The Best Architectural Websites in the World
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*UPDATE* The 2015 list of the Best Architectural Website can be found here
After exhaustive research (a.k.a. my internet explorer history) and peer feedback (I asked the people in my office) I have created the definitive listing of the Best Architectural Websites in the World for 2014. In all seriousness, I have spent weeks putting this list together, read far more cruddy websites than I care to think about, and fallen behind on The Americans in my effort to bring you a quality list of architectural websites that should be in your online rotation. I only had three pieces of criteria when cultivating this list:
a) you had to publish regularly
It’s surprising to see how often the good websites can’t maintain momentum after a relatively short period of time. I suppose it shouldn’t be all that surprising to me, I’ve been doing this for 4 years and stopped being good at it 2 years ago
b) You had to have some sort of editorial or 1st person narratives
I prefer to read websites that are written by a person – even better if it’s someone I can relate to on some level. I don’t particularly care about faceless organizations unless they produce really good content. I have removed most aggregate sites from my list for this reason.
c) you can’t suck
I give a lot of credit for effort – both in real life and in my architectural websites. If you have a site and can’t be bothered with generating your own content, or adding your voice to the conversation – I’m probably not coming back. Simply sharing a link to someone else’s site isn’t good enough to make this list.
Since I don’t have a blog roll on my site, I am going to put together a yearly list of my favorite websites. Here is my previous list for the Best Architectural Websites but that list is now outdated. So let’s get to it – in no particular order, Life of an Architect’s Favorite Websites for 2014:
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Architonic is an aggregate site that seems to have pulled in feeds from all over the world. If there is something cool going on – a symposium, a lecture, an interview with someone fascinating, etc. it’s bound to show up here. They have architectural eye-candy as well but their real strong suit is the news and trends that they dig up from just about everywhere.
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I just couldn’t bring myself to remove John Hill’s A Daily Dose of Architecture. It was on my list last year but it’s still one of my most favorite architectural sites as well as the first architectural bog that I started reading. It offers the insight of a professional architectural site while also providing the personal attention and 1st person narrative of a blog – which you can probably guess is something of which I am particularly fond.
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There are times when I don’t think I’m actually smart enough to read BLDG | BLOG even though I always try. Since 2004, BLDG|BLOG has been penned completely by Geoff Manaugh (I feel a bit weary about my site and I’ve only been doing it since 2010) but doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Geoff covers all sorts of topics, all of which are covered in expert manner. The variety is great, this site is no one-trick pony, just be prepare to pull out your dictionary from time to time, Geoff has a big vocabulary.
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Contemporist – in their own words – is a celebration of contemporary culture, focused on architecture, design, art and travel. They have plenty of projects that are primarily showcased using large scale images, but I particularly like how the entire site is linked by the intent on all things contemporary.
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The BUILD website is another one of those sites that was on last years site but is so good that it warrants inclusion on this years list as well. It is crisp,visually clean, and completely transparent in all things associated with the work the firm is currently taking on. You want to see what products are being used or how they executed a particular detail? They’ll show you. If you spend any time on architectural websites, you’ll note that pulling the curtain back is a rare thing and I appreciate just how open this site actually is with it’s readers. It’s no mistake that my site is similar in that regard, if they post something, I read it … it’s that simple.
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The architect’s bulletin board is the best way to describe the website Archinect. The content on this site, which is updated multiple times through the day, is built by the editorial staff and the readers of the site. You can find just about everything here from great images, job postings, architectural news, competitions … literally anything and everything related to the world of architecture.
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I met Alex Hogrefe last fall when he was a juror for the AIA Dallas Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition – he’s a pretty nice guy by the way. I was the panel moderator for that event and in my preparation, I spent a considerable amount of time reading up on the jurors. After spending just 5 minutes on Alex’s website, I was hooked. Not only does he created amazing digital renderings, he tells you how he did it and gives you tutorials on the process …. FOR FREE!!
