Criticism in Architecture: Does Aesthetics Matter in Architecture?
Criticism in architecture: does aesthetics matter in architecture?
„Urgent questions which confront the architect are indeed philosophical questions‟ (Scruton 1979). In the letter of Goldberg (2003), criticism in architecture is considered as an audience guide to appreciate good design:
The purpose of architecture criticism in the general media is to create a better educated more critically aware, more visually literate constituency for architecture…
In contrast, Baird mentioned:
Today criticality is under attack; seen by its critics as obsolete, as irrelevant, and/or as inhibiting design creativity (2004, p.1).
The aesthetic experience in architecture is based on the perception of the qualities of the work of architecture. Our most concentrated perceptions of works of architecture are our quality of aesthetic experiences. The term aesthetics was coined by the German philosopher and educator, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, (born July 17, 1714 in Berlin, Prussia/ Germany died May 26, 1762 in Frankfurt an der Oder) who established then the aesthetic discipline as a distinct field of philosophical inquiry (Ziff 2000). Baumgarten believed the aesthetic value of a work of art could be determined by its ability to produce vivid experiences in its audience. This essay will focus on the understanding of aesthetic implications in the work of architecture based on: The relevance of aesthetics in architecture; The relationship between work of architecture and that of art; The query whether aesthetics should be absolute or relative; and The interpretation of aesthetics in some contemporary works of architecture.
The quote of Louis Sullivan; ‘Form (ever) follows function’ shows the importance attributed to aesthetics in a design. It is necessary then to start by defining what Baumgarten meant by the term aesthetics. In the same perspective, Leath argued:
Art does not exist independently of the experience of art. Aesthetics, then, is the study of all
„Urgent questions which confront the architect are indeed philosophical questions‟ (Scruton 1979). In the letter of Goldberg (2003), criticism in architecture is considered as an audience guide to appreciate good design:
The purpose of architecture criticism in the general media is to create a better educated more critically aware, more visually literate constituency for architecture…
In contrast, Baird mentioned:
Today criticality is under attack; seen by its critics as obsolete, as irrelevant, and/or as inhibiting design creativity (2004, p.1).
The aesthetic experience in architecture is based on the perception of the qualities of the work of architecture. Our most concentrated perceptions of works of architecture are our quality of aesthetic experiences. The term aesthetics was coined by the German philosopher and educator, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, (born July 17, 1714 in Berlin, Prussia/ Germany died May 26, 1762 in Frankfurt an der Oder) who established then the aesthetic discipline as a distinct field of philosophical inquiry (Ziff 2000). Baumgarten believed the aesthetic value of a work of art could be determined by its ability to produce vivid experiences in its audience. This essay will focus on the understanding of aesthetic implications in the work of architecture based on: The relevance of aesthetics in architecture; The relationship between work of architecture and that of art; The query whether aesthetics should be absolute or relative; and The interpretation of aesthetics in some contemporary works of architecture.
The quote of Louis Sullivan; ‘Form (ever) follows function’ shows the importance attributed to aesthetics in a design. It is necessary then to start by defining what Baumgarten meant by the term aesthetics. In the same perspective, Leath argued:
Art does not exist independently of the experience of art. Aesthetics, then, is the study of all
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