A small guide on the state of 'Architectural Journalism', a branch of the architecture field.

1. ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISM
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND ETHICS
KHARUNYA C

3. INTRODUCTION
Architectural Journalism is the practice of
independent writing and commentary within the
fields of architecture, design and urbanism.
Beyond the need to understand how architecture
forms a part of the zeitgeist, Architectural
Journalism is how the community holds itself
accountable. Unfortunately, the field is still largely
uncharted, especially in India – this gives us, the
present crop of designers, the largest opportunity to
set the tone for the profession for decades to come.

4. ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISM VS DESIGN WRITING
A basic distinction between the two is that while Architectural Journalism is independent and
community-oriented, design writing can be commercial. All architectural journalism is design
writing, but all design writing and communications are not architectural journalism.
Design Writing, on the other hand, is a crucial skill set that every architect needs to some
degree. Whether to describe your project for a BD brochure, or to set up a website – we
need the right words to catch the attention of the right people.
Beyond careers, courses, and letters behind our names – both teach us how to speak a
common language with our audience, and lend our voices to the design causes we think
should be heard.

5. NEED FOR ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISM
Architectural Journalism is a medium to bridge the gap between the architecture, common people, and
architects. Architectural Journalism with the advancement of technology changed its medium from formally
starting at the newspaper in the form of Architectural Criticisms and now in digital format. A lot of people
have worked in the field and they have helped to develop it as a subject. Today lots of colleges across the
globe teach it as a subject, lots of companies do Architectural Journalism in a way to add value to the
society and the Architectural Community.
As architecture students, perceiving one’s own design and taking viva voce is one of the major
troubles, if they are not confident enough about what they have conceived on paper they may end up in a
disaster and their entire hard work shall seem of no significance. Diverse people can have diverse
thoughts and since we belong to a multicultural society, this becomes even more likely. Thus, making a
client pay money for and buy one’s design isn’t an easy job. However, one can enhance their own thought
process by discussing a lot more with the people who are the benefactors and shall be most affected by
the development. Moreover, brainstorming on what is the priority, in terms of understanding on humane
grounds and giving proposals accordingly for the benefit of the larger audience can be of help.

6. OVERVIEW
ON
SKILLSET
The profession of
Architectural
Journalism is
gaining much value
in comparison to
that of being a
conventional
architect across the
globe can be
categorised into
various subparts.

7. HOW TO START WITH ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISM?
To begin with, remember that any good piece of writing utilizes three components – Structure, Tone &
Flow. Have a clear picture of the point you intend to make with any given piece of writing, and figure out
the structure (what you say), and the tone (how you say it). Flow will then determine whether your
argument is clear, cohesive and concise – and makes logical sense.
Think of what makes the project of your choice unique and important. If you had only five words to
describe it, what would you say?
Now assemble the data needed to describe its social relevance, site surroundings, spatial planning, and
specific interventions. Zoom in from the big picture to the individual salient points, as you attempt to take
your reader through a verbal walkthrough of the project. Now zoom back out and remind your reader of
the big idea – why does this project matter? Do your five key words figure in this conclusion?
Do you leave the reader with the same impression of a building, whether with five words or a thousand?

8. TIPS FOR PURSUING ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISM
● Complete your architecture degree
● Do internship with a reputed architect
● Gain as much as knowledge you can gain, study the industry inside out
● Do internship with some media house/publication for getting an in site of
the media industry
● Keep writing more and more after your internship and keep yourself
involved in ongoing architectural projects.
● Approach publications and media houses with your work, because they
are always in search of quality articles.
● Gain experience in the industry and then publications will contact you
for your work.

