UK-based Blueprint Magazine gives a favorable and insighful review of Archinect's redesign in the just-released July 2004 issue.
The recently redesigned Archinect website, www.archinect.com , represents the more ambitious reporting on the internet. Using the opportunity to publish up-to-the-minute news, the site also includes features on individual architects and new projects, such as Frank Gehry's MIT Ray and Maria Stata Center.
The benefit of a website is that it can react more quickly to breaking news. The Archinect site does a great job in digesting stories from the international press, although the downside is that there is less time for considered thought or analysis. The simple design of the website reflects this, clearly emphasising its hard news content, and employing a 21-person editorial team.
The stated goal of Archinect is to make architecture more connected and open-minded, bringing together designers from around the world. And it may be churlish to criticise at such an early stage, but this feels like an almost exclusively American website.
Understandable, given that almost all of the editorial staff are US residents, but it would help to look a little further for contributors. This is still a growing site: people are just beginning to upload their own pictures on to the image gallery.
4 Comments
This review reflects a concern that we, the editorial team, have had as well.... we need more international contributions. If you are from outside of the US, you can help by posting more news, events, discussions, images, etc... that are related to more international issues.
I think that Blueprint's review of Archinect just shows the poor journalistic level that the magazine has reached. Is very superficial and embarrassingly ignorant of the Internet based media. In any case with maybe 5 more minutes of browsing they could have discovered that some "thought and analysis" can be found in the Discussion Forum and in the Features. All this by the way was present in version 1. So for me what version 2 has essentially achieved is making life easier for the site's editorial team and allow many more ways of participation for the community and there is no doubt that at some point the site will feel more international. But also lets be real, I run a Website and I am based in London however 80% of my traffic comes from the United States, Blueprint should realise that a Website is not a magazine.
true that ludwig
to their credit, they reviewed the site just after the relaunch and there was not a whole lot of content...not even your Millbank Pier feature. What you say is very true, ludwig...the internet in general suffers from too few female voices and the massive american reach. Some of the things they (Blueprint) pointed out are things that we have been discussing ourselves and will be expanding the site to address.
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