The Architect's Social Media Presence
Floris van der Poel
The title of this lecture is somewhat misleading as it is not per se about a way to be more present in the world of architecture via social media. Or at least that is what this lecturer initially thought. In hindsight a certain and specific social media footprint can be an asset for architects. To be totally clear: it’s not about presenting the architecture one makes but it is more about using social media as a tool to order, develop, and guide one’s ideas.
On the one hand, Instagram is not very academic. It is very fast, easy to consume, and seems frivolous. On the other hand, it can be a beacon of order for one’s preoccupations within the world of architecture. It can be a kind of a diary, or “agenda,” a journal to be used next to the more traditional tools of thinking and making architecture. It can be totally private and personal, but with increasing followers, be used as a force to communicate with the world at large. It is more than the act of collecting, posting, and thinking about the accompanying description. Instagram can be used as a device to listen, to experiment, and to curate the ideas one’s thinks are significant for architecture discourse. Thus, the relationship architects can have with social media can be quite personal and that’s precisely what can set it apart from traditional tools. It at least helps this lecturer in identifying “the signal from the noise”: Let’s see what it can bring you…
The Berlage Sessions, a seven-part seminar series entitled “The Architect’s Manners,” explores the profession through etiquette and manners, the contractual distinction between builder and architect, the graphic conventions of working drawings, architects and their relationship to social media, the stylization of imagery, the masculinity embodied in practice, and other ways “mannerism” is enacted by architects today. This fall speakers will include Mary Woods, Bryan Norwood, Annette Spiro, Floris van der Poel, Stefano Milani, Namelok, and Jacob and Samuel Stewart-Halevy.
Floris van der Poel is a senior architect at De Zwarte Hond in Rotterdam.