Writing & Citing for Architecture: Writing

A one-stop shop for architects and other design professionals to improve their writing skills. There are a lot of good books available to help people write better. They include dictionaries, usage guides, and various types of writers' manuals - and professional writers ought to have many of those books on their bookshelves. But most architects and other design and construction professionals are not professional writers. Instead, they are people who spend a large part of their professional lives writing. That's a big difference, and that's where this book will help. 'The Architect's Guide to Writing' has been written not by an English major, but by Bill Schmalz, an architect who knows the kinds of documents his fellow professionals routinely have to write, and understands the kinds of technical mistakes they often make in their writing. This book is designed to meet the specific needs of design and construction professionals. It's not going to waste their time with the things that most educated professionals know, but it will help them with the things they don't know or are unsure of. It's not a Chicago Manual-sized encyclopaedic reference that includes everything any writer would ever need to know, because architects don't need to know everything. But what they do need to know - and what they use every day in their professional lives - has been assembled in this book. AUTHOR: Bill Schmalz, AIA, is a principal in the Los Angeles office of Perkins+Will. Since joining the firm in 1980, he has led teams on a wide variety of project types, including healthcare, education, research, transportation, and commercial. His expertise is in contract documentation, contract administration, and construction cost management. In addition, he has been teaching writing classes to the firm's project architects since 2009. SELLING POINTS: - Focuses on what architects and designers get wrong most often, and offers practical solutions - Chapters include the basics of vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, clarity and style, editing, international writing and handling architectural terms correctly - Special section on writing architectural specifications clearly and cogently, and correct use of terminology - A handy guide to the differences between UK, US, Australian and Canadian English 22 col.

How Architects Write shows you the interdependence of writing and design in both student and professional examples. This fully updated edition features more than 50 color images, a new chapter on online communication, and sections on critical reading, responding to requests for proposals, the design essay, storyboarding, and much more. It also includes resources for how to write history term papers, project descriptions, theses, proposals, research reports, specifications, field reports, client communications, post-occupancy evaluations, and emailed meeting agendas, so that you can navigate your career from school to professional practice.

Any architect, engineer, or preservation professional renovating a historic property must be familiar with the historic structure report (HSR)--a document that evaluates all aspects of a property to minimize damage during restoration. The only book of its kind, this practical guide walks readers through the process of compiling an HSR. From gathering historical and archival data about the property to analyzing its structural, mechanical, and electrical components to assessing the state of its interior finish, including wood, masonry, and metals, this book covers all the nuts and bolts of an expertly written, informative HSR. Explaining what information should be included in each section and how investigators can work together effectively as a team to produce a comprehensive, coherent report, this handbook is one no professional should be without.

Writing About Architecture: Mastering the Language of Buildings and Cities, the latest addition to the Architecture Briefs series, is a handbook on how to write effectively and critically about the contemporary city. The book offers works by some of the best architecture critics of the twentieth century including Ada Louise Huxtable, Lewis Mumford, Herbert Muschamp, Michael Sorkin, Charles Moore, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Jane Jacobs to explains some of the most successful methods with which to approach architectural criticism. Each chapter opens with a reprint of a historically significant essay (and organized by typology such as the skyscraper, the museum, and parks) discussing a specific building or urban project. The author, Alexandra Lange, then offers a close reading of that essay, as well as her own analysis through contemporary examples, to further enlighten the reader about how to write an effective piece of architectural criticism. This book, based on lessons learned from the author's courses at New York University and the School of Visual Arts, could serve as the primary text for a course on criticism for undergraduates or architecture and design majors. Architects covered include Marcel Breuer, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Field Operations, Norman Foster, Frank Gehry, Frederick Law Olmsted, SOM, Louis Sullivan, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

For ages, architects have been criticized for speaking an insular language, known to some as "archispeak." Writing Architecture considers the process, methods, and value of architecture writing based on Carter Wiseman’s 30 years of personal experience in writing, editing, and teaching in young architects how to write. This book creatively tackles a problematic issue that Wiseman considers to be a crucial characteristic of successful architecture writing: clarity of thinking and expression. He argues that because we live our lives within the built environment, architecture is the most comprehensive and complex of all art forms. Even brilliantly inspired and complex architectural structures would only amount to misunderstood abstractions without the support and reinforcement of the clear explanation. Written as a primer for both college level students and practitioners, Writing Architecture acknowledges and explores the boundaries between different techniques of architecture writing from myriad perspectives and purposes. A poetic description of the beauty and impact of a bridge will not illuminate the mechanical knowledge housed in the structure, but at the same time, dense architectural theory will not encourage individuals experiencing and supporting the bridge to perceive significance and usefulness in the design. Using excerpts and from writers in different genres and from different historical periods, Wiseman offers a unique and authoritative perspective on comprehensible writing skills needed for success.

Now in its second edition--updated and expanded to address such issues as email etiquette and Web-based marketing, communication, and job searches--the best-selling Writing for Design Professionals is the standard guide for mastering the complexities of effective writing in professional practice. Stephen A. Kliment explains the principles of clear writing, from the formal "Dear Ms. Jones: I recently visited Polk Street Elementary School, and I agree the facility urgently needs to be modernized to make way for the progressive teaching techniques you have planned for your school district.... I believe that my firm, Izumi Associates, can make this happen" to the punchy remarks of the late William Caudill, "Say 'frog,' we'll jump." Dozens of sample letters, proposals, brochures, reports, book reviews, oral presentations, staff communications, and more--all drawn from the world of practice, and in both print and electronic formats--guide readers through the ins and outs of composing the end-products of writing. Writing for Design Professionals is organized for easy reference, and includes the following topics: marketing: Web sites, correspondence, brochures and portfolios, proposals, newsletters, and other promotional tools *project writing *writing in school *job applications and Web-based job boards *writing in academe *writing for the media *writing as a career *public speaking plus: how to avoid jargon and gender-specific language, tailor your writing to your audience, enhance your writing with appropriate graphics, write to international clients, write as a product manufacturer, and measure the impact of what you write. Resources include lists of design media.Like a trustworthy desk-side consultant, Writing for Design Professionals, Second Edition, should be next to the computer of every architect, planner, interior designer, engineer, and student who wishes to present a polished, professional image through effective written communication.

Writing can be a challenge, especially for art and design students who tend to be more visual than verbal. Writing for Visual Thinkers approaches the craft of writing from many directions, all with the ultimate goal of unblocking the student's verbal potential. Both experimental and pragmatic, Marks's methods will result in stronger, more verbally confident art and design students. The rich media eBook included on the CD offers a wealth of images and links to articles, books, websites, blogs, wikis, video, and audio podcasts. Marks offers a feast for the eyes--from Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks to video of Jack Kerouac's On the Road scroll--adding depth and dimension to the written word and encouraging students to explore their thoughts and ideas in text. Developed in partnership with AIGA, this book is for visual students everywhere who have always wanted--or needed!--to improve their writing skills, whether they specialize in graphic design, web design, industrial design, interior design, allied design, or fashion design.