Having written over 200 project narratives in the past seven years, I feel in the position to offer some advice on writing them.
For this first post on the topic I’ll start simple—a list of words to avoid (or limit your use of).
Because I don’t want it to seem that I’m only criticizing the work other others, I’ve included snippets of my own project narrative writing. I am guilty of using every work on this list!
The reality of writing project narratives as a non-designer (or architect) is that it can be hard to escape the “archispeak.”
Archispeak is part jargon—the unavoidable technical terms of the profession, unavoidable because there’s simply no layperson equivalent. If you need to talk about add alternates to describe the project management approach, then so be it. (It’s always good to gloss jargon, though, with capsule explanations.)
But archispeak is other things, too: egotism, vestiges of academia, and, well, lazy writing.
iconic / unique / unprecedented
One of the firm’s most iconic projects, The Denver Hospice Lowry Care Center offers an uplifting place for end-of-life patients and their families.
But is it actually? Ask this every time you’re tempted to use one of these words (or one of their synonyms).
It’s especially tempting to use “iconic” for projects that are merely large or important (to your firm).
Take Denver, for instance. There are only a handful of truly iconic structures in the city—the Broncos stadium, Coors Field, the airport, the art museum, the Capitol, the convention center. You could make a case for a few others (the “cash register” building comes to mind), but if your project is in Denver, pause before calling it “iconic.”
This guideline points to a broader suggestion:
Question any word that makes you feel good just for having written it.
language / vocabulary
Is it a language? Does it have a vocabulary? Designers love this metaphor of architecture as language because it’s an ego-trip.
That’s not to suggest effective design does not communicate—it can—but it does not speak.
curvilinear / rectilinear / orthogonal
The tower’s strong, orthogonal façade provides a stabilizing force to the surrounding skyline, emphasizing the simple elegance of its rational form.
Curved. Straight. Right-angled. The five-dollar versions of these words are…rude. Don’t use them.
re- words
With one of the grandest public spaces in Tianjin, the project activates the regenerated riverfront as it reinvents the role of China’s urban market. The building redefines the typical retail model at almost every level…
Rethink. Reset. Reimagine. Redevelop. Redefine.
Renovate.
Renovation projects tempt us to “re- words.” These are great words—but they’re easy to overuse.
Taylor Coe 