In her essay, French architecture critic Françoise Fromonot argues that the specific character of Colquhoun’s approach lies partly in the fact that he is conscious of the weight of every word he puts to paper. As a result, his writings are marked by ‘a clear structure and a sober vocabulary’ and they are ‘sharply defined’. She argues that the decision to write in this specific way, including the absence of any academic jargon, is not so much a value-free gesture as the definite political stand of a critic trying to address a wider audience. It is precisely because of this that Colquhoun’s essays remain references today in the debate about the past, the present and the future of architecture.

In her article French architecture critic Françoise Fromonot examines the almost total inexistence of architecture criticism in France and reflects on her reasons to start a new journal. Her article elucidates both the recent history of some of the most important French architecture journals, combative and critical at one point, turned into commercial projects at present (l’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui and AMC), describing how French architecture journals no longer seek to elucidate design choices and put them in perspective, but tend to promote the achievements of high profile practices, having lost cultural significance. The new journal criticat was founded in optimistic despair, independent and autonomous both financially and content wise, in order to create a place to write and answer the following questions. Can architecture criticism open up some of the questions architecture implies for society at large? What kind of architecture criticism could inhabit the space between ‘within’ and ‘beyond’? How can a publication on architecture be devised that won’t be just an architects’ publication?