Articles by Aaron Betsky

The current way architecture is critiqued and presented at biennials and exhibitions is ugly, but it doesn’t need to be, argues Aaron Betsky. Does critical architecture have to be ugly? Must it forego form and image altogether to be effective? That would certainly seem to be the message of many recent books, exhibitions and biennial

The post “We have to do better than ugliness and incoherence. We can be woke and good designers as well” appeared first on Dezeen.

Architects and designers can’t design ways to protect mass terror attacks in America’s public spaces, but they should join the fight to eliminate the problem at its cause, argues Aaron Betsky. When you want to attack a democracy, go for its public spaces. That seems to be the tactic more and more terrorists are using.

The post “Attempts to stop terrorism at the fringes of architecture are becoming increasingly useless” appeared first on Dezeen.

As America’s suburban shopping malls are becoming ghost towns, Aaron Betsky argues that their complex architecture character means that they deserves more serious consideration. Once shopping had style. What you bought, where you bought it, and perhaps even what you wore when you bought it mattered. The stores, the stuff, and you all had to look good.

The post “The best suburban malls were meccas with superb qualities” appeared first on Dezeen.

The outrage over New York’s Hudson Yards is not really about ugly glass towers or bad urbanism – although it features both – but an unspoken disquiet that foreign ideas have overtaken a chunk of Manhattan, argues Aaron Betsky. What is wrong with glass skyscrapers? New York mayor Bill de Blasio, who is now running

The post “What bothers many people is the sense of an alien culture” appeared first on Dezeen.

With the passing of great modern architects like IM Pei and Kevin Roche, monumental architecture is becoming less relevant for today’s society, says Aaron Betsky. I heard a story a few years ago about the late IM Pei. Architect Sandi Pei, an old family friend, told me his father made a pilgrimage to Taliesin West,

The post “With IM Pei’s death, the last of the modern monument makers has passed” appeared first on Dezeen.