Defining Architectural Quality

What is high-quality architecture, and what exactly defines architectural quality? The contributions to the 2022 International Conference on Architectural Criticism lay a rigorous foundation for assessing works of architecture.

The essays collected in this volume cover the spectrum of issues that determine the quality of architecture. For example: What exactly is architectural quality? Is it based on physical facts? Is it a matter of cultural context? Does it lie in the eye of the beholder or is it actually beauty that matters? Do architects’ intentions and ideas provide the keys to a building’s evaluation? Does it rest primarily in its form? Or in the ethical attitude it expresses? Or is it just a group of critics deciding these issues among themselves?

While quantitative-technical evaluations of buildings abound internationally, the qualitative assessment of architectural works has so far been largely neglected. This unique anthology on definitions of architectural quality ranges from general observations and theories to case studies, and lays a rigorous foundation for assessing works of architecture.