ARCHITECTURAL

CRITICISM
  CRITICISM
• Criticism is the practice of judging the merits and faults of something.
• A critic is a professional who communicates an assessment and an
opinion of various forms of creative works such as art , literature,
architecture, food etc.
 ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM
• Architecture criticism is the critique of architecture.
• Everyday criticism relates to published or broadcast critiques of
buildings, whether completed or not, both in terms of news and
other criteria.
• Criticism amounts to an assessment of the architect’s success in
meeting his or her own aims and objectives of others.
• The assessment may consider the subject from the perspective of
some wider context , which may involve planning , social or
aesthetic issues.
                              CRITERIA
• The critic’s task is to assess how successful the architect and others involved with
the project have been in meeting both the criteria the project set out to meet
and those that the critic himself feels to be important . Specific criteria include :
1. Aesthetics
2. Proportion
3. Functionality
4. Architectural style
5. Choice and use of building materials
6. Built environment or context
7. Sustainability
                    ROLE OF A CRITIC

Qualities necessary for a critic
to perform their role in a most
constructive manner :
1. Fairness in judgement
2. Logical reasoning
3. Building a persuasive case
4. Adequate delivery
5. Objective commentary
6. General knowledge of
architecture
7. Understanding the
architect’s point of view
                 TYPES OF CRITICISM
• Aesthetic criticism
• Logical criticism
• Factual criticism
• Positive criticism
• Negative criticism
• Constructive criticism
• Destructive criticism
• Practical criticism
• Theoretical criticism
• Moral criticism
                  TYPES OF CRITICISM
• AESTHETIC CRITICISM :  Critically judging beauty and ugliness, style and fashion, meaning and
quality of design.
• LOGICAL CRITICISM : In logical criticism , an objective is raised about an idea , argument ,action
or situation on the ground that it does not make rational sense.
• FACTUAL CRITICISM : In factual criticism , an objective is raised when there is something wrong
with the evidence of the known experience relevant to it.
• POSITIVE CRITICISM : A positive criticism draws attention to a good or positive aspect of
something that is being ignored disregarded or overlooked.
• NEGATIVE CRITICISM : Negative criticism means voicing an objection to something , only with
the purpose of showing that it is wrong or false.
 TYPES OF CRITICISM
• CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM : Constructive criticism aims to show that an intent or purpose of
something is better served by an alternative approach.
• DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM : Destructive criticism aims to destroy the target of criticism .The
aim is to show that the point of view of someone else has no validity at all , or lacks any
merit.
• PRACTICAL CRITICISM : Practical criticism is an objection or appraisal of the type , that
something does or does not work in practical reality.
• THEORETICAL CRITICISM : Theoretical criticism is concerned with the meaning of ideas ,
including ideas on which a practice is based.
• SCIENTIFIC CRITICISM : Scientific criticism not primarily concerned with moral values , but
more with quantitative or categorical values.
                 TYPES OF CRITICISM
• MORAL CRITICISM : Moral criticism is basically concerned with the rights and wrongs of values ,
ethics or norms.
• SELF CRITICISM : Self criticism refers to the ability to appraise the pro’s and con’s of one’s own
beliefs ,actions, thoughts especially from the point of view of how others might regard them.
• RADICAL AND REVOLUTIONARY CRITICISM : The word ‘’radical” derives from the Latin word
radix (root).Thus , radical criticism means that goes to the root of things , to the roos of problems.
Revolutionary criticism is the criticism that aims to overturn or overthrow an existing idea or
state of affairs.
• SPECULATIVE CRITICISM : Speculative criticism is criticism which focuses on what something
“might ,could or ought to “ mean .
• CONSERVATIVE CRITICISM : Conservative criticism is primarily concerned with conformity to a
rule or principle and continuity with the past.
 TYPES OF CRITICISM
• LIBERAL CRITICISM : Liberal criticism is primarily concerned with people's
rights and freedom ,with whether people are taking responsibility for their
choices or not, and with limits of toleration.
• RELIGIOUS CRITICISM : Religious criticism is primarily concerned with judging
actions and ideas according to whether god would regard them as good or
bad for human beings.
• SCHOLARLY CRITICISM : Criticism is considered “scholarly” only if it conforms
to scholarly standards. A scholarly critic probes deeply into a problem ,
looking at all the relevant evidence, the quality of reasoning involved, and the
uses or purposes at stake.
          ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM
EXAMPLE :
CONCEPTUALLY IT DEFINESTHE HOUSE
HAS A MECHANIZED ENTITY.

