Surviving the Architecture Crit

CREDIT: Photo: Amanda Moore

What is a crit?

An architecture ‘crit’ or critique is an opportunity to present your project to a wider audience, a panel made up of tutors, professional architects and also your peers.
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What is it for?

A crit is often not a formal part of the grading process although it may give an indication of where your project currently sits in terms of assessment. A crit should provide an opportunity to have a discussion with a wider circle of people than your tutors and receive feedback to help you develop your project further.

Here are some tips in preparing for your architecture crit:
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Pin up a page for each part of your design concept

Each part of your idea such as site analysis, research related to the brief, orientation of the building, materials, and massing should have at least one sheet on the wall dedicated to it.
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Work smart

Don’t spend time doing dozens of sections or dozens of plans. Make sure that each part of your idea is represented as above. If you are short on time, use your model by lighting it and photographing it from different internal and external viewpoints.
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Keep your presentation concise

Every project doesn’t need a long starting analysis of where the sun rises and sets. Everyone already knows that and it is a given that the building would be designed with this in mind. Filter your work and pull out the more poignant aspects of the site and project. You could even include a sheet on the wall with a list of the main bullet points about your project.
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Don’t read out your presentation

If there is a clear order to your sheets you should shouldn’t need to read out information. You know your project better than anyone else and the sheets should help provide cues.
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Don’t worry about negative feedback

This is a hard one. The crit isn’t necessarily part of the grading process. It should be there to provide objective feedback to help you improve your project. Try to not take it personally and attend the whole day so that you can compare your feedback to that of your peers.
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Think about the main things you want to get from the crit

You may have questions you’ve been asking yourself about your project in the run-up. Write them down in your notebook and use the crit as a chance to discuss with the panel.
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Practice your presentation

Do a run-through to time your presentation and use a friend or family member who isn’t an architect. The presentation should be clear enough that a non-architect can understand what you’re talking about.
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Ask a friend to take notes

It can be hard to remember references and other information given by members of the crit panel when you are presenting. You may also remember more of the negative comments than positive ones.
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Act professionally

Dressing relatively smartly and addressing the crit panel goes a long way. Don’t treat them as if they were a firing squad. Move around and take them through drawings and models. Also, start your presentation by telling them what your project is and the site location before going into the ‘journey’.

Get some sleep

Working until 3am and turning up unwashed and drowsy is going to distract from your work and result in a poor verbal presentation.

​Good Luck!