ARCHITECTURE CRITS |1| What is an Architecture Crit?
This post is the first in our series on Architecture Critiques & Reviews.
You can explore the rest of the series here.
It's nearing the end of the University semester, which means wherever you are, if you're an architecture student, you're probably preparing for presentations, reviews, juries or 'final crits'. This time of year looks like epic production, crazy schedules, and getting creative with your presentations. But the closer it gets to your presentation date, the more it means one thing: nerves.
I've been preparing a series of posts to help you step-by-step prepare for, and get the most value out of your crit - and hopefully, help you get those nerves into line along the way!
To warm us into it, in this post I'm going to cover the age old question that prospective architecture students, parents, and friends-of-architecture-students want to know:
What is a 'crit', exactly?!
And even for those of us who are well versed in the art of the 'crit', sometimes a little reminder of the bigger picture doesn't hurt. If you think you've got it covered, feel free to skip this post and jump back in when we cover how to prepare for your crit, crit etiquette, how to respond to criticism and questions, and what to do after your crit to make it super valuable for you!
But first up, in this post, let's jump into:
What a crit is;
Why we do them at architecture school;
When you can expect to be involved in one;
Who takes part, and the roles they play; and
How a crit plays out.
What is a crit?
The architecture school 'crit' is notoriously difficult to describe to those who haven't experienced it. I can't think of any one description I've heard that accurately captures the excitement, nervousness, pride, fear, and learning that is tied up in this one moment.
At architecture school, a crit is your opportunity to present your work, and to receive feedback on it.
Crits - or their counterparts - are a consistent feature of architecture schools worldwide. They are usually tied to 'studio' or 'design' courses, but aspects of them are often carried through into other courses as well.
In essence, crit, review, presentation and jury are all different terms for the same process. 'Crit' is short for 'critique'. Unfortunately, this word has underlying negative connotations - and many students assume they will have to endure negative criticisms. The term 'jury' isn't much better, as it makes it seem like you're 'on trial' or waiting to be 'found guilty' of your errors.
Critique: it's not all negative!
If you think about the actual definition of critique, you'll quickly realise it's not meant to be all negative.
“Ultimately, critics are there to help you become a better designer. ”
The term 'critique' originally referred to a piece of writing that criticised - i.e. provided a considered opinion or judgement on - a literary or artistic work. In this vein, any judgement you make about an architectural work - good or bad - can be considered as a criticism. It's not just about expressing disapproval, but about offering an opinion, alternatives, or seeing things in a different light.
It's also important to remember that a critique isn't personal. It's not an evaluation of your worth as a human being. It is only a criticism of the work you have presented.
So about those horror stories...
You might have heard horror stories about crits...and if you have - I'm sorry! The worst thing you can do for yourself is listen to them. Usually, these situations are a combination of:
the critic not understanding the point of criticism, and providing mainly negative, sometimes useless, and often outright inconsiderate comments (this is often their problem, not yours);
the presenter (you) taking things personally, and perhaps getting defensive in response...which can in turn lead to the critic responding even more negatively.
Why do we do crits
at architecture school?
Crits are a firmly established part of most architecture courses - and for good reason. As they have become embedded in architecture culture, the reasons for doing them, and our understanding of their value has increased.
Here are the 3 main reasons why we do crits at architecture school:
1. Crits help you learn and develop as a designer
“One of the best ways of developing skills to help you to navigate design processes in the future is to engage in critique and reflection.”
Crits offer great potential as a learning tool. Design develops slowly, and it is often difficult to distinguish what's valuable or what has been a good decision until it is presented at the end and the implications beyond the project can be teased out.
Even for the seemingly 'gifted' designers, design is always a process with a degree of uncertainty to it. One of the best ways of developing skills to help you to navigate design processes in the future is to engage in critique and reflection. Taking on board the comments, ideas, or different readings others offer you is one of the best ways to develop your skills as a designer.
Even now, working in the profession, criticism remains one of the key ways I develop my work and thinking. Far from stressing about crits, I now enjoy having 'critical' discussions about design on a daily basis. I'm sure both receiving and learning to offer criticism have been fundamental to my progression as a designer, and to the development of individual projects I've worked on.
2. Crits provide important deadlines & accountability
A 'Final crit' provides a much-needed design deadline, and with it a sense of closure to a project. Without the requirement to present your work, students are more liable to request extensions, or just give up and hand in a sub-par project, knowing it will never be seen.
At the same time, crits often invite community at the end of a project or semester - there's often a sense of celebration. Exhibiting the work during presentation periods allows students to see what has been happening in other parts of the school, in other courses,or just among their peers.
