The meaning of 'That is architecture'

From our free online course, “The Architectural Imagination”:

Professor K. Michael Hays introduces a module on Aldo Rossi by considering what the “that” refers to in Adolf Loos's famous quotation, “That is architecture.”


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[alexmullins]

I really enjoyed the video! I thought there was a lot of depth to what Loos said here. It is often harder to simplify things than to complicate them, and I think he did a fine job of simplification.

[dagwould]

Well, Loos was about as deep as a puddle. Architecture is the human/social activity of making socially meaningful shelter. It produces buildings. We can have fine buildings, great buildings, important buildings and horrible buildings. But we don't award architecture as a badge of superiority. That is sheer tendentiousness.