Critical Tools

The role of criticism and critical thought in architecture has recently been at the centre of a heated controversy, notably in the context of what has been called "the post-criticality debate." A radically-argued challenge to the assumption that architectural theory – or even practice – should build upon critical theory and be critical itself has provoked in return a fierce defence of the role of critical thought. Evidence of this was the strong response to the call for papers that led to this volume. The aim of NeTHCA's "Critical Tools / Outils de la Critique" colloquium, held in Brussels in April 2003, was to address the locus and conditions of critical thought, the possibilities for a critical practice and the nature of the tools, spaces and actors that are crucial for architectural critique.

The volume is co-edited by Jean-Louis Genard and Hilde Heynen, chairs of the 2003 colloquium, with Tahl Kaminer, and includes contributions by Pierre Bourlier, Pierre Chabard, Lilian Chee / Bobby Wong, Michiel Dehaene, Bernard Deprez, Laurent Devisme, Sandra Kaji-O'Grady / Jan Smitheram, Andrew Leach, Luigi Manzione, Ana Miljacki, Véronique Patteeuw, Jane Rendell, and Chris Younès, as well as an interview with the artist Jimmy Durham by Koen Van Synghel.
This is the third in a series of proceedings of NeTHCA colloquia published in collaboration with La Lettre Volée, Brussels. Series Editors: Hilde Heynen and David Vanderburgh.