9. PUBLICATIONS
RELATED TO
ARCHITECTURE

10. PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO ARCHITECTURE
POPULAR ARCHITECTURAL
MAGAZINES BASED ABROAD
1. Architectural Record
2. Architectural Review
3. Concept
4. Soiled
5. Landscape
6. Architect
7. Architectural Digest

11. PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO ARCHITECTURE
POPULAR ARCHITECTURAL
MAGAZINES BASED IN INDIA
1. A+D
2. Domus
3. Indian Architect & Builder
Magazine
4. Home Trends
5. Inside Outside
6. How Architect Works
7. Society Interiors

12. ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISM IN INDIAN COLLEGES
Although we have 450+ architectural colleges in India, the sorry state of affair is that only a few of them
have Architectural Journalism as an interdisciplinary course.
Some of those colleges are:
1. CCA
2. CEPT
3. NIT-H
4. SPA Delhi
5. KRVIA
6. Rachana Sansad
7. PVPCOA Pune
8. McGAN'S Ooty School of Architecture
Hence, we very well understand that awareness is a big deal as far as this new emerging subject is
concerned and there are many more efforts required to increase this figure in comparison to the increasing
number of Architectural Colleges in India in the recent years.

13. ARCHITECTURAL
JOURNALISM
IN INDIAN
COLLEGES

14. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
As an architecture student, one could start learning and
understanding this subject by undertaking online
internships at various portals of architecture and
design. Some of them are:
● Arch2O
● dezeen Magazine
● Arch Daily
Other than these, one could take up full-time summer
internships/training after graduation in offices of Indian
architectural magazines like,
● Architectural Digest
● Architecture Update
● A+D
● WFM
● IA&B

15. CAREER OPTIONS
If one understands the sensitivity of the subject and leads oneself to the latter
part that shall come with the maturity to start up analysis, documentation,
exploration, study, and research of architectural interventions.
One could join research organizations related to architecture in India, specifically:
1. CSIR
2. CBRI
3. Research Cell at – CCA, CEPT
4. Building centers like LBC, Trivandrum and Anangpur Building Center,
Faridabad.

16. CAREER
OPTIONS

17. ARCHITECTURAL JOURNALISTS
Some of the important contemporary
Architectural Journalists are:
1. Paul Goldberger (known for the “Sky
Line” column in The New Yorker)
2. Michael Kimmelman (known as
“People’s Critic” by New York
magazine)
3. Inga Saffron
4. Allison Arieff
5. Apurva Bose Dutta
6. Gautam Bhatia

18. ONLINE COURSES AVAILABLE
➢ Read, Reflect, Write, Repeat
➢ Writing, Communicating and Curating in
Architecture
➢ Distance Architectural Journalism
Certification
➢ The Architectural Imagination
➢ Writing for Social Media
➢ Freelance Writing
➢ Digital Journalism 101
➢ Interpreting Vernacular Architecture in Asia
➢ Research Design – Enquiry and Discovery
➢ The Writer’s Toolkit: 6 Steps to a
successful writing habit
For further details regarding the online courses, please visit the website:
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/fresh-perspectives/a1225-10-online-courses-for-
aspiring-architectural-journalists/

19. CONCLUSION
Architectural Journalism is gaining prominence in the recent years because apart from
designing, explaining the same holds sheer importance as far as formulating a brand is
concerned. An architectural journalist should be someone who not only has advanced
architectural skills but also the ability to interpret his design methodologies and prowess.
Architectural journalism is not just about criticising buildings and architects (although, the
need for it is evident). It is also about bridging the gap between the architectural community
and laymen. The need for architecture to reach mainstream media is undeniable.
It begins with understanding your importance as an architectural journalist in the society, and
doing your part in uplifting this veiled community.

20. REFERENCES
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/career-advice/a2801-a-brief-history-of-architectural-
journalism/
https://www.epistle.co/post/the-bite-sized-guide-to-architectural-journalism-design-
writing#:~:text=Architectural%20Journalism%2C%20simply%20put%2C%20is,of%20architectu
re%2C%20design%20and%20urbanism.&text=A%20good%20rule%20of%20thumb,communic
ations%20are%20not%20architectural%20journalism.
https://worldarchitecture.org/articles-
links/cmzzv/basics_of_architectural_journalism_in_indian_context.html
https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com/fresh-perspectives/a1225-10-online-courses-for-aspiring-
architectural-journalists/
https://www.quora.com/I-want-to-get-into-architectural-journalism-Im-an-architecture-student-
right-now-How-do-I-work-for-it