Design debate

"People are passionate about design and architecture and the internet has generated a whole new way to discuss it. Design websites have a high level of debate compared to sites on other subjects." - Marcus Fairs

Mr. Fairs is the impresario of dezeen, which draws a million visitors a month. Making a comparison to print would be even more dramatic, given what passes for debate on the pages of the leading design and architecture journals. Just finding a writer on architecture as good as Catherine Slessor is pretty hard these days. There are still a few print-based critics who maintain the tradition, like Trevor Boddy (of late) and Chris Hawthorne. Architect's Journal and the Architectural Review provided a real debate a generation ago, when they had AD as a prod. They still do, but not so consistently or frontally. (The quote is from Nicole Sweingley, "Click to chic," Financial Times, 10-11 April 2009, "House & Home," US edition, page 1.)