Architecture as Built Criticism: Proceeds of the International Conference on Architectural Criticism 2023

Explores architecture’s capacity to express cultural criticism.

Can architects express explicit criticism through their buildings? Is modernist housing, for example, a collective criticism of unsustainable living conditions? Can a state’s embassy convey critical messages to the home and host country? The essays collected in this volume present a wide range of built criticisms. Their authors’ concise analyses broaden our view of an insufficiently explored field of knowledge.

The 2023 International Conference on Architectural Criticism at Shanghai’s Tongji University introduced the critical positions of leading international architects and architecture firms. The debate between tradition and modernity gave rise to varied approaches, such as opposition against unstoppable progress or against autocratic family ideals.

Li Xiangning is an architect and member of the board of directors of the International Committee of Architectural Critics. He is professor of architectural theory and director of the Department of Planning and Academic Development at Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning in Shanghai.

Wilfried Wang is a Berlin-based architect and president of the International Committee of Architectural Critics (CICA). He is also a Changjiang Distinguished Scholar and a professor at Tongji University’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning in Shanghai.