The International Committee of Architectural Critics (french: Comité International des Critiques d'Architecture, es, Comité Internacional de Críticos de Arquitectura - CICA) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

of international

architecture critics Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, and was founded in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

on October 26, 1978, during the 13th World Kongress of the

Union internationale des architectes The International Union of Architects (French: ''Union internationale des Architectes''; UIA) is the only international non-governmental organization that represents the world's architects, now estimated to number some 3.2 million in all. About ...

(UIA). The CICA is headquartered nearby the UIA in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Paris was also the residence of Pierre Vago, who was head of the organization for years. The seat of the secretary was originally located in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, residence of

Jorge Glusberg Jorge Glusberg (23 September 1932 – 2 February 2012) was an Argentine author, publisher, curator, professor, and conceptual artist. Early life and education Glusberg was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When he was 12 years old Glusberg org ...

, but can be transferred per decret to any other place worldwide according to the residence of the chairmen. Founding members of the CICA were Pierre Vago,

Bruno Zevi Bruno Zevi (22 January 1918 – 9 January 2000) was an Italian architect, historian, professor, curator, author, and editor. Zevi was a vocal critic of "classicizing" modern architecture and postmodernism. Early life Zevi was born and died in ...

, Max Blumenthal, Mildred Schmertz, Blake Huges, Jorge Glusberg, ,

Julius Posener Julius Posener (4 November 1904, Lichterfelde – 29 January 1996, Berlin) was a German architectural historian, author and higher education teacher. Coming from a bourgeois-Jewish background, son of the painter Moritz Posener and a daughter of th ...

and others.

CICA awards

All awards of the association were originally called CICA Award. Since 2003 they have been named after the foundation members. The ''CICA Book Award'' was the first award of the CICA and was awarded at the 14th UIA World Congress in 1981. CICA special awards were awarded to the

China Architecture & Building Press China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(CABP) and to

Springer-Verlag Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in ...

for the ''"World Architecture: A Critical Mosaic 1900-2000"'' series. ;Selected prize winners in alphabetical order: * ARK, The Finnish Architectural Review (Finland); ''CICA Pierre Vago Award for Architectural Journalism 2003'' *

Marco Casagrande Marco Casagrande (born 7 May 1971) is a Finnish architect, environmental artist, architectural theorist, former mercenary, writer and professor of architecture. He graduated from Helsinki University of Technology department of architecture (2001 ...

; for conceptual and artistic architecture
- ''Premios Bienal de Arquitectura y CICA'' Buenos Aires International Biennial of Architecture *

Alan Colquhoun Alan Harold Colquhoun (27 June 1921 – 13 December 2012) was an English architect, historian, critic and teacher. Biography Colquhoun was born in Eton, Buckinghamshire on 27 June 1921 and attended Bradfield School. He went on to study architect ...

Roger Connah Roger Connah (born Chester England) is a writer, and independent scholar based in Ruthin, North Wales, and has taught for over three decades in Finland, India, Pakistan, Sweden, Canada, and the United States. He is currently professor of architec ...

William Curtis William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum. Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural his ...

Arthur Drexler Arthur Justin Drexler (13 March 1925 – 16 January 1987) was a museum curator and director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for 35 years. Life Drexler was born in Brooklyn and attended the High School of Music and Art, and The Cooper Union st ...

; first winner of the ''CICA Award for a Preface or Introduction to an Exhibition Catalogue'' *

Elizabeth Farrelly Dr Elizabeth Margaret Farrelly (born Dunedin, New Zealand), is a Sydney-based author, architecture critic, essayist, columnist and speaker who was born in New Zealand but later became an Australian citizen. She has contributed to current debates ...

Geoffrey Jellicoe Sir Geoffrey Allan Jellicoe (8 October 1900 – 17 July 1996) was an English architect, town planner, landscape architect, garden designer, landscape and garden historian, lecturer and author. His strongest interest was in landscape and garden ...

* James Marsden Fitch and

Kenneth Frampton Kenneth Brian Frampton (born 20 November 1930) is a British architect, critic and historian. He is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, New York. He has be ...

; first winners of the ''CICA Prize for Journalism'' * Heinrich Klotz *

David Leatherbarrow David Leatherbarrow is Professor of Architecture and Chair of the Graduate Group in Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, Philadelphia, where he has taught since 1984. He received his B.Arch. from the University of Kentu ...

; ''CICA Bruno Zevi Book Award'' * Mohsen Mostafavi; ''CICA Bruno Zevi Book Award'' *

Manfredi Nicoletti Manfredi Nicoletti (16 June 1930 – 29 October 2017) was an Italian architect. Biography Nicoletti is considered a pioneer in Bioclimatic urban and architectural design. In the 1970s his book ''L'ecosistema urbano'' (The Urban Ecosystem) - a t ...

; first winner of the ''CICA Book Award'' * OASE journal (Netherlands); ''CICA Pierre Vago Award for Architectural Journalism 2011'' * Terence Riley/

Barry Bergdoll Barry Bergdoll is Meyer Schapiro Professor of art history in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University and from 2007 to 2019 a curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, ...

; ''CICA Julius Posener Award 2003 for an architectural exhibition catalogue text'' * Laura P. Spinadel; "CICA Urban planning Award 2015"

References

{{Authority control Architecture organizations International organizations based in France Critics associations Organizations based in Paris 1978 establishments in France