Do the categories we use to organize our thoughts merely reflect our values, or do they shape them? Both, perhaps. Just for fun, here are the categories established by 1) an exhibition; 2) an awards program; 3) a theory anthology; and 4) an accrediting board.
1) from At the End of the Century: 100 Years of Architecture
Grand Plans at the Turn of the Century
Colonialism in the Early Twentieth Century: Manifestos for a New World
Visions of a New Order
Modern Learning and Living at the Bauhaus
The Rational Kitchen
Minimum Versus Maximum Houses
The Garden City and the New Town
“World Of Tomorrow”: the Future of Transportation, the Politics of Monumentality
Devastation and Reconstruction
Creation of New Capitals
Modernism at Mid-Century
The Architecture of Ecology
Structural Expressionism
The Rise of Theory
The Edge of Utopia
Culture of Spectacle
Mass-Produced Housing After World War II
The House As an Aesthetic Laboratory
The Skyscraper
2) from the 2000 AIACC Awards Program
Affordable Housing
Historic Preservation
Design
Firm
Outstanding Individual Achievement (Maybeck Award)
Allied Professions
Community Housing Assistance
Community Planning and Design
Corporate Architect
Excellence in Education
Research and Technology
Public Service
Nature in the Built Environment (Nathaniel A. Owings Award)
Lifetime Achievement
3) from Kate Nesbitt’s Theorizing a New Agenda: an Anthology of Architectural Theory, 1965-1995 (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996)
Phenomenology
Aesthetic of the Sublime
Linguistic Theory
Marxism
Feminism
History and Historicism
Meaning
Place
Urban Theory
Political and Ethical Agendas
The Body
Typology
The School of Venice
Nature and Site
Critical Regionalism
Tectonic Expression
4) from the National Architectural Accrediting Board’s 1998 Conditions and Procedures for Professional Degree Programs in Architecture
Verbal and Writing Skills
Graphic Skills
Research Skills
Critical Thinking Skills
Fundamental Design Skills
Collaborative Skills
Human Behavior
Human Diversity
Use of Precedents
Western Traditions
Non-Western Traditions
National and Regional Traditions
Environmental Conservation
Accessibility
Site Conditions
Formal Ordering Systems
Structural Systems
Environmental Systems
Life-Safety Systems
Building Envelope Systems
Building Service Systems
Building Systems Integration
Legal Responsibilities
Building Code Compliance
Building Materials and Assemblies
Building Economics and Cost Control
Detailed Design Development
Technical Documentation
Comprehensive Design
Program Preparation
The Legal Context of Architecture Practice
Practice Organization and Management
Contracts and Documentation
Professional Internship
Architects’ Leadership Roles
The Context of Architecture
Ethics and Professional Judgment
Originally published 1st quarter 2001, in arcCA 01.1, “Awarding Honor.”
