From left to right, Trevor Boddy, FRAIC, Marco Polo, FRAIC, Shawn Micallef, Da-vid Theodore, MRAIC, and Sarah Gelbard take the stage at Pop Can Crit.
What?s the state of architecture criticism in Canada" Have bloggers taken the place of journalists" How does social media affect the craft of criticism" Can a scathing review affect the outcome of a project"
These questions swirled through the amphitheatre of Carleton University?s School of Architecture last month, in a gathering that brought together architecture critics (including this editor) and students from across the country for the day-long Pop Can Crit symposium.
Just as art, dance and theatre critics are becoming scarce, Canada has few full-time journalists writing about architecture. But Alex Bozikovic of the Globe and Mail, one of the rare salaried architecture critics, argued that the ?crisis of architecture criticism? is an illusion. The Bilbao Effect and the proliferation of such sites as ArchDaily have vastly broadened the availability of architectural imagery. As a result, there are more people talking about buildings, and as Bozikovic put it, ?When people talk, we all win.? The quality and depth of that conversation is another matter, though. Sophie Gironnay, who used to write an architecture column in Le Devoir and now heads the Maison de l?architecture du Québec, championed a higher level of discussion. ?What I consider my job is to fight against ugliness,? she said. She pointed to the ...