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WRITING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE 333

Writing About Architecture

THOMAS LESLIE
ANN SOBIECH MUNSON
Iowa State University

"Writing about music is like dancing about of the program itself. We were convinced that
architecture."
a pilot course would demonstrate that, with a
bit of effort and commitment on the part of
--Unknown, attributed to Leonard Bernstein, faculty who believed in the importance of
Clara Schumann, Elvis Costello and Frank writing to architectural production, students
Zappa, among others. could be coaxed into much better writing skills
than they had previously demonstrated.
If writing about music is like dancing about
architecture, then why isn't the converse true? Part of our interest in pursuing this workshop
Dancing about music seems fairly natural, but course has been a fundamental belief that
writing about architecture is notoriously there are, in fact, important links between
difficult. Usually, architects are by definition writing and architecture. We often speak of a
visual thinkers, a group that has well-known narrative "structure" of a plot, for example.
problems with the linear nature of thought Space can be defined by words or walls. The
required by writing. craft of editing is remarkably similar to the
discipline of re-designing. Likewise, there is a
After a faculty meeting two years ago that long tradition of architectural criticism that
focused on the lamentable writing skills of our often rises to the level of literature-the work
students, we decided to develop a summer of Lewis Mumford, Ada Louise Huxtable, or
course that would offer architecture students Paul Goldberger, for instance. As we discussed
a 'safe haven' in which to practice the art and the possibility for such a course, we realized
craft of writing about their discipline. We that writing could be taught in a format
would see whether our department's similar to studio, with time for one-on-one
critiques, peer discussions, and a focus on
frustration
or whether with the level
a dedicated writing was
workshop inherent,
could bring development in addition to product. Our
out thoughtful, well-crafted written work from department has long recognized that
students across the curriculum. classroom work in building technology,
urbanism, environmental psychology and
In our own experience, writing has been a design theory can be profoundly
meaningful part of our educations and supplemented by an emphasis in these areas
careers. One of us has a degree in English and during the creative work of design studio.
foreign languages, in addition to a What if, we wondered, we taught writing not
professional architectural education, and has by lecturing on grammar and rhetoric, but
worked for several years as a specifications rather by simply letting students start to
specialist. The other has a more traditional produce right away, and pointing out these
design background but also a modestly technical aspects alongside larger issues of
successful sideline in history and criticism. voice, content, and style?
Both of us believed that the lack of writing
ability in our department was not due to the
students, but was instead a shortcoming in
 students, but was instead a shortcoming in
the curricular structure and philosophical aims

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334 GElTING REAL: DESIGN ETHOS NOW

Pedagogy provided opportunity to explore architectural

ideas through a format introduced in class.
We developed a pedagogy based on analogy.
By making comparisons between writing The in-class exercises occupied much of our
workshops and design studios, we enabled time the first few weeks. To illustrate our
students to build upon generative, creative design studiolwriting workshop analogy, these
processes they routinely engage in traditional exercises paired pedagogical thoughts from
architecture curriculum. We also capitalized on teaching writing with those from art and
work done in the field of teaching writing, in design. Consider, for instance, the pair of
which "workshopping" occupies a common quotes from the first exercise, something we
place in many pedagogical approaches. called "contour writing":
Finally, we considered key differences
between the products of these similar "There is only one right way to learn to draw
generative processes. and that is a perfectly natural way. It has
nothing to do with artifice or technique. It has
Our syllabus began with a definition of nothing to do with aesthetics or conception. It
"workshop" that highlights both its has only to do with the act of correct
architectural (a place) and temporal (an observation, and by that I mean a physical
event) connotations. We framed the course as contact with ail sorts of objects through all the
a writing "studio" that would rely heavily on senses. "
interaction, analysis, and iteration. In this
way, "writing" moved from a separate, "No student of composition need ever feel at a
inscrutable, product-oriented activity in the loss for something to write about if he will rely
minds of our students into the more familiar,
process-rich realm of design. As with the
upon his own direct observation .... In the
multitude of specific details which he has thus
design process, writing requires practice. It perceived, and in the multitude of details
requires analysis of good work to understand which he can at any time take in with fresh
characteristics of excellence. I t requires awareness, is a rich abundance of material for
critical discussion of the work to test the life of every writer, beginner or professional. '"
the work outside the mind its author. And it
requires editing to achieve a state of The first quotation references the well-known
completion. ideas of Kimon Nicolaides in The Natural Way
to Draw. The second comes from a book
The syllabus also formed parallels between developed by the English Department at
the tools of writing and design. Like a Wayne State University. Both date from the
designer in studio, a writer keeps a toolbox early 1940s, so they already share a
handy. Instead of X-act0 knives, Sobo, and relationship within the cultural history of
leads, the writer's box holds implements of teaching and learning methods. But they also
the trade: writing tools (pens, pencils, legal highlight the role of close observation in both
pads, notebooks, laptops, typewriters, bond drawing and writing. Most of the students in
paper) and essential references. While the seminar had done some type of contour
architects keep Ching, Graphic Standards and drawing before; we did drawings first, and
the most recent IBC at their desks, writers then extrapolated the techniques of careful,
have Strunk and White, a dictionary, a focused observation into writing. Other in-
thesaurus, and the Chicago Manual. class exercises focused on language
("architectural love poems," structure
As we developed a series of exercises and ("building haiku") and diagramming
assignments, we continued with the analogy, ("diagrams, clusters, outlines"). In every case,
using what design students already know as a we began with the familiar and then exported
starting point for generating writing. These it into the less familiar context of words.
activities took on various scales: in-class
exercises were carried out during workshop We used the assigned readings to introduce
hours; weekly assignments required response various forms of verbal expression, giving
to readings, in-class discussion, and students an opportunity to analyze established
application of analysis to week-long pieces; work within the context of the weekly
and a longer, term-length assignment assignments. These ranged from the fiction of
Jorge Luis Borges, to the canonical historical

