Lecture: Criticism and Architecture in Pittsburgh

Lecture: Criticism and Architecture in Pittsburgh
Charles Rosenblum
Writer and architecture critic
Tuesday, October 30
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Landmarks Preservation Resource Center
744 Rebecca Avenue, Wilkinsburg, PA 15221

For decades if not centuries, architectural criticism has been a vital part of urban culture in cities of any size, and Pittsburgh has been no exception. The city has had eras of outstanding building and a number of good writers to praise or criticize the builder’s art. But while the quality of the built environment has experienced partial though not complete decline, changing media culture and some prominent retirements have left Pittsburgh with an incomplete culture of architectural criticism. What exactly is architectural criticism, and what in Pittsburgh architecture needs it most? What aspects of traditional criticism still work today, and what needs to be updated? This lecture will investigate these questions and related issues.

About the presenter: Charles Rosenblum is a journalist, critic, and scholar writing about architecture, art and other aspects of visual culture. For the past 20 years, he has taught history of architecture and art at universities in Western Pennsylvania. His writing has appeared in books and publications nationally and regionally, including a several for PHLF. He has won journalism awards for architectural writing in the Pittsburgh City Paper and Pittsburgh Quarterly. In 2013, he was historical consultant and on-screen expert for the 2013 documentary, Henry Hornbostel in Architecture and Legacy, broadcast on WQED. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia with a dissertation on the architecture of Henry Hornbostel.

This lecture is FREE to the public. RSVPs are appreciated: marylu@phlf.org or 412-471-5808 ext. 527