Facile Architecture began as a personal architecture blog and still is one.
As the articles have become more research-based, I think readers should be able to tell where the information comes from, what is documented, what is interpretation, and what is simply an illustration used to explain an idea.
This page explains how I approach that.
📚 Sources
For articles about architectural history and heritage, I try to work backwards towards the strongest available source rather than repeat a claim simply because it appears on many websites.
Depending on the subject, sources may include:
Archaeological Survey of India publications and monument records;
UNESCO World Heritage documentation;
central and state government publications;
district gazetteers and archival reports;
historic archaeological surveys;
books available through the Internet Archive and other digital libraries;
inscriptions and published translations;
academic papers and architectural studies;
museum, university and research-institution collections.
Secondary sources may help me discover a story, but whenever possible I look for the original report, publication or official record behind it.
Sources used for an article are listed at the end where practical.
🏛️ History, Tradition and Legend
Architecture often survives with stories attached to it.
Those stories are valuable, but tradition is not automatically archaeological evidence.
When a legend, local tradition or historical account cannot be independently established as fact, I try to describe it as such.
For example, an old traveller recording a local story tells us that the story existed at that time. It does not necessarily prove that every detail of the story happened.
Likewise, an inscription praising a ruler or monument is historical evidence, but it may also contain courtly or religious language rather than a literal technical description.
Where the evidence is uncertain, the article should remain uncertain too.
🔎 Reconstructions and Interpretation
Some architectural questions cannot be answered from surviving evidence alone.
How was a rock-cut monument excavated?
What might a damaged complex originally have looked like?
How did air, shade or water move through a building?
In these cases, Facile Architecture may use a simplified scholarly reconstruction based on published descriptions and surviving architecture.
A reconstruction is not presented as an ancient construction drawing or an eyewitness record.
Where an interpretation goes beyond what the source directly states, I try to make that distinction clear.
📐 Facile Plates
Facile Plates are original explanatory diagrams created for this blog.
Their purpose is to make one architectural idea understandable quickly: a construction sequence, water level, load path, coastline change, passive-cooling principle or another spatial relationship that can be difficult to understand from text alone.
They are educational diagrams, not construction documents.
Where a plate reconstructs missing historical conditions or simplifies a technical system, it is labelled accordingly.
Dimensions, sequences and relationships shown diagrammatically should not be assumed to be exact unless the accompanying article identifies them as measured or documented.
🖼️ Images and AI-Assisted Illustrations
Facile Architecture uses different kinds of images, and they should not all be read in the same way.
These may include:
my own photographs and drawings;
archival photographs and survey drawings;
images made available by government, academic or cultural institutions;
diagrams created specifically for an article;
AI-assisted or generated illustrations used to explain an architectural idea.
An AI-generated image is not historical evidence.
It should not be presented as an archival photograph, measured reconstruction or proof of how a monument originally appeared.
For heritage articles, authentic archival material is preferred whenever it is available and appropriate to reproduce.
Generated images are used primarily for explanation, atmosphere or visualisation, and captions should make their role clear where confusion is possible.
🧱 Construction, BIM and Professional Articles
Articles about residential documentation, BIM, VDC, construction coordination and related workflows draw on a combination of professional experience and published technical references.
When discussing building codes or standards, I try to identify the edition being referenced.
However, codes vary by jurisdiction and change over time.
A code provision described on Facile Architecture should therefore be treated as a starting point for research, not project approval.
Readers should verify requirements against:
the code adopted by the authority having jurisdiction;
state and local amendments;
project specifications;
manufacturer instructions;
engineering requirements;
current professional standards.
Nothing published on this blog replaces project-specific architectural, engineering, legal or code advice.
🏗️ Professional Experience and Confidentiality
Some practical articles are informed by my experience working with architectural documentation, BIM, VDC and construction coordination.
Examples and observations are written in general terms.
I do not intentionally publish confidential employer or client information, proprietary drawings, internal project documents or identifiable details from projects that are not already public and appropriate to discuss.
Facile Architecture is an independent personal blog. The views expressed here are my own and do not represent any current or former employer, client or project team.
✍️ Writing and Editorial Assistance
I use digital tools as part of researching, organising, editing and illustrating articles.
This can include search tools, writing assistance and generative AI.
These tools may help with tasks such as:
They are not treated as sources of historical or technical fact.
Claims still need to be checked against the sources appropriate to the article.
The final decision about what is published, how a claim is framed and which sources are cited is mine.
🔗 Quotations and Copyright
Short quotations may be used when the original wording is important to the story.
I try to identify the author or publication and link to the source where possible.
Archival material, photographs and illustrations are used according to their stated availability, licence or applicable conditions where these can be established.
If you are a rights holder and believe something has been attributed or used incorrectly, please contact me so I can review it.
✓ Corrections
Architecture and history are both fields in which better evidence can change an explanation.
If I discover a factual error, incorrect citation or misleading statement, I may correct the article after publication.
Readers are also welcome to point out mistakes.
For a factual correction, please send the article title and, where possible, the source supporting the correction through the Contact page.
I would rather correct a good article than defend a bad sentence.
Advertising and Commercial Relationships
Advertising, if present, does not determine what I write about or the conclusions of an article.
Facile Architecture currently does not publish paid sponsored posts or use affiliate links.
If a future article contains a sponsorship, gifted product, affiliate relationship or another material commercial connection, it will be disclosed clearly.
The aim of Facile Architecture is simple:
Make architecture easier to understand without making the evidence simpler than it really is.
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