The first motive which leads men to build good houses is, no doubt, that of increasing largely their own comfort and happiness. But it is easy to see that, in this country, where so many are able to achieve a home for themselves, he who gives to the public a more beautiful and tasteful model of a habitation than this neighbors, is a benefactor to the cause of morality, good order, and the improvement of society were he lives. To place before men reasonable objects of ambition, and to dignify and exalt their aims, cannot but be laudable in the sight of all. And in a country where it is confessedly neither for the benefit of the community at large, nor that of the succeeding generation, to amass and transmit great fortunes, we would encourage a taste for beautiful and appropriate architecture, as a means of promoting public virtue and the general good. (Andrew Jackson Downing, "On the Moral Influence of Good Houses," Horticulturist 2 (Feb. 1848): 345-47)

“…keep in mind PROPRIETY." Do not build your dwelling-houses like temples, churches, or cathedrals. Let them be, characteristically, dwelling-houses. And more than this; always let their individuality of purpose be fairly avowed; let the cottage be a cottage--the farm-house a farm-house--the villa a villa, and the mansion a mansion. Do not attempt to build a dwelling upon your farm after the fashion of the town-house of your friend, the city merchant; do not attempt to give the modest little cottage the ambitious air of the ornate villa…. The most expensive and elaborate structure, overlaid with costly ornaments, will fail to give a ray of pleasure to the mind of real taste, if it is not appropriate to the purpose in view, or the means or position of its occupant; while the simple farm-house, rustically and tastefully adorned, and ministering beauty to hearts that answer to the spirit of the beautiful, will weave a spell in the memory not easily forgotten. (Andrew Jackson Downing, "On the Moral Influence of Good Houses," Horticulturist 2 (Feb. 1848): 345-47)

What is architectural criticism?

Where is it?

“…what the critic is trying to do is to capture

one art with another, to translate the kinetic

concept and visual, sensory and three-

dimensional expression and experience of architecture

into words, the only way in which data, rationale

and evaluation can be communicated.”

(Ada Louise Huxtable, “Architecture Criticism”

Proceedings of the American Philosophical

Society 134:4 (December 1990): 464)

“A critic has a lot of responsibility. It is largely informational and educational – to let the public know what’s going on in the large and small issues and to let them know the difference between good and bad, how to distinguish a work of art. Today, I think the emphasis is too much on chasing celebrities, which has emerged all through society… Architecture is definitely more in the public eye today than before, but I don’t think it’s understood any better” – Ada Louise Huxtable (“On Criticism” Architect’s Newspaper (November 16, 2005): 14-21)

“An architecture critic has a lot of authority but not much real power… If used to be said that The New York Times theater critic can close a Broadway show. Well, that’s power. But nobody tears down a building if an architecture critic doesn’t like it.”– Paul Goldberger, former critic for The New York Times, current critic for New Yorker (“On Criticism” Architect’s Newspaper (November 16, 2005): 14-21)

“I see my primary role as an advocate for urban

civilization and the planetary environment. That’s the big picture. The smaller picture is writing about people, objects, and places I love… The majority of critics nowadays are

simply flaks: There are too many fashionistas

and too few street fighters. We’ve been

taken up into the culture of branding. … [I]rony and analysis

stops short of availing an original position”

– Michael Sorkin, former critic for the Village Voice (“On Criticism” Architect’s Newspaper

(November 16, 2005): 14-21)

“The architecture critic is not a consumer guide like other critics. The chief role of an architecture critic is to stimulate and participate in an ongoing conversation about the world we build and live in and what makes [projects] good or bad.” – Robert Campbell, critic for the Boston Globe and Architectural Record (“On Criticism” Architect’s Newspaper (November 16, 2005): 14-21)

Sylvia Lavin, on the rise, in the 1700s, of architectural publications written by amateurs:

“this literature emerges as the equivalent, in the domain of architecture, of the art criticism that developed during the same period and that also began to establish techniques and standards of judgment for works of art (184)

Architectural writing began to focus on providing “the means for normalizing and codifying individual aesthetic response and for envisaging the production of a coherent body of public opinion on matters hitherto considered to be largely subjective. (185)

Sylvia Lavin, “Re Reading the Encyclopedia: Architectural Theory and the Formation of the Public in Late-Eighteenth-Century France” The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 53:2 (June 1994): 184-192)

EVALUATIVE CRITERIA have evolved along with design values and principles of design:

•19th c.: visual aesthetics: classical harmony, proportion, rhythm

•Late 19th-early 20th c.: truthful expression of materials, structure, function, “propriety” (Stephens)

•20th c.: volume (distinguished from mass), irregularity (as opposed to symmetry), absence of ornament

•Mid-20th c.: kinesthetic experience

•Late 20th c.: symbolic representation, contextualism, authenticity

•Late 20th-early 21st c.: experiential criticism

What are the function and value of architectural

criticism, and who is it for?

“Architecture is a stunning record of a society’s standards and values. And yet it is so invisible to most, so simply there, that few see or read its messages. The critic of architecture must therefore be a decoder, demystifier and debunker; a guide to values and meanings as well as to technology and aesthetics, a link between past and present.”

-- Ada Louise Huxtable, “Architecture Criticism” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 134:4 (December 1990): 462.

“When architecture becomes a spinoff of theory accessible only to the indoctrinated few, it frequently turns users into victims. If a building does not stand on its own in every sense, from structural to experiential, if it does not draw its aesthetic from its most basic relationships to user, site, community and culture, rather than as an explication of literary texts or an abstract of ideas, it abdicates its responsibility and reality and the intrinsic sources of its meaning and style.”

-- Ada Louise Huxtable, “Architecture Criticism” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 134:4 (December 1990): 463.

Prevalence and power of architecture critics?

Placement of criticism in today’s media?

Evaluative criteria employed by today’s critics?

“…few publications provide the gritty evaluations of what works and what doesn’t …. [T]hey focus only on presenting glossy images of flashy, big-name projects. These are carefully described, but only superficially assessed. Rushing to publish as soon as the last nail is hammered, as if buildings were the latest Paris fashions, leaves little time to gather reports on how a building functions. Without such information how can true judgments be made of an architect’s achievements, both aesthetic and technical?”

-- Marisa Bartolucci, “Current Criticism” Architect’s Newspaper 19 (November 16 2005)

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Jeffrey Inaba: 2/28: Yeah, it had the really beautiful clear, plastic 'sushi box' container that 2x4 designed. The idea was that Volume can be an installation. There were numerous items in the box, or 'installation space' including the magazine proper, CDs or DVDs, posters, cards, stickers, etc. I think issue number 4 on "Leaks" was really successful: it had the magazine, an AMO Bulletin poster on the Crisis of Western Democracy; a C-Lab 30-page booklet on information, building, and city leaks; and a portable exhibition that included work by FAT, Jeanne van Heeswijk, Guerrilla Girls, Artgineering, a coupon for FREE BEER, a postcard by Elena in search of her ideal man, and a religious wafer. Like Aspen Magazine, it was an example of a nice eclectic set of materials you could compile with the help of your friends…..

…In that sense, while we love the magazine as the main object to edit and design, C-Lab's goal is to broadcast material through a range of wide access media. And our goal is more than to simply use a variety of means, it is to design the formats (similar to the 'installation') that will conceptually package content in these media.