Editorial 2013
The last few months have been thin on articles, a trend that should reverse in 2013.
From now on, Actuarchi will be organised as follows:
- Monday: Monday Feature
- Tuesday: building site or completed project
- Wednesday: The Round-up
- Thursday: Products and Materials
- Friday: building site or completed project
The new features and changes are therefore:
Monday Feature:
A new regular slot, the Monday Feature is an opportunity to look back at a competition, placing the finalists on an equal footing with the winner.
While winning schemes get plenty of media coverage, the finalists' projects are very often forgotten. Yet for these teams of architects, the work was the same. Every project has its qualities and its flaws, so why restrict ourselves to the winner? Some will have lost out through a lack of references for the type of programme requested, an aesthetic that was too daring, a weakness in client relations, or simply an idea that was not developed enough…
It is with this in mind that Actuarchi is launching the Monday Feature, presenting the winning and shortlisted projects with one article per proposal and leaving everyone free to form their own opinion. I cannot promise that the Monday Feature will appear every Monday, as I strive to stay as close to current events as possible, and quantity must not take precedence over quality and the choice of subjects.
Admittedly, Actuarchi does not have the standing of the Groupe Moniteur, so it will unfortunately be difficult for some competitions to present all the finalists, but Actuarchi at least has the merit of not being for sale. I know that some architects and practices are not at home with digital media and therefore refuse any publication outside a printed magazine. Others will consider that Actuarchi is not good enough for their work, even though a press group recently wanted to buy the site. I would like to reassure you, dear readers: Actuarchi will remain free and independent.
The Round-up:
This article deals briefly and concisely with the news on property and construction.
Products and Materials:
This article comes in two forms: the first (selection) presents a series of new products (furniture, lamps), while the second (special) presents a selection of building materials around a specific theme.
Facebook & Newsletter:
2013 will also be a turning point in the way we communicate. Actuarchi will gradually abandon its Facebook fan page to concentrate on a weekly newsletter gathering all of Actuarchi's new content. We will, however, continue to tweet new articles on Twitter.
Actuarchi, the others and you
Actuarchi is one of the only architecture websites to write its own articles. This is dismaying, but true. Many websites publish information exactly as it lands in their inboxes. Despite their complete lack of professionalism, they are firmly established in the media landscape. Besides offering content of no quality, these outlets sell advertising space at rock-bottom prices, which sidelines editorial teams that do a proper job.
There is no point in dwelling on my view of these sites, which have no reason to exist, but I increasingly see this disease spreading to architectural practices. I see many architects investing in communication. I have nothing against an architect presenting their work to the public, quite the contrary, but I think it is important to hold on to one's ethics. Architectural practices are not communications agencies with profitability targets.
Yet today, many architects are devaluing themselves through their obsession with being published relentlessly. Take, for example, a Danish practice whose name I will not mention. This practice invested enormously in creative communication, but that effort has gradually eroded with the rise of low-quality websites, or ones disguised as scams aimed at advertisers. Indeed, every time a project is won, a race to publish begins; the person in charge has to secure more publications each time (more numbers, to be frank), and on the editors' side, the email has barely been read before the project is already on Facebook… To keep up this pace, the practice no longer takes the time to reply to the few journalists who do their job and ask questions to explore the subject in greater depth. Today, I move their emails straight to the bin as they arrive.
I take great pleasure in discovering new architects and exchanging emails with them, but I also have other occupations outside this site (yes, one has to make a living). My time is therefore limited, I receive far more projects than I can present, so I have to make choices, and architects who have lost their ethics are now being left out.
If you like media-hungry architects and databases dressed up as blogs that are destroying the information economy, I invite you not to come back here. If, on the other hand, you have a curious mind, enjoy reading interviews or value a certain editorial rigour, I invite you to subscribe to Actuarchi's weekly newsletter.
One further point I would like to raise: digital information is gradually replacing print, and that is a fact. Actuarchi relies on the goodwill of photographers to present buildings with their work. With the gradual disappearance of print media, and therefore of their source of income (a photographer earns around €250 per published photo), they will have no choice but to turn to the outlets they let off the fee, such as Actuarchi. I would be very happy to pay these reproduction rights, but it also means that readers must realise that the information they read freely today will not be free tomorrow.
PS: I wish you a happy new year.