How To Be a Critic

This workshop seminar will focus the student’s ability to think and write critically about buildings, the city, and the urban landscape, and in the process develop their own point of view. Readings and site visits will promote thoughtful seeing and interpretation, with emphasis on architecture's role is shaping public space. Students will explore a variety of formats (short and long form writing) and mediums (video, podcast), using the city as a laboratory. The class will address a range of issues (preservation, housing, mobility, resilience, technology) and look carefully at significant new works of architecture and places in the midst of transformation (including Allston, the Seaport, Union Square, and Government Center). Students will be evaluated on in class presentations and performance, and their critical projects in various formats.