Building in a floodplain makes no sense. So why, then, was the Enric Miralles Library (completed by Enric Miralles and … More
Category: rant
Anti-Social Media
The other evening my partner and I were walking home from a dinner party through the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona … More
The Pain in Spain: Housing Precarity
The images out of Madrid, Spain, of an elderly woman being evicted by riot police from an apartment she had … More
No to BCN Airport Expansion. Build Housing and Rail Instead
Yesterday, the Spanish government announced that Barcelona airport would receive almost two billion euros for an expansion project. Given Barcelona’s … More
#Blogtivism Works!
Earlier this summer, in this very blog, I wrote an open letter to the mayor of Barcelona in which I … More
America
America is big. It’s an entire hemisphere containing 2 continents and 35 countries. And yet one of those countries, USA, … More
The Future of Architecture and Architectural Criticism
Does anyone still believe, as those of us who grew up watching the Jetsons on TV did, that the future … More
Dear Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona
Congratulations on all your efforts to have Barcelona declared the UNESCO / UIA World Capital of Architecture in 2026. As … More
This is Why Buildings Should Not be Designed by Clients
A new university campus has just been inaugurated in Madrid that manages to be both out of place and out … More
The Cultural Cleansing of Barcelona
Like many of Barcelona’s public spaces, Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies (Gardens of the Three Chimneys) is a former industrial … More
What is Worse: Climate Change Denial or Greenwashing?
What is worse: climate change denial or greenwashing? We certainly have no shortage of either. Climate change denial can be … More
Who are the Terrorists?
The people of Minneapolis are not cowering before their fascist president and his brutal ICE police. No, unlike the many … More
Tabula Gaza II
The plan for the reconstruction of Gaza is looking like a tabula rasa project indeed. We know there are very … More
Yes, Ban Housing Speculation!
The government of Catalonia wants to ban housing speculation. It is currently studying the constitutional legality of banning the ownership … More
Digitization and its Discontents
Is it just me, or is the digital universe getting worse by the day? I find many apps and web … More
Down with High-Rise, Up with Mid-Rise
From 2005 to 2013, I taught a seminar in the Metropolis Masters Program in Architecture and Urban Culture titled “LandSpec” … More
Stuff
George Carlin once said: “A house is just a place to keep your stuff, while you go out and get … More
Tax the Rich
All those who voted for and signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” just lowered taxes for the USA’s wealthiest. What sense … More
Happy 4th of July to my US Readers
Having grown up in Canada, I have visited the USA on countless occasions. I loved visiting your country as it … More
Pseudo-Vanguardism
When I was an architecture student in 1980s Southern Ontario, Canada, I was taught that the “good” architects were the … More
