What would Nicolai Ouroussoff say? Understanding your NY Times Architecture critic

The Public School New York has invited me to lead this discussion on the NY Times architecture critic and the role of architecture criticism. I happily accepted with the caveat that I would love the discussion to be as collaborative as possible. It would be great if other design writers as well as architects and urban designers participated. It's tentatively scheduled for Mon., Apr. 26 at 7 PM (re) scheduled for Monday, May 24 at 7 PM. This school is open free of charge to anyone who's interested, so please sign up and suggest reviews that you might be willing to examine for their basic arguments, rhetoric, quality of writing, nuance, and contribution to the understanding of architecture and urbanism. I will try to suggest some major themes to explore, such as economic development, "stars," how to report on architecture, reviewing renderings, evaluating mega-developments, ideas vs. practices, and how to consider economic and political processes. -STEPHEN ZACKS