All You Need to Know About Architecture Blogs

What are Blogs? This question seems fundamental, and blogs are not new to web users. They are precious sources that would inform us about registered events on the web. A blog is a blend of the term “web log,” a type of website. An individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions or events, or other materials such as graphics or videos usually maintains blogs. Generally, blogs are concerned with gathering and extracting information on different subjects such as congresses, e-commerce, political viewpoints, architecture, medicine, etc.

©Mailrelay

Types of Architecture Blogs

There are many types of architecture blogs like individual blogs, educational blogs, student blogs, organization or firm blogs, etc. An example of a firm blog is Utile. Boston-based Utile calls itself a design firm “built like a think tank,” and its blog reveals the substance of that tagline. Posts contemplate aspects of the historic constructed environment and comment on new buildings conceived by other architects, while others are concerned with a particular obsession with environmental graphics. In all, the blog pulls back the curtain on inspirations and musings.

Architecture blogs aim to discover and explore great architectural subjects on the web and learn the direction of thinking towards this information to extract precious and essential data from the web and announce them reasonably (Naghavi and Sharifi, 2012).

©Studio BKA

Importance of Architecture Blogs

Nowadays, blogs compete with mainstream media in delivering news and information. Why? Because anyone can easily set up their blog and share their thoughts online. Consequently, this brings freedom to express views that are far more direct than what used to be the conventional way of relaying information. Because of this freedom, the data is informal, and a sense of caution comes with that.

Blogs are written about any subject for various purposes, including personal, business, work, and sharing new stories. Hence, architecture blogs are concerned with topics like architecture, art, landscape, interior design, and conservation which deal with everybody in the field of architecture and would affect society harshly. This has opened the door to fluid participation and communication with professionals directly related to architects and other professionals we generally encounter. Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and message each other via blog widgets. This interactivity of architecture blogs distinguishes them from other static websites.

Immediate awareness about the effect of these blogs can give you a chance to think of a needed solution to prevent various crises and make necessary predictions for solving different problems in the field of architecture. Thus, architecture blogs are a newly presented phenomenon in the World Wide Web that has changed social relations present in the web sphere and has affected the architectural field. The essential characteristics that make architecture blogs different from other websites are their universality, interaction, and speed of getting up to date.

Blog Social Community. ©David Younger Psychology

Best 10 Architecture Blogs

After looking and searching on the web, we found that – according to several websites – it is agreed that the best architecture blogs are the following:

1) Pretty Architecture:

It is a newcomer to architecture blogs, which we recommend visiting now and then.

2) Architectureblog:

It is a blog with pictures of architecture.

3) Jeroen Apers:

©Jeroen Apers

This is a Dutch blog with many posts you can use if you need inspiration on a particular topic.

4) Architecture of Doom:

It is a blog with lots of pictures of buildings in disrepair.

5) Life1nmotion:

It is a blog with extremely high-quality topics and pictures. A personal touch characterizes it.

6) Archtlas:

It is one of the most original architecture blogs and keeps posting stuff. However, it seems unfriendly and doesn’t attract the reader because it is not arranged.

7) Archimodels:

©Archimodels.com

It is a blog filled with models. This serves as a collection of scale models but doesn’t have comments on them. It might be suitable for browsing through some interesting models.

8) Domestic Space:

It is a blog written by architects and for architects. However, the guys behind them do not display fitting pictures of cutting-edge home- and workspace designs.

9) Contemporist:

©Contemporist

This blog feeds a large picture of some far-out buildings each day. It is an essential source of news on innovative building and design.

10) Ryanpanos:

We do not think this is a good choice because we couldn’t find a common theme. The content may be light but not productive. It is just a collection of images and not much more.

Architecture Blogs as a Searching Tool

In architecture blogging, appropriate tools can empower participants and researchers to say what they think and receive feedback quickly from others. Also, it operates as a knowledge center, a tremendous architectural tool. It is a medium in which users are involved in research activities and are engaged in discussions with practitioners. It leads researchers to develop concepts of the discipline’s knowledge domain.

Yes, we all know blogs aren’t credible sources of information, but they provide something valuable: discussions between users, which are not limited to architects. This gives us insight into how the public perceives the architecture. However, sometimes a blog provides unclear content and unfriendly practice. That’s why academic researchers don’t take blogs as a reference for their topics, as blog ideas stem from discussions between users who might not be architects.

Using these blogs is a collaboration between users to build knowledge. Finally, the opportunities for users to post substantive comments to other users’ blog entries add a tier of interactivity and social interaction.

Encouraging the Use of Architecture Blogs

Architecture blogs are sometimes considered a valuable e-learning source and a search tool. It can be used in many ways to engage users in discussion, exploration, and discovery. Blogs work best when integrated into a coherent pedagogical approach, vested in an appropriate educational theory, and updated regularly by participants. As more users use blogging, we can assess new applications for this emerging research technology. More importantly, extending contact between participants through a blog could provide a practical way to mentor and encourage users to continue their studies in relevant fields.

We often find ourselves searching the web and finding an answer on a blog, which leads to further research if needed for verification. The first initial contact can happen on a blog, leading to more information elsewhere. Part of why that is is because blogs are approachable; they are written by people we can relate to. With this in mind, let’s ask again: Are architecture blogs constructive or destructive, and what cautions must we keep in mind?