People who didn’t attend architectural school don’t understand juries. They don’t realize how difficult it is to stand up in front of a room full of your classmates and professors and “explain” why you designed your project the way you did. “Explain” isn’t really the right word … “defend” might be better.
Depending on the style of the professors, these juries could be brutal and emotionally damaging. I recall one jury in particular from my sophomore year watching one of my classmates walk up to her drawings that were pinned on the wall and prepare to present her work. Before she could open her mouth and utter a single word, one of the jurors – a professor at the university – stood up, walked over to her design and said:
“Let me show you where you f*cked this up”
People sometimes wonder where architects develop their egos, I think it happens as a result of emotional self-preservation.
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In my third semester and I’ve experienced an array of different jurors, different in styles, its so mind boggling on how to even design … One tries to learn from their previous juries but it makes no difference since every juror just has a different intake on design.. So either way I don’t know how this benefiting anyone.. and I agree with a comment posted below .. At the end of the jury after having effectively described your design in the most brief manner .. They fail to see the ‘idea’ but focus and direct the entjre presrntation on how the toilets aren’t the standards. The frustration.. That boisterous egoistic laugh at my design just haunts me in my sleep as well ! Urgh. I sought To find some comfort in this blog after a wrecking jury.. I guess Im begining to feel a bit light headed now.
I m in the first semester of architecture n I don’t know how to present my work in jury and I m freaking out..if anybody can help..I’ll b grateful..!!-
I’ve passed this wonderful discussion on to my 2nd year architect student. She’s a confirmed studio rat and has done well there so far but has seen other students eviscerated during crits. And watching talented kids drop like flies because they come to the conclusion that architecture “isn’t worth it” in their own words. When I read all of the comments I struggle to understand why the educational system thinks that working students to chronic exhaustion, and some to depression and other problems somehow leads to the making of great architects. As someone on the outside of your profession it’s painful to watch.
It’s even more painful on the inside (literally and figuratively)
I never really had a bad Jury, either, but witnessed one that the jurist paused after the presentation, took a deep breath and said, “Have you considered changing your major?” FYI, he was a senior in his last semester.
I personally looked at it as character building and preparing us for that bad client. I also witnessed a couple of bad clients, too. One looked at the designer after the presentation and said, “The design sucks.” The designer tried to defend it, but the client followed up, “Don’t defend it, just go back and start over. It sucks”. FYI, he lost the project. The second one was when the client was reviewing the model that was built (huge model that filled a room) he went on a tirade about how the design was not what he wanted and started tearing apart the model along with taking out a sharpie pen to cross out what he could not rip off the model without completely destroying it. That project died that week and the client sold the property for a huge profit.
Juries teach us to read our audience and think on our feet. I can justify almost anything and sound convincing while doing so – life lessons the UTSOA taught me. I never had a terrible jury but witnessed a few including one where, after presenting her project, the first words out of our professor’s mouth was, “Well, I think this fails miserably.” That pretty much set the tone and it went downhill from there, terminating with my fellow student, steam coming out of her ears, turning around and marching out the door during the professor’s ongoing diatribe. Um, awkward.
Call me crazy, but I love presenting. I usually blackout…. Um yeah.
Richard Swallow said my design was clunky. oh well, it was drafted well.
well, there you go! Always look for the positive
4th year design studio inspired us with a intra-class competition where visiting jurors would anonymously evaluate and judge the “Best Design” among 60 of us. All the students could sit and watch, but remain voiceless as the designs were evaluated strictly on face-value of the drawings before the jurors. For the first time ever, I designed something strictly modern, even rendering it in monochromatic pen and ink, where before then, Prismacolor pencils were my preferred medium. I liked my drawings and loved my design… as I have with all my work. One juror, a male interior designer, spoke up first when my boards were placed before him. “If I had to spend any time in this building, I think I would put a bullet in my brain.” I stood up and left, not caring to hear any more. I have never designed anything strictly modern ever since.
BTW, long time reader, first time commenter. Love your blog.
Dude, seriously, fuck that! Don’t let people stand in your way like this. It’s you who’s going to be missing out on what could have been, not the fucker who just talked because he wanted to air out his mouth.
That was 25 years ago. I’m over it now. (Actually, I was over it then as my crit apologized for the fucker and gave me an ‘A’ on the design assignment.)
