideas.