Book: ‘Writing About Architecture’

An architecture critic writes about architecture critics writing about architecture in a new book from the Princeton Architectural Press. Alexandra Lange’s work of meta-criticism walks the reader through six essay-excerpts from the greats—Lewis Mumford, Herbert Muschamp, Michael Sorkin, Charles Moore, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jane Jacobs—and analyzes what we can learn from them. In the introduction to Writing About Architecture, Lange takes lessons learned from Ada Louise Huxtable to outline what all who write about buildings should remember: description, history, drama, and the main point. The main point of her own book is that we should all take a second look at buildings in order to understand them. But, then, when it comes to writing about buildings, she makes sure to mention that although she offers many suggestions for good architectural writing, “there is more than one way to skin a building.” • $24.95; Princeton Architectural Press, February 2012