“Too often when criticism starts, excuses begin, and so defensiveness gets in the way
of good, responsive work”
Architecture and critical imagination
- Wayne Attoe
INTRODUCTION
Criticism has the potential to be a powerful
pedagogical tool in architecture education.
Criticism is a behavior in which individuals express
their own perceptions of a physical place, an object, or
ideas in the hope of communicating their ideas to
others.
However, criticism is sometimes perceived to have a
negative connotation because of its sense of passing a
judgment upon a physical place or object.
Attoe also reiterates the behavior of criticism
includes the three categories of description,
interpretation, and evaluation. He also identifies that
criticism falls under three basic groups: normative
criticism, interpretative criticism, and descriptive
criticism
TYPES OF CRITICISM
NORMATIVE CRITICISM INTERPRETIVE CRITICISM DESCRIPTIVE CRITICISM
•Based on a standard on •Does not make use of any •As the name suggests, it is
which the critic bases his standard at all. more concerned with
criticism. description of factual things
•It depends entirely on the related to the design and the
•The critic will compare the interpretation of the critic various people involved with
given design with the and therefore is highly the design as also the
standard. personal and prejudiced. events which influenced the
design.
•It is for the critic to decide •The critic would like to
what standard to choose and persuade reader to look at
it could be objective or the design in the same way
subjective. the critic is looking it.
NORMATIVE CRITICISM
DOCTRINAL CRITICISM SYSTEMATIC CRITICISM MEASURED CRITICISM
Doctrinal criticism has as its is an interwoven assemblage measured criticism assigns
basis a doctrine, such as; of principles or factors, a numerical standards to
form follows function, and system for judging. provide the norms against
tends towards “the belief which something is judged.
that there is a single For example, criticism of a
approach for accomplishing public square may take into
our purposes and a single consideration the proportion
standard for measuring our TYPAL CRITICISM of the size of the square in
achievements”. comparison to the height of
is based upon structural, the buildings surrounding it.
functional, and form types.
NTERPRETIVE CRITICISM
ADVOCACY CRITICISM IMPRESSIONISTIC CRITICISM EVOCATIVE CRITICISM
Advocatory criticism is “uses the work of art or Evocative criticism “uses
employed by a critic who is building as a foundation on whatever means are needed
an advocate of a building or which the critic then to arouse similar feelings in
place and is, “concerned constructs his own work of the reader/viewer. The
primarily with engendering art” evocative critique is not right
appreciation, not with or wrong, but a surrogate
passing judgment” experience”
DESCRIPTIVE CRITICISM
DEPICTIVE CRITICISM BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM CONTEXTUAL CRITICISM
Depictive criticism does not Biographical criticism Contextual criticism provides
judge, but merely depicts provides others with and information about the social,
what exists; such as, how understanding of the political, and economic
people move through a architect in order to allow a context in which something
space. better understanding of their was designed.
intentions.
Doctrinal criticism
Systematic criticism
NORMATIVE CRITICISM
Typal criticism
Measured criticism
Advocacy criticism
TYPES OF
CRITICISM INTERPRETIVE CRITICISM Evocative criticism
Impressionistic criticism
Depictive criticism
DESCRIPTIVE CRITICISM
Biographical criticism
Contextual criticism
This was the contribution of Wayne Attoe to the field of
Architectural Theory…
