Quality: An international architecture conference (4-6 July 2007) will be held at the Welsh School of Architecture in Cardiff, Wales, UK.

Variously controlled, assured and managed, ‘quality’ has become ubiquitous in Western societies. In consequence, the word’s familiar usage has grown slippery. Formerly grounded in ethical values or skilled craftsmanship, ‘quality’ is now commonly associated with the management of administrative or technical
processes. Whereas the appreciation of quality was founded in the exercise of individual judgement and taste – of connoisseurship – organisations now seek to ground its assessment in supposedly objective systems of evaluation. Practitioners are under pressure to quantify quality, but it remains questionable whether it is possible or even desirable to do so. This important and highly topical issue will lie at the
heart of these proceedings.

The conference will consider how – in cultural practices, in making and designing, in emerging technologies and in education – ‘quality’ is defined and appreciated, managed and produced.

Abstracts of 300 words are invited on any topic relating to notions of ‘quality’ in architecture or related fields. These should be submitted for refereeing by 1st November 2006. Additional information can be found on the conference website, which may be accessed at http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/archi/quality