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Subtilitas is simply modern architectural eye-candy from around the world. It is a Tumblr site so the format is mostly image based … but the images are so, so good. My one knock on Tumblr sites is that it is so easy to publish to this platform, very few sites seem to edit the content. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Subtilitas … it is definitely worth putting in your rotation.
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Wallpaper* … I like the publication so it makes sense that I would like the online version as well … and I do. Easy to read, clean images, cutting edge content, what’s not to like?
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A majority of my time is spent on residential projects, and of all the residential periodicals at my fingertips, Residential Architect is my go-to online magazine of choice. The proper balance of projects, technology, news, and general articles that inspire creativity, ambition, and dedication, this is a magazine where I aspire to getting one of my projects published. I’ve met a few people from the editorial staff and they were all interesting and engaging people – and that’s probably why their magazine is so good … good enough to make this list two years running.
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There were a couple of sites similar to Architype on this list … but you have to be really good to make the cut. Architype is an database site that was created to advance the discussion of design within specific building typologies and explore the influence that type has on the design process. In addition to letting you look at different projects based on type or sector, Architype features firm listings and profiles, material libraries and additional resources such as the latest industry news and job postings for the architecture and design community.
Should it matter that I am buddies with Harry Mark, one of the Founders and the Editor-in-chief for Architype? To be honest, until I started writing this blurb, I didn’t even know Harry had anything to do with this site or the magazine. I gotta say, my feelings are a little hurt right now.
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I get a billion (+/- 999,999,950) magazines a month but there are only a few that I always read. It stands to reason that if I like the magazine, I’m going to like the website. Architect is THE magazine of the American Institute of Architects so what does that tell you? It’s relevant, engaging and always full of interesting articles on all things related to the built environment. In 2012, I was [sorta] lucky enough to make it onto the pages of this fine magazine – an experience neither of us will soon forget. The article can be found here [brace yourself – shudder]
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If you are an architect, or a student of architecture, or possibly a person breathing air, you know and love the website ArchDaily. It’s only the most trafficked architectural website on the planet – and for good reason. They have been the leader in aggregate architectural sites from the beginning … and for good reason. If it’s out there, it’s covered on this site. All you have to do is pay attention to the majority of architectural websites out there and look to see how many of them are simply pulling in the feed of ArchDaily to populate their website.
All you need to know is that part of the vision of Archdaily is to find the best architecture around the world, as publish it as soon as possible.
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This is the second year that Entrepreneur Architect has made the list of top architectural websites for architects. Most architects – upon reaching a certain age and position in the architectural community – talk with their peers as much about the business side of architectural practice and how little they know about it as they do actually buildings. If you have business or practice questions, this is the website for you.
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Architecture Sketch Blog is exactly what you think it is – a blog site dedicated to architectural sketches. This is another Tumblr site so it’s heavy on the images, light on the text – and in the world of architectural websites, that’s a good thing. I keep thinking that one day I’ll take a class on sketching – but until that moment comes, this is a site full of inspiration and techniques to admire and emulate.
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I am a Texas Architect so therefore I am interested in what is going on with regards to Texas Architecture. I am also the chair of the Digital Communication Committee for the Texas Society of Architects, so in some ways, I am responsible for the content that makes it onto the TxA website … so I had better like it. There are all sorts of changes we are trying to implement on the Texas Society of Architects website; interviews with architects, photo competition posts, updates on the programs and activities where your AIA dues go, etc. Whether you are an architect in Texas or not, there are reasons, architecturally speaking, to see what is happening in the Lone Star state.
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Did you know that Life of an Architect is also on Tumblr? Right … nobody else does either. It may seem like a gratuitous plug [you’d be right] but there are things that I post on the Life of an Architect Tumblr blog that I wouldn’t put anywhere else. Unfortunately someone else signed up for ‘Life of an Architect’ and I don’t want to spend the money to make them turn it over to me.
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So there it is – my top architectural websites for 2014. I am always on the lookout for awesome additional websites to look at myself and to possibly share. If you know of a site that I left off the list, just put them in the comment section below … who knows, maybe it’ll make it on to the next top list of architectural websites.
Happy “checking out some new websites”,
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