That sounds pretty important doesn’t it? At the very least it sounds comprehensive … it suggests an extensive and exhaustive collection of the best architecturally themed websites in the world. I’m not sure if that is this list but it is my go-to list of websites. Compiling a list of the top architectural websites is far more difficult than it sounds, particularly if there isn’t any particular manner of evaluation employed other than these are the sites that I go to the most often.
I don’t have a blog roll on my site, something that I struggle with continually for excluding. That having been said – and at the request of enough people, I am finally putting together a list of my favorite websites. To make this list (and since I didn’t want to spend more than a day putting it together) I did have some rules that ended up eliminating some possibilities – most notably that you have to publish new content to your site regularly.
So let’s get to it – in no particular order, Don MIS750 Favorite Websites:
John Hill’s A Daily Dose of Architecture was the first architectural bog that I started reading. Full of critical evaluation and first-hand knowledge, this is a great site to visit for any fan of architecture.
What is there to say about the ArchDaily website? It’s only the most trafficked architectural website on the planet. They have been the leader in aggregate architectural sites from the beginning … and for good reason. If it’s out there, most likely it’s covered on this site.
The Architect’s Newspaper is an aggregate site for projects, news, competitions, job postings and much more.
Better Living through Design is a design and lifestyle website that has something for everyone. It’s easy to go to this site only to look at the clock and realize that you’ve been surfing their pages for a long, long time.
Energy Vanguard is the nerdiest website I go to – and I don’t ever regret going (I just keep it to myself or I’ll lose my “Architects are indifferent” card.) Posts here are written by Allison A. Bailes III – who happens to have a PhD. in Physics that he puts to good use teaching others about building science and energy performance. Normally I might steer clear from a site whose topics generally involve HVAC design protocols but with posts titled “Release the Kracken! – The Ductopus is Bad for Air Conditioning” how could you not take a look?.
Architechnophilia is an aggregate site and a really good one at that. There are a lot of architecturally themed aggregate sites out there but few are as current and as relevant as this one.
Simply put, Design Milk is a bad ass site. If it’s cool, it’s here: architecture, art, furnishings, interior design, style, technology and news … everything related to design. It was originally founded by Jaime Derringer but there is an army of talented and cool people assembling information for you. Based on their website, I bet they throw really good parties (that I will never get to attend.)
ArchiBlog is pretty much what is sounds like – a collection of architectural blogs. Not all architecture blogs are large enough for you to find, although that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth checking out. I go by this site often enough to find some new sites to read and explore … but don’t go looking for Life of an Architect on this site, for some reason they don’t see fit to include me. One day ….
Rounding out the triumvirate of magazine/ websites is the aptly named Architect. This 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. Recently I was 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]
Materialicious is a designers aggregate site – plenty here to explore, be prepared to lose track of time for a while … don’t be surprised to learn so much time has passed that you have to shave again.
Everyone knows that architecture students are always in the studio … Stuck in Studio is an architectural blog geared towards architecture students and the excitement, opportunities, and challenges unique to architecture students. There are plenty of architecture student blogs, I just think this one is the best. This is the one site that sort of breaks my rule since they haven’t posted in a while – my message to them? Get it going! [oh yeah, they are probably in stuck in the studio]
Not so much an architecture site but rather an art and interior design site. Most of the Interior Design websites that I traffic have so much product information that it all becomes noise … and in a just a very short time my brain becomes quite addled. What I like aboutMoCo Loco is the balance they strike between design and designers, art and artists. They have made the effort to bring me the story behind the products and as a result, I love their site.
Because she can say it better than I can – from Blueprint editor Vicky Richardson: ‘Blueprint aims to use the subject of design to reveal the workings of society. The magazine is about the important role that design and architecture can play in shaping the world.’ The online version is as good as the printed version – if you aren’t subscribing, you are missing out.
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The 2modern site is unique on this list for the simple reason that they sell the stuff they tend to talk about … but I don’t care. There is so much eye-candy on this site that I simply couldn’t leave it off this list. This was one of the first sites I added to my RSS feed and after two years when most sites than I can remember have been put on only to find themselves removed, 2modern is still there. Nice job folks, keep up the excellent work.
Metropolis Magazine is one of my favorite design magazines so it stands to reason that I would like the website as well (surprise!) Hard to really back this up with empirical data but I seem to find stuff on the Metropolis site that I don’t find anywhere else – and in this day and age where people seem to freely borrow from one another that’s really saying something. From their website, “Metropolis examines contemporary life through design—architecture, interior design, product design, graphic design, crafts, planning, and preservation.”
So there it is – my top 15 websites. I’m quite sure that you have some that you love that didn’t make this list … just put them in the comment section below!
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