Cultural criticism is an occupation as serious as the work of an actor or a comedian. No society can do without it without suffering an internal process of fatal contraction. Neither can architecture, a discipline that suffers—perhaps more than most—from the pressures of political and economic powers, as well as the prejudices of the public and architects themselves. With the same insistence that people speak of the 'death of the novel,' some critics and historians frequently revisit the tropes of the 'death of architecture' and the 'death of criticism.' These are bad times for criticism. Yet it is precisely the threatened state of the discipline—the fact that it finds itself in a 'crisis' that will lead either to its death or to its revitalization—that opens the door to reflecting on it without prejudice.

This book compiles a record of writings, projects, and works completed by Juan Ignacio Baixas and Enrique del Río between 1968 and 2018—fifty years of continuous professional practice, remarkable in its integrity. It presents a broad repertoire that spans the full range of architectural scales, covering everything from furniture design to houses, buildings, and urban neighborhoods, all executed using the same method, with equal rigor and responsibility.

Does everything really deserve to be published and preserved? Or perhaps we publish out of an anxiety to insert ourselves into a larger history, with the vague hope that the future will take notice of what we do today? The excess of publications must be weighed against the mathematical impossibility that everything is worthwhile. Naturally, this includes us. In this age of suspicion, as defined by Boris Groys, criticism—and above all, self-criticism—is an intellectual duty. This is the spirit that frames this 100th issue of ARQ. For despite the urge to celebrate, we could not help but ask ourselves: what are we celebrating? Mere survival?

While infrastructure is a prerequisite for any modern notion of "civilization," we rarely notice how much we depend on it. Perhaps the fact that we only interact with its interfaces makes it go unnoticed, to the point that we only remember its existence when it fails or when, at the end of the month, we have to pay the bill.

No era has built as much or had to accommodate as large a population as ours. Furthermore, no other era has had so many architects. Today, everything seems to be massive: catastrophes, hunger, wealth, migration, production, trends, or cities.

This issue of ARQ attempts to articulate the complexity of the concept of "value."

This issue of ARQ presents a broad critical discussion on the supposed neutrality of instruments. This emphasis is evident in the conversation between Andrés Jaque and Enrique Walker, in the texts by Zeynep Çelik Alexander, Ignacio G. Galán, and Gonzalo Carrasco, as well as in the debate surrounding the Promotion Law, which seeks to support architecture produced in Chile through a legal instrument. Furthermore, it explores a territory where architecture can make a contribution: the creation of instruments.

As both a problem and a design tool, the reference has been a recurring theme in architecture. Furthermore, recent discussions regarding copyright have brought this notion back to the forefront, necessitating a conceptual update, which serves as the focus of this 95th issue of ARQ.

In this issue of ARQ, the heterogeneous and incoherent nature of "imaginaries" is presented in its full breadth. The house by Fake Industries Architectural Agonism and Aixopluc, the pedagogical proposal by Beals Lyon, the projects by Hevia and Urzúa, the house by Alarcón, and the research by Soffia all explore the concept of the imaginary as a collection of references. The review of existing imaginaries and their impact on how we understand the city, the territory, or even the market, is addressed in the texts by Encinas and Tironi, Méndez and Ramírez, as well as in the work of Peliowski. Meanwhile, the creation of new imaginaries is explored in the text by Valenzuela and in the proposals by Ferrando and Tudor, Brandlhuber+ Emde and Burlon, Izquierdo, Pérez, and Arancibia and Casals. Finally, the discovery of those imaginaries that remain hidden in plain sight is analyzed in the interviews with Metahaven and Lambert, as well as in the text by Alonso and Palmarola.

Mindful of our mission to promote new territories of knowledge, in this issue of ARQ, we have focused on presenting architectural explorations of new grounds—whether through projects, essays, or research—publishing a range of readings and critical inquiries into a subject that, despite its age, is far from exhausted.

It was Vasari who, in the 16th century, accustomed us to reading the history of architecture through the careers of great artists—exceptional figures whose talent elevated various art forms to the superior state we still recognize today by Vasari’s own term: the Renaissance. It is not difficult to identify in this the seeds of a way of writing history—and, by extension, of understanding the very tradition of architecture—based on so-called "masters," figures whose oeuvre defines the range of possibilities within an institutionalized system of knowledge we commonly call a "discipline."

Emaar Development is hosting an International Open Design competition for the Design of The Landmark at the heart of the ambitious new world-class mixed-use waterfront development Dubai Creek Harbour. The Development is a 5.6 Million sqm site and is expected to have 48,500 residential units with a population of 175,000 residents, when completed.

To launch the 2nd Instituto Tomie Ohtake Leroy Merlin Design Award, the "Contemporary Design" debate will be held on May 16 at 7:00 PM.

BRIEF

If skylines around the world are looking too much the same, is this because the new and important buildings are done by the big names (designers) from far away and not by the locals or the opposite is true? Not only skyscrapers but, museums, civic center, concert halls, bridges, libraries, opera houses all give cities part of their identity.

Videos

The Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) is welcoming applications for the international summer school — 2019 EKA Summer Academy of Art, Design and Architecture – Possible Futures! Application deadline: 26 May.

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The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) is pleased to inform you about the launch of Global Summer School 2019 - Becoming, 12th edition of the international summer educational program about the future of our cities, that will take place in Barcelona and in other nodes worldwide simultaneously from the 1st to the 14th of July 2019.

In 2017, the Portland Society for Architecture (PSA) asked citizens and visitors to provide their vision of Portland on blank maps of the city. PSA distributed these maps as a tool to encourage civic engagement in defining Portland. The completed maps offer unique perspectives and insight into how the city might grow and flourish.

Admission: FREE
Grand Prize: $1,000
Deadline: June 30 11:59PM PST
Winner Announced: July 31, 2019

BRIEF
On the evening of April 15th, 2019 the world held its breath as the Notre-Dame Cathedral was engulfed in flames. A few hours after the fire begun, the centuries-old cathedral had lost its entire roof, spire, and was severely damaged by the flames. Thankfully it was not completely destroyed and many priceless artifacts from the interior were saved.