School of Architecture

"Critique" is a crucial characteristic of human societies, not only distinguishing humans from non-humans but also differentiating between various societies. It is challenging to imagine a dynamic human society striving for growth and development in diverse fields, such as architecture, without critique. Today, given the role of human thoughts and ideas in it, "criticism" can serve various functions, including description, judgment, interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and reading of works, following the examination or study of an intellectual work or social phenomenon whose product is an artwork. This differs from classical criticism, which merely focused on binary comparisons and functional elements. In academic architecture education, "criticism" has always been considered one of the most fundamental "tools" and one of the most important "goals" of architectural education. In some cases, it has also sought to establish itself as the "subject" of architectural education. The study, examination, and the educational metacriticism (critique of architectural criticism education) can provide a suitable platform for reflection and revision of the patterns and methods of teaching architectural criticism as an educational "goal" or "tool". This research, in the sense of metacriticism, by examining theories shaped by the changing perspective on the role and function of "criticism" in architecture, from "judgment" to "reading" of architecture and sometimes a skill serving the design process and categorizing the principles, approaches, and methods of architectural criticism, seeks to enhance the role of "criticism" in architectural education by reflecting on the foundations and theoretical bases of "teaching criticism" with the intention of explaining "patterns of teaching criticism".