It was (somewhat delusionally, we believe) proposed by an eagle-eyed commenter that our list of those New York-based architecture writers who did not show up to see Ada Louise Huxtable was perhaps a little too, well, we’ll just direct quote “insidery.” One solution would be to change the entire ethos of this enterprise, discard our planned approach, and begin slapping up only big-news-you-can use. This, however, is just not our jam.

But we can compromise, and meet quarter-way. Every Friday, we’ll be introducing a different writer, a new critic we—and you, and all together now!—can criticize. Or, you know, like.

We might as well start in order of shame-list. And so, today, we bring you William Bostwick. We are—full disclosure—deeply, deeply unobjective. (That’s the good news.) We are also—fuller disclosure—deeply, deeply envious of his bicycle. (That’s the better.)

Bostwick likes words, and also design and architecture. So far, he was written for Metropolis, I.D., Print, Architectural Record, Artnews, Good, Surface, Whitewall, and the Architect’s Newspaper, and on that internet-thing at Core77 and Flavorwire. We think that he is so good because he actually reads many things besides blogs and articles about architecture, particularly sentences by Bruce Chatwin, and also he takes time and walks and bike rides (see above) to look at structures and streets and wonder and figure out why they work (or don’t.)

Pretty much we spend a lot of time being jealous of his words—a Nouvel building is “a jagged, dried-blood-red beast” and “bricks aren’t a building, words aren’t a story”— and trying to get him to bike around Brooklyn with us, and being a bit obsessed with the fact that he’s from Cleveland. So we thought we’d turn it over and, instead of trying to describe the ineffable, just ask. So we tracked him down:

What are your favorite/least favorite words?
fav=serrated. least fav=whilst

What would you do if you weren’t an architecture writer?
preacher, or meteorologist. or both.

Which five architects, living or dead, would you have a bo ssam with? (Note: they would all be there concurrently.)

jefferson, kahn, gaudi, tatlin, inigo jones.

Is there a building or architecty experience that made you be like “oohhhhh right.” ? (Or equivalent reaction which feel free to invent/elaborate upon.)

when i was really little, that double-height gallery in the british art center at yale, and coming into grand central from new haven for the first time. those places made me realize architecture can hit all the senses. even smell, and, if your parents aren’t supervising you, taste.

Make up your own question and answer it.

what do you think of tom waits? awesome.

Next week, Karrie Jacobs. For the rest of this one, do like William does and Bruce Chatwin would.