A New Model for Criticism

New Models is a lecture series that invites practitioners from different disciplines to discuss how their work can change the models around which society is organised. These conversations will address how we can shift power structures, socio-economic forces and structural inequalities present in society today to give us new tools to rethink the world around us.​

Throughout history, the solitary critic-writer has played an important role in championing thoughtful design and holding built environment professionals to account. While possessing this power to challenge the status quo, the architecture critic can also ensure its continuation. That is, if anyone still reads architectural criticism these days.

Indeed, a radical expansion and reimagination of architectural criticism has been long overdue. In times such as these, criticism must understand the power of words but also move beyond them.

Who gets to be a critic? How can criticism become a form of critical action? Can criticism be collaborative? These are some of the topics Afterparti members Marwa, Thomas, Siufan and Aoi will explore, in addition to sharing some of the work Afterparti is doing to embody this new model of criticism.

Founded in 2019, Afterparti is a collective of architects, curators and writers interested in exploring ideas of equity in the city. Through a self-published magazine, critical writing, events and collaborations, Afterparti advocates for new models of practice by engaging underrepresented voices in the built environment. The next magazine issue of Afterparti will be For the Love of Power (Issue 01) forthcoming in 2022.

Siufan Adey works collaboratively across film, publishing and curation. She is currently studying MA Research Architecture at Goldsmiths with Forensic Architecture, and researching East London’s lost Chinatown for Open City. Before starting her MA, Siufan was a producer at Dezeen and her writing has appeared in galdem, Sound Advice’s Now You Know and V&A Magazine among other places.

Thomas Aquilina is a London-based architect and academic invested in building communities of radical thought and progressive practice. He is co-director of the New Architecture Writers programme, associate lecturer at London Metropolitan University and tutor at The LSA. As a Design Researcher in Residence at the Design Museum, Thomas is investigating a local understanding of spatial justice in London.

Marwa El Mubark is an architect and design critic working in London. She is a studio tutor at the Kingston School of Art, and is interested in raising the cultural visibility and influence of design criticism through research, writing and built work. Her writing has appeared in ICON, Wallpaper* and the Architectural Review, amongst other print journals and publications.

Aoi Phillips received her Diploma from the AA and currently works as an architectural designer at Lisa Shell Architects. She balances architectural practice with graphic design and university teaching, devising the graphic identity of Afterparti and delivering guest seminars at Central Saint Martins and Greenwich University. Aoi is also collaborating on the RE-SET-GO programme and ARUP Foresight initiative.

Image: Afterparti Zine Issue 00 © Afterparti