Damn Critics!

***Dubbelgymnasiet*** (2020), Leth & Gori , ***Sak nr 20200814/1200/ - etterforskning av katedral för en ny tid*** (2020), Kaleiddoscope and ***Tectonic Objects*** (2020), Tham & Videgård in **Jävla kritiker**. Photo: ROM

Six architecture critics from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark have written critiques of six imaginary architectural projects. They have used their own imagination as a starting point for critical reflection. Each critique has been handed over to an architecture firm, which responds to the criticism by giving form to the critic's world of ideas through drawings, models, and audiovisual means.

Curators: Anders Rubing (NO), Morten Birk Jørgensen (DK) og Andrea Ougaard (DK)

Critics: Ylva Frid (SE), Rasmus Wærn (SE), Mari Hvattum (NO), Gaute Brochmann (NO), Martin Søberg (DK) og Sara Ettrup (DK).

Architecture firms: Jonathan Houser (DK), Krupinski Krupinska (SE), Tham & Videgård Arkitekter (SE), Kaleidoscope (NO), Leth & Gori (DK), og Element (NO)

***Sak nr 20200814/1200/ - etterforskning av katedral för en ny tid*** (2020), Kaleiddoscope, ***Tectonic Objects*** (2020), Tham & Videgård and ***The Plot*** (2020), Krupinski / Krupinska Arkitekter in **Jävla kritiker**. Photo: ROM

***Sections and fractions*** (2020), Element and ***Tre forsøg på at give form til et hus å vandre*** (2020), Jonathan Houser in **Jävla kritiker**. Photo: ROM

ROM is proud to be the collaborative arena for the Scandinavian project when it launches in 2020. Architects Anders Rubing (NO), Morten Birk Jørgensen (DK), and Andrea Ougaard (DK) have taken the initiative for what they call an experiment or investigation, with the goal of establishing a conversation about the conditions of Scandinavian architectural criticism and, not least, strengthening networks and dialogue among the architectural communities in the different countries. The concept - and the title - is strongly inspired by the Swedish record label NONS' similar stunt in 2006: The company asked ten music critics to write reviews of ten songs that had not yet been created by their favorite artists. Then the company asked these artists to create the criticized songs. The result was a compilation album that sparked a debate about the role of the critic and the relationship between the critic and artistic freedom.

The project begins with the six critiques and evolves through the architecture firms into an investigation of six experiments, which will be presented and discussed at exhibition venues in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The project's temporal and geographical movement facilitates ongoing explorations and dimensions to the question of the significance of criticism.

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