• FLAT ROOF TERRACE
• RIBBON WINDOWS
• FREE FAÇADE
• OPEN PLAN

https://image.slidesharecdn.com/
criticizingarchitecture‐160404182922/95/
criticizing‐
architecture‐3‐638.jpg?cb=1486652654
         ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM
• IT HAD A ROOF WHICH LEAKED EVERYWHERE.
• IT HAD A SKYLIGHT THAT MADE A TERRIBLE
NOISE, DISTURBING THE OCCUPANTS.
/ • IT FELT COLD AND DAMP.
• IT SUFFERED FROM SUBSTANTIAL HEAT LOSS
DUE TO LARGE GLAZING (THAT HE LOVED AND
INCLUDED IT IN HIS ‘FIVE POINTS FOR
ARCHITECTURE’).
• AND OFCOURSE , DID NOT MAKE ITS
OCCUPANTS HAPPY TO LIVE IN IT.

https://image.slidesharecdn.com/
criticizingarchitecture‐160404182922/95/
criticizing‐
architecture‐3‐638.jpg?cb=1486652654
            ARCHITECTURAL CRITICISM
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT SAYS…
“ITS JUST A BOX ON STILTS AND A CHILDISH
ATTEMPT TO MAKE BUILDINGS RESEMBLE
STEAMSHIPS, FLYING MACHINE OR LOCOMOTIVE.
”

https://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.dezeen.com%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F07%2Fvilla‐savoye‐le‐corbusier‐poissy‐
france‐unesco‐world‐heritage_dezeen_936_2.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dezeen.com%2F2016%2F07%2F31%2Fvilla‐savoye‐le‐
corbusier‐poissy‐france‐modernist‐style‐unesco‐world‐
heritage%2F&docid=Sgy7mck5a0tS5M&tbnid=xe‐8McBlFa2tFM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiH7KzP3LjXAhWBQI8KHbY2DwwQMwiJAigBMAE..
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          IS CRITICISM IMPORTANT ?
• In architecture , everyone's a critic.

‐Ludwig Mies der Rohe
‐Robert Venturi
     IS CRITICISM IMPORTANT ?

YES ! CRITICISM IS IMPORTANT.

BY SEEING BEHIND THE GLITTERING
NOVELTY OF FORM , IT IS CRITICISM’SROLE
TO ASSESS AND PROMOTE THE POSITIVE
EFFECTS ARCHITECTURE CAN BRING TO
SOCIETY AND THE WIDER WORLD.
                      BIBLIOGRAPHY
• https://www.google.co.in/
url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiR15Tj0LjX
AhVMr48KHWGMBR4QFgheMAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.
org%2Fwiki%2FArchitecture_criticism&usg=AOvVaw1wJ9WqK9FXP6R4Q0P5QoC2
• https://www.google.co.in/
url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=15&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiR15Tj0LjX
AhVMr48KHWGMBR4QFghtMA4&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arch2o.com%2Fprinciples‐
architectural‐criticism%2F&usg=AOvVaw1L‐Bjjs6FbGQDeOgB0_qNZ

• https://www.google.co.in/
url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=18&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiR15Tj0LjX
AhVMr48KHWGMBR4QFgiEATAR&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.architectural‐review.
com%2Frethink%2Fviewpoints%2Fcritical‐mass‐why‐architectural‐criticism‐
matters%2F8663075.article&usg=AOvVaw19irnDfZC_pv88‐YODK2Ic

• https://www.google.co.in/
url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjU‐9ae2bjX
AhUMro8KHTl2CoQQFggrMAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.
org%2Fwiki%2FVarieties_of_criticism&usg=AOvVaw20G3LwtdPFgFyjxazxFpUa
THANK YOU

‐ MALAVIKA.K
      SUNMITH