Architecture & Criticism

The course reviews contemporary architecture and critical thinking in the realm starting at the end of modernism and the beginning of postmodernism up to this day. We will discuss historical, political, technological and cultural turning points, and examine how these affected the field

of architecture and planning. We will review key works and masterpieces that are considered groundbreaking, and that mark the changes that led to their appearance. Emphasis will be placed on architectural qualities and developing critical awareness towards what is being done in the local sphere and the world.

The course will look into in the architectural act - the building and the city, but will also reveal how the critical discourse in contemporary architecture is manifested in exhibitions, films, articles and books, in works of art and in the cultural discourse in general.

The student will learn to characterize key works from contemporary practice while putting them into a cultural, historical, political, social, geographical, ecological and technological context. The student will develop his/her critical and conceptual capacity based on the knowledge they have acquired during the course.