Hasta La Ideas

If you associate book clubs with white wine and Jane Austen-inspired chick lit contemporary women’s fiction, think again. Four alumni of D-Crit, the MFA Design Criticism program at the School of Visual Arts, have formed an editorial consultancy called Superscript, and among their first initiatives is a new public book club focusing on architecture and design topics. ADBC (Architecture and Design Book Club) launches Thursday evening in New York with featured guest Alexandra Lange. The journalist, critic, and architectural historian will lead a discussion of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, William Whyte’s seminal 1980 study of NYC plazas. The first meetup takes place on the High Line (how superscriptish!) and is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the 23rd Street lawn.

The aim of ADBC is “to unpack and explore important design and architecture texts—not always necessarily books—with an expert guest,” Superscript partner Avinash Rajagopal tells us. “And we’re open-minded about what we consider as design and architecture texts.” The founders are similarly flexible on club membership. “We really liked the idea of a ‘public club’ and decided we should hold meetings in public spaces around the city that somehow related to the selected texts,” explains Superscript’s Molly Heintz. “We want to keep it accessible enough that anyone passing by can join the discussion and take something away from it.” The partners are now assembling the fall schedule of ADBC meetups, including a possible event at Lincoln Center during Fashion Week. Stay tuned to the Superscript website and Twitter feed for details.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.