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WRITING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE 335

work of Vitruvius, Alberti, and Semper, to the also explored the piece's architectural
analytical work of Colin Rowe, to architecture precedents with a brief lecture on
critics in the popular press from Lewis representations of the Tower of Babel in art.
Mumford to Blair Kamin. These formed a basis
for close reading and discussion as they Other preliminary exercises included a class
exposed students to a broad range of period dedicated to "contour writing." Drawing
discipline-related written work. Perhaps more classes in our curriculum take advantage of
importantly, they began to supply students our campus' collection of Beaux-Arts
with a vocabulary and a set of rhetorical tools buildings. For our exercise, we picked a
for writing about architecture. familiar classical structure and assigned a
series of contour sketches followed by timed
Finally, the workshop sessions themselves writing exercises. Students had five, fifteen,
became an analogue to the design studio pin- and thirty minute periods in which to record
up. For each weekly assignment, students had their visual and sensory impressions, first
to read everyone else's drafts and mark them using line, then using words. The explicit
up prior to class. In class, each student would parallel between a visual mode of
be responsible for reviewing each other thinkinglrepresentation and a verbal mode
student's work during class discussion. We was intentionally challenging, but the resulting
would then choose one or two pieces for more prose poems and descriptive lists proved both
intense scrutiny, often spending forty-five insightful and provocative. A second in class
minutes on one sentence, analyzing the exercise focused on writing within constraints.
issues, figuring out what wasn't working, and Students were assigned to select a recent
rewriting until it was satisfactory. piece of criticism from Architectural Record
and, using only words found in the article,
In all of these ways, the course built on the compose a short love poem. The results were,

students'
understandstrengths, while
the specific helpingof
demands them to
writing. predictably,
read several hilarious. Finally, we had
pieces of architectural students
journalism
Framing the course in this analogical way covering Chicago's Millennium Park, a major
allowed them to begin the process with new urban space familiar to students in our
confidence and approach the task of region, and compose several haikus using the
translating their ideas into verbal essays Park as subject matter. Having thus expanded
without fear. their mindset with contour exercises, and then
encouraged work within very tightly
Course Structure constrained boundaries, we had a set of
preliminary experiences that set the tone for
As a summer course, Writing About the remaining six weeks of disciplined but, we
Architecture was offered over eight weeks-a hoped, expansive work.
compressed, intensive workshop. We used the
first two weeks for warmup exercises, to get Each remaining week of the course focused on
the class comfortable with the format, to a particular genre of architectural writing. We
introduce them to our working method, and to began with allegedly simple Descriptive work,
do some preliminary exercises that would get pointing out the challenges and potential for
them used to the regular writing they would writing linear narratives about three-
be required to do over the summer. In our dimensional space. Readings focused on
first class, we collectively read, out loud, "The classic treatises, by Vitruvius, Alberti, Semper
Library of Babel" by Jorge Luis Borges. This, and Le Corbusier, in which fundamental
we explained, was a unique selection in its architectural ideas are described with varying
parallels between architecture and narrative levels of complexity. Our second week
structure. But we had an ulterior motive, emphasized Criticism, discussing how
namely getting students comfortable with judgments are made about architecture using
speaking in class, and inspiring them with a language, and how writing can be an incisive
work of profound emotional impact, dry tool for unearthing both implicit and explicit
humor, and expert craft. Borges became a values within design. Here we used
touchstone for the course, a measure of the contemporary coverage of Millennium Park in
architectural power of the written or spoken parallel with the Haiku exercises, contrasting
word, and a convenient example to bring up journalistic standards with the poetic potential
when writing became too dry or technical. We of finely honed poetry. In the course's middle