The other thing that always interests me here is the way crits and reviews are often accompanied by an exhibition - a kind of 'making public' of the work. This seems very important in architecture, a profession where, almost by definition, the work you do will be visible in the public sphere and used by a range of people. Being comfortable with offering your skills in public, and being accountable to that level of visibility is a useful but under-rated skill.
3. Crits help you develop you presentation skills - visual and verbal
This is probably the reasoning behind crits that you'll hear most often - that crits 'model' the situation you'll potentially find yourself in in the future, when you need to present your design to a client (and then figure out a way to manage and respond to their feedback when they aren't completely on board with what you've proposed).
And in some ways, this is true. Knowing how to explain your semester's worth of thinking in a concise way, without glossing over key points, is important. Learning how to create drawings and images that communicate your design intent in a professional manner takes time. And figuring out how to develop a narrative and sequence your points so that your audience can not only follow what you're saying, but are nodding along with you, is a skill that will serve you well with clients.
But where crits differ from client presentations is that they are not sales pitches. You aren't trying to convert or get sign off on a particular decision. What you're after is input, comment, and useful ideas and strategies that you can learn from and implement next time.
When will you do a crit?
Crits are usually part of a design course or 'studio' at architecture school,and might happen during and/or at the end of a project.
Crits that happen partway through a project might be referred to as 'interim crits', 'mid-semester crits', or 'des crits'. Those that take place to mark the completion of a project might be called 'final crits' or 'juries'.
final crits
A lot of the discussion about crits centres on the 'final crit.' With this finality comes a large amount of pressure, and students often have stressful time producing the work in the lead-up. As a result, many students aim simply to get through the crit, might feel sick of their projects, and don't put themselves in a great position to learn much from it!
interim crits
In contrast, midterm reviews and interim crits are often more informal, and provide you with the space and time to really think about implementing some of the feedback you've received on your work.
Of course, you can gather and provide feedback at any point in your project - and usually the more you get, the better. Speak to your friends, show your work to you tutor (even when - no, especially when you're unsure about it), and try to find other ways to share your work and get broader feedback on it. This will also make you more prepared to deal with the 'final crit' situation, and to see the comments you get in that situation as part of a broader discussion about your work.
who takes part in a crit?
Any architecture crit, review or presentation needs two different participants:
1. A Presenter
2. An Audience
the presenter
As the presenter, you will present your work, testing and ideas. You can do this either individually or as part of a group.
This is obviously the most stressful and intense role in a crit...which means that you should also take the opportunity - in any 'crit' scenario, to help make the presenter feel as accepted, interesting and supported as possible!
The Audience
An audience can be a small group of 3-4 people, or large gathering. Usually when you're starting out, you'll present in more familiar environments, to people you know and trust. As you develop your skills and confidence, you might present to wider, more learned groups.
Your audience might include:
your peers and fellow students, or members of the wider school,
you tutor, other tutors, lecturers & professors,
architects & other professionals,
clients and user groups.
And, for it to be a true and useful critique, there needs to be some interaction between the two groups! This is where a very special group within the audience comes into play: the critics.
Ultimately, critics are there to help you become a better designer. That might mean offering ways you could make your project better, helping you to articulate things more clearly (or to realise you need to) or even forcing you to think deeply about your own ideas and face some home truths.
But at the end of the day, it's important to realise that these are all people who you can learn from, and who are often also interested in learning from you!
How does a crit work?
The format of a crit can differ widely between projects, schools and continents. It goes without saying that my experience of the crit isn't necessarily representative of the critique culture and processes in architectural education as a whole.
Generally speaking, there are two main categories your crit might fall into:
The informal crit
Usually, an informal crit is more common at the mid-point in a project. You might gather around a table, spread out your drawings and have a group chat. You might pin up rough sketches and get an idea of how your more formal presentation might run.
In informal crits, it's more likely that your tutors will invite your peers and other students to get involved and provide feedback to one another.
The formal crit
In a more formal presentation, you will usually ‘pin up’ your images and stand up in front of rows of seated guests to give a presentation, before taking questions and engaging in conversation with invited 'critics'.
In both cases, the key components of an architecture crit are similar. You will usually:
Be allotted a specific amount of time in which to present;
Present visually (pin up drawings, physical models, on a screen, interactive or 'walk throughs';
Present verbally (give a spoken introduction or explanation of your project, work and thinking).
Receive feedback (the audience might ask questions, offer comments, and discuss ideas or different ways of doing or thinking about things).
You might, but won't necessarily, be marked during the review. This process and expectations around this can vary between architecture schools. In my experience, how 'well' you perceive your crit went doesn't necessarily translate to your final grade - there are a number of other variables (least of all how your critics are feeling!) that come into play.
