Paul Goldberger is the architecture critic of The New Yorker.   Paul Goldberger     “I DON’T SEE THE REGIONAL differences in design that were apparent in the past,” states Paul Goldberger when asked what American architecture looks like from his perspective at The New Yorker. “Trends today are national or even global. Sustainability is certainly one. We should be doing more on this, but we’re doing more than we did in the past.” He also talks about “the democratization of architecture,” a process that in recent years has brought Modernism to the masses, or at least, to a larger

Christopher Hawthorne is the architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times.   Christopher Hawthorne     “L.A. IS THE MOST INTERESTING CITY IN THE country right now, because of what’s happening with its urbanism, more than its architecture,” states Christopher Hawthorne, who has been the architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times for three years. The city that became synonymous with sprawl has “hit the limits of its growth and is turning back on itself,” he explains. “But it’s not just getting denser; it’s having to redefine itself as a city.” This redefinition is affecting everything from mass transit and

Six critics examine the state of American architecture from their hometowns. Taking the measure of American architecture depends on where you look. What’s generating buzz in Chicago might not resonate in L.A. And the issues driving design in Miami might not mean much in New York. Although big-name, international architects are working all over the United States—Renzo Piano, for example, has current or recently completed projects in New York, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, and Atlanta—smaller, domestic firms are playing important roles, too. This mix of big and small, global and regional is shaping the American architectural landscape. The projects shown

No wonder concrete buildings dominate the cityscapes, and a muscular approach to space and form drives design.

George Yu, a pioneer in digital architecture, died in Los Angeles of a type of lung cancer that afflicts nonsmokers. He was 43 years old. As both a designer and teacher, Yu helped shape the way that architects envision and use new technologies such as digital imaging and fabrication. But his work always kept the human user in the foreground, never turning technology into an ideology or fetish. He was able to do this, in part, by developing a keen sense for materials, light, and space. Photo © Gary Leonard George Yu Related Links: George Yu Exhibits in the 2004