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336 G E n I N G REAL: DESIGN ETHOS NOW

section, we spent one week on Exposition, Tuesday class. This allowed us to explore in
explaining how architecture is made or how it depth the structure, rhetoric, tone and style of
functions, using classic writings for the public individual essays. Students were required to
by Lewis Mumford, Ada Louise Huxtable and
 by Lewis Mumford, Ada Louise Huxtable and respond individually, pointing out passages
Paul Goldberger, and another week on that they thought were particularly strong or
analysis, using writings by Colin Rowe and weak, and asking about elements that they
John Summerson to highlight writing as a didn't fully understand. Thursdays were
method of revealing layers of meaning. reserved for pure workshop sessions. Using
Finally, we spent one week on professional design studio reviews as a model, we set the
and technical writing, discussing specifications class up in seminar fashion, and brought each
and design narratives using examples from student paper up for discussion in turn. Each
local firms and from the office of Louis Kahn, student in the class was responsible for a five
and a week on Manifestos, reading examples minute in-class review of each paper in
of perhaps the most notorious mode of addition to written comments. Students were
architectural writing by Corbusier, Paul thus encouraged to engage in the sort of
Scheerbart, Mies van der Rohe and Robert critical discussions that occur in studio, again
Venturi. layering a parallel experience from design
onto the activity of writing.
For each topic, students were required, after
reading what we considered good examples of To make this work, Tuesdays were also
the genre, to write a similarly conceived piece. assignment and due dates for each of the
Assignments were designed to build on the written exercises. That way, students would
readings, locating topics in students' have the long, four-day 'weekend' to do the
experience and requiring them to go beyond readings and review their peers' written work.
simple imitation. In particular, our Criticism They could, therefore, draw parallels between
assignment added real-world considerations. the examples and the class' production.
A local newspaper offered us two pages in Understandably, the first few classes had
their Sunday lifestyle section for coverage of a some awkward moments, as students seemed
new arena built in the region. Students wrote intimidated by their admittedly flabby writing
500 word critiques, which were then edited and editing skills. But as the class wore on,
and selected by the paper's editors. The themes in each student's writing emerged that
process offered students a chance to the class recognized-one student consistently
experience stiff critiques from professionals, relied on metaphor, for example, while
to recognize the constraints offered by another returned several times to domestic
deadlines and space, and to see their work in themes. As the class became familiar with
a profoundly public context. Other writing styles and interests, discussions
assignments included the "interrogation" of a became more in depth-and more technical.
building (Analysis), a narrative of a building As instructors, we used gentle humor to point
on campus without using its name or obvious out writing crutches, grammatical errors, and
identifying features (Description), an technical faults; we knew we had achieved
explanation of a building's function to a something when one student said of another's
layperson (Exposition) and, finally, a short work "The passive voice is being used way too
Manifesto, read aloud in a local coffee shop to much" and the entire class got the joke.
an audience. Students took to this last one
with a particularly strong sense of irony. Our class took place in a high-tech room, and
we decided to experiment with various
Description of course as presented classroom technologies to dissect readings
and assignments. We used Smartboard and
We took advantage of the course's summer an Elmo to present readings in detail,
schedule, which allowed lengthy meeting highlighting relevant passages and outlining
times-150 minutes--twice a week. This argument structure. With student
allowed us to draft two basic class templates. assignments, we would often use the last half-
Tuesday meetings were devoted primarily to hour of class to pick one student's work. With
in-class exercises and/or readings. Students an electronic copy of the essay, we would
were responsible for reading a package of project a Microsoft Word file on the screen
materials, but we generally agreed on one and, using the program's "Track Changes"
essay or piece on which to focus during each feature, debate as a class suggestions for

