These days, I frequently look around me and wonder: “How on earth did I get here?” This question resonates not only on a personal level, but for the field of architectural media as a whole.
12 years ago, I ran the gauntlet of architectural education at Edinburgh University driven by a passion for great buildings, an unending curiosity about the built environment surrounding me, and a huge respect for the creative minds behind it. As an excited, enthusiastic student, I began searching for design inspiration, only to find that it was primarily confined to century-old magazines such as Architectural Journal and Arch Record. Back then, the internet was an incredibly piecemeal place when it came to articles and imagery on cutting-edge architecture.
My journey through architecture school to design media took me all the way from Edinburgh to New York City.
Fast-forward to today, and the media landscape has shifted beyond all recognition. Thanks to an explosion of design blogs and social media apps, a realm once dominated by architects and architecture critics has been blown wide open: now, anyone can write about architecture, and, what’s more, they can make themselves heard at the click of a button. In fact, two years ago I was one of those bloggers — an architect who ventured into the vociferous world of freelance journalism to share my thoughts on design with the world via the web.
Even before then, I was aware of Architizer’s unique position at the intersection between the worlds of architecture and media. Marc Kushner said it best in his rousing piece for Medium earlier this year:
“Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are fomenting the biggest revolution in architecture since the invention of steel, concrete, and the elevator. It is a media revolution.”
Architizer was born in 2009 with this fact firmly in mind: it was designed as a public platform that moved beyond the conventions of architectural news and opinion. It was built as a social tool: not only can your favorite architect now share their latest masterpiece with the world on their personal profile, but everyone from your mom to your granddad can share it on their Facebook Wall, Twitter Feed, or Pinterest Board.
Architecture has surged into mainstream media online.
In six years, this approach has sent architecture bursting out of a bubble occupied solely by architects and architecture critics and onto the home pages of Buzzfeed, Kickstarter, and Gizmodo. Great buildings finally have a global platform fueled by modern media, and, when I joined as Architecture Editor in New York City this summer, I discovered this remarkable evolution was only just beginning!
Beyond its role as an open-source platform for great buildings and innovative design, Architizer has become an essential professional tool for architecture firms of all sizes. Each architect is furnished with their own beautiful, portfolio-style profile page, with access to indispensable tools for specifying products for their projects. Then, of course, there is the unending source of inspiration from over 40,000 fellow architects on an ever-growing database of stunning images and insightful information for buildings across all seven continents.
This makes Architizer the world’s largest network of architects on the internet — a fact that makes my job all the more exciting. I’m here to tell the stories behind these amazing buildings and their designers, sharing each ingenious creation with millions via the aforementioned galleria of social platforms. Not only that, though, I aim to offer real insight into the construction process as well as share tips and tricks with architects that can help make life in the studio that much easier.
Architizer’s homepage
In this vibrant melting pot of architecture and media, Architizer has become a vital source to a wide variety of demographics that all share one commonality: they understand the value of great design and the amazing impact it can have on the world that surrounds us. For this reason, I may well be the luckiest architect in journalism; not only do I get to indulge my passion for great design each day, I get to share it with the world and get the people behind it the recognition they truly deserve.
So how do you avail yourself of Architizer’s audience and 2.5-million social media followers? You can simply upload your work to the platform by clicking here. The team and myself at Architizer are constantly scouring incoming projects for potential features, interviews, and truly great stories emerging from practices around the globe. You can also submit your proudest work to the 4th Annual A+Awards — the largest awards program for architecture and products on the planet!
Through these channels, you, too, can be part of the media revolution currently sweeping architecture. Where will it take us from here? It is hard to say for sure, but I’m glad to be a part of the adventure as it unfolds …
Edinburgh image via Heart Britain; New York image via Conde Nast Traveler.
