Kate Wagner

Architecture Critic

@mcmansionhell

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

The Medieval-ness of Mark Zuckerberg

The Medieval-ness of Mark Zuckerberg The Medieval-ness of Mark Zuckerberg

There’s something very feudal about his massive doomsday bunker.

Dec 22, 2023 / Kate Wagner

A boy searches through buildings, destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on November 10, 2023, in Khan Yunis, Gaza.

Architects Must Refuse to Profit From the Ruins of Palestine Architects Must Refuse to Profit From the Ruins of Palestine

Gaza is a site of human tragedy, not a prize of war.

Nov 14, 2023 / Column / Kate Wagner

In Defense of Homeownership

In Defense of Homeownership In Defense of Homeownership

It’s been blamed for everything from NIMBYism to urban sprawl. So why do I still want in?

Oct 18, 2023 / Column / Kate Wagner

A person pushes a barricade floating on a flooded street amid a coastal storm on September 29, 2023, in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y..

What Good Is Architecture on a Drowning Planet? What Good Is Architecture on a Drowning Planet?

We need political solutions to climate emergencies, not design solutions.

Oct 6, 2023 / Kate Wagner

A “For Lease” sign on a storefront in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago on Friday, May 12, 2023.

On Gentrification, We Don’t Know What We’re Talking About On Gentrification, We Don’t Know What We’re Talking About

Rather than understand gentrification as a systemic issue, the term has simply become an insult people throw around.

Sep 27, 2023 / Kate Wagner

Why Houses Don’t Look Like Houses Anymore

Why Houses Don’t Look Like Houses Anymore Why Houses Don’t Look Like Houses Anymore

Aggregated real estate listings like Zillow have distorted our understanding of what makes a house a home.

Sep 19, 2023 / Column / Kate Wagner

Renowned architect David Adjaye

Architecture’s Labor Problem Architecture’s Labor Problem

The field tolerates misogyny, racism, and worker exploitation. No wonder it produced David Adjaye.

Jul 31, 2023 / Kate Wagner

Lessons From the Catastrophic Failure of the Metaverse

Lessons From the Catastrophic Failure of the Metaverse Lessons From the Catastrophic Failure of the Metaverse

Did the “creative class” learn anything from buying into a product that was obviously destined to flop?

Jul 3, 2023 / Column / Kate Wagner

Paul Rudolph’s Orange County Government Center in Goshen, N.Y.

Stop Gatekeeping Architecture Stop Gatekeeping Architecture

We all inhabit, and therefore participate in, the built environment.

Apr 7, 2023 / Kate Wagner

Forget AI—We Need More Clip Art

Forget AI—We Need More Clip Art Forget AI—We Need More Clip Art

We used to scoff at it, but in an age of relentless commodification, it now seems like a democratizing force.

Apr 4, 2023 / Kate Wagner

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