Architectural Design

1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: PD0710-67/

Chapter 1 final_.qxd:layouts to chapter one 7/23/10 8:51 PM Page 18

Critic Unresolved

Meaning Needs more work

Critic Interesting

Meaning Strange (not fatally flawed but certainly not

making sense yet. I don’t want to de-rail your

progress though)

Critic Consider

Meaning Needs more thought: try this possible solution/

direction...

Critic Powerful

Meaning A very good idea expressed in a compelling way

Critic Inventive

Meaning I wish I’d thought of that!

Interpretation of some common terms used by architects during crits

The design studio

Architectural education

Assessment

Reviews, also known as crits, happen at various stages

of a project. These are normally either informal pin-ups or

formal interim and final reviews. The format is flexible and

capable of taking many forms. However, the most common

is for students to pin up their work, display their models

and present their work verbally to a panel of reviewers

and students. It is important to plan a convincing verbal

presentation in order to communicate the project fully in

the time allocated.

In a formal review, you may be asked to provide written

comments reflecting on the review and will often be given

written feedback and/or formal assessment afterwards.

Designers need to be skilled in making critical judgements

in order to make design decisions and reviews are a way to

reveal the reasoning behind reviewers’ judgements, allowing

you to develop your own critical judgement. Different

architects will voice contradictory opinions about the same

piece of work and the discussion helps everyone to explore

the reasons behind this.

It is especially important to be well rested the night before

a review to be in the best frame of mind to view work

objectively and to learn from the techniques and ideas

of peers. It can be difficult to be on the receiving end of

criticism, especially after putting so much thought and effort

into a project; however, even the best project can still be

improved upon. Feedback will focus on evaluation, the

identification of areas to be improved and suggestions for

how this could be achieved.

1st ProofTitle: BA: Architectural Design

Job No: PD0710-67/

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