The Crit

The architectural crit, review or jury is a cornerstone of architectural education around the world. Students defend their ideas, drawings, and models in open forum before staff and fellow students. What academic staff see as healthy creative debate, students see as hostile confrontation, an ego-trip for staff and humiliation for them. This accessible and readable book, written by students and illustrated by telling cartoons, guides them through this academic minefield with creative humour. It provides practical advice based on experience of many recent students and draws on recent experimentation at Sheffield University and De Montfort University Leicester. The aim is twofold: first to suggest how to get the most out of the traditional experience and second, to describe ways in which this is being developed into an experience that will be more constructive and prepare future students to build more creative relationships with clients and users, and across the industry. While much has been written about the crit, review, or jury, little has been done to prepare students for it or to develop it in the light of changing professional attitudes and relationships.
This book is a timely guide to a timeless experience in a changing profession.