Hélène Jannière’s text extends the notion of criticism to the realm of architecture exploring architecture criticism as an object of research. Starting from its double origins in both philosophy and aesthetics, Jannière examines the various conceptions of architecture criticism and reveals how its meanings were accumulated through centuries, referring both to several distinct conceptions of the word and to diverse domains of application. Interesting in her approach is the disclosure of the opposition between an ‘autonomous’ criticism on the one hand, embedded within the discipline of architecture itself, and, on the other a criticism grappling with art criticism and its social functions.