Architectural writing as intervention

The elective course is aimed at opening up the field of architectural writing for architecture students. The course is based around the issue of communication about architecture in the public sphere. Inevitably linked to the subject is the ability of reading space and the architect’s work in it as an activity embedded in temporal and social dimension, in relation to which the writer must take an autonomous and critical stance.

The word is as powerful a tool in the hands of the architect as the sketch and the computer. Writing about architecture is never just about communicating the results of one’s profession. Writing means thinking differently, dialogically and critically about space, the profession and the role of the individual at the intersection of economic, political, social and artistic forces within architecture. Writing is therefore a key tool not only for spreading awareness of architecture and spatial culture, but also for the creativity and self-reflection of each individual creator.

The key issues of the course are: the importance of architectural criticism, communication with professional and general public in the media, developing a professional and at the same time clear and comprehensible language, and understanding of writing and debate as one of the basic tools of the profession in intervening in space and society.

(iz Barbara Penner, »The Man Who Wrote Too Well«, Places Journal)