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WRITING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE 337

editing. This proved remarkably successful, "I also found the comments that the other
particularly as we could switch easily back and students wrote on my papers really pushed
forth between the original and the edited me to improve and enhance the original
document, showing the benefits of serious through iteration, something that I had never
editing. applied to my writing before ..."

With their peers' comments in hard copy form, "I didn't have major expectations ... I just
students were graded not on the pieces they wanted to write about architecture! The class
presented in class, but rather on a writing was so much more. "

portfolio they assembled, edited, and re-wrote

throughout the summer. We asked students Of course, every student had suggestions for
to turn in final versions of each assignment, improvement. These ranged from increasing
 to turn in final versions of each assignment, improvement. These ranged from increasing
along with a longer piece, assigned at the the number of drafts required to expanding
beginning of the summer that adopted one of the course into two semester-long parts.
the six major techniques presented during the Some students were more attracted to some
course using a topic of their choice. This types of writing than others; some wished for
paper, too, was the subject of an intensive less reading, while others asked for more
workshop session. We used these portfolios to discussion and analysis of the reading
compare first drafts with final products, noting assignments. All students, however, noted
both the quality of the final essays and the that the course exposed them to facets of the
depth of editing that students had done. relationship between reading and writing that
they were not aware of prior to this course.
Assessment And all students praised the focus on group
critique and iteration, with several noting - as
While summer courses do not have standard they do in some of the excerpts above - the
course evaluation forms, we requested parallels between this approach to writing and
feedback from our students in the written they way they engage design studio.
form, in response to questions we wrote, and
in a final, de-briefing dinner. With this small of For us, the results of the summer also
a group, and as a result of the nature of the exceeded our expectations. We developed the
course, there was no way for this to be course based on mutual hunches about
anonymous. Still, because we had developed student abilities and a shared philosophy
a course atmosphere of constructive criticism, about the value of writing to architecture. By
we expected honesty and straightforward the end of the summer, we found we had
comments. tapped into a relatively unexplored area of
architectural education and student potential.
The results were unanimously supportive of a Virginia Woolf, when lecturing upon female
course of this kind. Some of the overall writers, noted that "a woman must have
comments are reprinted below: money and a room of her own if she is to
write fiction.""' In a final analogy, we can
"I enjoyed the class very much ... I have always apply this idea to our architecture students:
been pretty confident about my writing, but give them money and a room of their own,
not my architectural writing because we never and they can write about architecture.
get to see anyone else's when assigned "Money" in this case is the currency of
something for studio ... I was a little skeptical students: course credit. "A room of their own"
about having everyone read my writing and is the figurative time and space in the
then openly discuss it in class, I know we do curriculum. Both of these ideas impart value
that for projects by writing it has always been to the idea of writing as a part of an
different."
architectural education.

"The class exceeded all of my expectations, I The question now is this: how might we
learned something different about my own sustain the enthusiasm and success of this
writing from each of the assignments and also course? We are looking at a few options. One,
enjoyed the readings. " as suggested by many of our students,
involves developing the seminar into a
standard semester-long (16-week) course.
This would require adjustments to the

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338 GEmING REAL: DESIGN ETHOS NOW

schedule and possibly to the structure, since a Notes

school year seminar would likely attract larger
numbers. A second possibility involves using ' Kimon Nicolaides, "Introduction" to The Natural
this as a model for college-wide Way to Draw. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
interdisciplinary writing seminars, based on 1941) xiii.

the same fundamental pedagogy of analogy

between the visual processes with which we
I' from "...Upon a Principle," Writing From
Observation. George Peck, Ed..(The Depafiment of
are so familiar and the verbal constructions
English, Wayne University. New York: Harcourt,
we all use to mediate those visual processes
Brace and Company, 1951 (1942)) xii.
in our culture.

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own. (London:

'Ii
Grafton Books, 1989 (first edition: The Hogarth
Press, 1929)) 6.