Description
Book SynopsisArchitects expect to design buildings. But persuading clients to carry those designs into tangible form almost always involves writing as well as designing. Yet architects, and those who write about architecture, are often more comfortable with images than words. Presenting their visions in an articulate, accessible, and convincing written form can be difficult, and professionally hazardous. In Writing Architecture, Carter Wiseman provides an invaluable guide for students and practitioners on how to convey the importance of architecture to those who commission it, build it, and benefit from it. Drawing on a wide range of sources and citing examples from such authors as Frank Lloyd Wright, Ada Louise Huxtable, Vincent Scully, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and today's leading designers, Wiseman analyzes basic principles of compositional structure to illustrate the most effective forms of architectural writing. Free of professional and theoretical jargon, Writing Architecture considers the process, methods, and value of architecture writing based on Wiseman's 30 years of experience in writing, editing, and teaching young architects how to write. It integrates historical references with current practice to help students and practitioners reach their professional goals.
Trade ReviewArgues that clear communication is integral for successful architecture, since words have an important part in expressing ideas, and because any architect will admit they write much more than they ever would have anticipated. --Archidose A clear and concise manual for architectural students and practitioners who want to improve their writing, it provides relevant advise for the former on organizing ideas, expressing opinions, and defending arguments and, in the last two chapters, focuses on ways professionals can secure commissions and communicate with clients. --Constructs, Yale School of Architecture Writing Architecture puts this genre of productive criticism in its wider context. --Harvard Magazine A first-rate discussion of how to conduct the practice of architecture...Every student and virtually every practitioner could benefit from reading the book.--Robert Stern, Dean of the Yale School of Architecture Would serve as a fine starting point to writing about anything. --Robert MacNeil, PBS Newshour
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Structure: Getting Your Thoughts in a Row 2. Standards: How to Tell Good Buildings from Bad Ones 3. Persuasion: Making a Point with Feeling 4. Criticism: Aesthetics, Analysis, and Public Service 5. Scholarship: Creating Meaning Over Time 6. Literature: The Heart of the Matter 7. Presentation: Showing Your Stuff 8. Social media Conclusion
