Alexandra Lange
Architecture & design critic

99PI: Instant Gramification

I spoke to Emmett FitzGerard at 99 Percent Invisible about Instagram’s not-so-invisible effect on the built environment.

But Alexandra Lange doesn’t think Instagram is ruining architecture. About ten years ago when Instagram was just getting going, Lange took a trip to an under-appreciated site for bizarre postmodern architecture: Melbourne, Australia. “I’m just completely wowed by these buildings because they’re spiky, they’re covered in neon… and they’re like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And I suddenly have this overwhelming desire to share!” A visual platform like Instagram was the perfect place to share these slices of architecture that she was appreciating. Lange’s time using Instagram led her to believe that the app can have a positive effect on architecture—a place where you could offer a window into the built world and encourage people to notice overlooked buildings.