Kate Wagner

Architecture Critic

@mcmansionhell

Kate Wagner is The Nation’s architecture critic and a journalist based in Chicago and Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Donald Trump enjoys a good faux-Hellenic column.

Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again Trump Will Not Make Architecture Great Again

Last term, his ill-informed embrace of “traditional” aesthetics fanned the flames of the culture wars. This time, he’s poised to do even more damage.

Jan 7, 2025 / Kate Wagner

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture

The Brutalist and the Hidden Work of Architecture "The Brutalist" and the Hidden Work of Architecture

A film about survival, creativity, the hypocrisies of high art, The Brutalist tells a story about an architect who does not exploit and manipulate others to achieve his grand visi...

Dec 18, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wagner

Everyone Needs to Disavow Neom

Everyone Needs to Disavow Neom Everyone Needs to Disavow Neom

Now that they know about the staggering number of deaths the Saudi megaproject has caused, architects have absolutely no more excuses.

Nov 7, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Want to Build Worker Power? Ask an Architect.

Want to Build Worker Power? Ask an Architect. Want to Build Worker Power? Ask an Architect.

You don’t have to wield a T-square to benefit from the field’s first collective bargaining agreement in decades.

Sep 30, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Fredric Jameson

The Gifts of Fredric Jameson (1934–2024) The Gifts of Fredric Jameson (1934–2024)

The intellectual titan bestowed on us so many things, chief among them a reminder to Always Be Historicizing.

Sep 26, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Our Buildings Were Built for a Different World

Our Buildings Were Built for a Different World Our Buildings Were Built for a Different World

The climate crisis demands that we retrofit them—which won’t happen at scale until architects start seeing themselves as political actors.

Aug 7, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Screenshot of CGI image in proposal titled “From Crisis to Prosperity.”

The Awful Plan to Turn Gaza Into the Next Dubai The Awful Plan to Turn Gaza Into the Next Dubai

The Netanyahu administration seems to have learned from neighboring petrostates that spectacle can distract from ethnic cleansing.

Jul 9, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Louis Vuitton’s branding opportunity in Paris.

Luxury Brands Are Buying Our Cities Luxury Brands Are Buying Our Cities

Conglomerates like LVMH are gobbling up whole neighborhoods to advance their own interests.

May 28, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

Capitalist Rot Has Spread to American Kitchens

Capitalist Rot Has Spread to American Kitchens Capitalist Rot Has Spread to American Kitchens

We’ve privileged constant renovation over resilience, and it’s damaged the aesthetics and functionality of domestic architecture.

Apr 16, 2024 / Column / Kate Wagner

What Happened to the 21st-Century City?

What Happened to the 21st-Century City? What Happened to the 21st-Century City?

And how we can save it.

Mar 12, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Kate Wagner

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