Intelligent? Archipo*n? Randomness?

There are a gazillion number of design blogs, websites, glossy magazines, books, journals and other form of publications out there today. There are so many of them that it has become possible to know everything there is to know about architecture, but at the same time, impossible to do so due to the sheer volume of information. For those who are overwhelmed by it all, i’m extremely confident that you are not alone.

Having spent some years surfing the web and buying magazines and publications of all forms, it is my hypothesis that at the very core of it, all publications – printed and digital, fall under the following 3 categories: Intelligent ones, Archipo*n and Randomness. Some of them straddle between 2 or 3 categories at the same time but the point is, the general grouping remains.

The Intelligent ones

Those that fall under this category usually aim to provide a ‘critical’ and an ‘academic’ angle to not problems but ‘issues’. These publications exist to create ‘discourse’ within the fraternity and advance the intellectual quality of the design field. However, some are more successful than others, leaving the rest of them being intelligentia poseurs and wannabes.

More often than not, these are written by academics and occassionally some architects who happen to have a lot of things to say and write about. Those who read these are:other academics, other architects who happend to have a lot to say and write about, others who want to become like them and also those with some degree of intellectual capacity and curiosity.

Examples: a+u , design observer, bd online, e10.

Archipo*n

It’s all about ogling at hot, new models, renderings, checking out those sexy curves (think Zaha; her works not her) and thought provoking forms. Everyone will be competing about who is bigger and longer. (i’m referring to the buildings and bridges my dear..). Those projects that flash some skin or better still, a new kind of skin would get more eyeballs than others. Welcome to the world of archip**n.

These publications feed the minds of those who love the new and exotic, catering to those with an appetite for the latest design news. They hunt down what is cool and post them in their zines, educating the masses on what is hot and what is not. This is where you can spot the rise of the next star designer and the downfall of the current. This is where you should hang around often if you want to be a tastemaker. And until your work gets published in one of these, you are not hot yet.

While some would argue that these archipo*n sites are shallow, one must realize that these publications have a very powerful influence on what the masses (and other designers) define as good design.

Example: dezeen, thecoolhunter.net, wallpaper

Randomness

There are of course others who cover a wide range of stuff, i.e randomness. Anything that is close enough to design and architecture will be written about and receive coverage. You can expect user generated content, event listings, interviews with whoever that comes along, opinion pieces from architects, news bits from various press releases, some softcore archipo*n, some pseudo-critical pieces, well, you get the idea.

These publications tend to take a geographical bias such as nation or region based although some others just want to cover as much ground as possible. Of course some will take a particular slant on things such as treehugger with it’s focus on sustainable design but anything that can be related to it by means of free association usually goes.

Examples: SA, Archinect

These 3 strands of architectural publication DNA will run in any publication, website or blog and this one that you are reading is no different. I am of the opinion that a good architect needs a bit of all 3. A good dose of intellectual stimulation, another healthy dose of po*n to keep the heartbeat racing fast and some generic news for breadth of knowledge.

I don’t think any one strand is better than the other, however it is when one has too much of one kind of information, that’s where it gets really unhealthy and worrying. What’s your kind of publication?