The funniest crit I heard was given to a friend of mine in one of the early semesters. The professor asked “What’s your favorite car?” “Classic Mustang, why?” “OK, take a classic Mustang, put gold plated rims on it, slap some cheesy flame decals, install zebra print felt on the dashboard and paint it hot pink…. that, my friend, sums up your project”
We also had a dynamic in that same class where models that were not up to standard would get smashed to pieces. It was the rest of the students’ job to come up with creative ways to thrash them. Fun times.
as long as it wasn’t one of your models … right?
It did happen to me once… but I kinda expected it was coming. Didn’t really manage my time correctly so I ended rushing the model building.
seems like it could be cathartic but it also seems like it’s a bit like ‘Lord of the Flies’. I don’t think I’d like anyone trashing my model under any circumstance.
First year crit, final for a 3 week project. After the presentation, the only words the professor said to the poor girl was, “sometimes you just need to step back and ask yourself, ”
what the f*** went wrong???””
I always wanted to hook up a vacuum motor to the bottom of my drawing tube so I could just suck my drawings off the board after a bad day
that’s what matches are for
So at the end of a long project where the tutors had been leaning over my shoulder a lot and asking all the right sort of leading questions comes the crit, where the director of Studies says oh so calmly ” You haven’t answered the brief…”
[slapping forehead]
My professor looked at my (very) first model, turned and announced to everyone in the critique that *this represents hours upon hours upon hours of anguish.* I was so proud. From that moment forward, I was able to defend the use of every line, dot, and tree, material, and composition. And still do.
who doesn’t respond positively to positive recognition of effort? I am a believer that honey works better than vinegar and you can always say something positive, even if you have to look for a bit to find it.
First year studio first crit professor says you have two minutes to present your project. One female student stepped in front of the class of 50 students and froze.
The professor let her stand there for two complete minutes of terrified silence. It was one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever seen. She disappeared a few weeks later never to be heard from again.
… yikes.
“Design schools are good, I guess, sometimes I visit schools, but they are very very limiting.” Marc Newson
The point is do what ever it is you have to do, unlearn what is not you, and get on with it.
totally agree – and it’s because I believe this, it’s part of the reason I think most architects don’t really start hitting their stride for quite a while. You have to figure out who you are and what’s important to you, all while designing for someone else.
It’s not easy.
By my second or third semester I learned to tell them what was there, not my intent. Struggling, the night before pin-up I enlisted the help of a more advanced student asking her, “what do you see”. What she saw was my presentation. My own professor went after me with the vengeance of insecure unhappy broken man. The Dean supported his professor. Then the visiting juror stepped in and said, “it’s not finished but it looks to me that he has accomplished what he said.” The whole critique turned around and became positive. Afterward my professor came to and said, “you didn’t fool me, your work is not good.” It wasn’t good. But, if a school’s or professor’s critiques on demoralizing attacks and not teaching they should expect students to defend themselves regardless of the product.
personality clashes aside, as a student I generally put the opinions of the professors above those of a visiting juror. The professor knows what your journey has been and should know what you are attempting to do by the time your presentation comes around. The visiting juror frequently can’t figure out the problem fast enough to know all the intricacies that you are taking on – therefore they typically only speak to the “big idea” … unless you don’t have one. That’s when things turn like a pork sandwich left out in the sun.
Lol so true or the jurors will just smash the crap out of it!
Yeah I’ve seen it happen too. Just when you are at you weakest moment too… Broke, tired, hungry, stressed out, girlfriend mad that you never spend time. Then WHAM! Luckily I was always a studio rat so I never really got a bad crit like that. I always had nice drawings and models too show.
So in the middle of 4th year my roommate got a copy of Adobe premier. A movie making program that was not too hard to learn. From then on I just made a movie for my final crits. A juror would always seem to interrupt at the wrong time and make me lose my train of thought. This way I was able to show them what I wanted in the correct order with no interruptions. Just shut up, turn off the lights, add some music and at the end, “any questions?” Worked like a charm.
…you are right Bob, “they” definitely don’t understand. after standing (or trying to stand) through two degrees (BED and M Arch) worth of these juries, and sitting on juries for my friend’s and peer’s classes myself, I am determined not to continue the “cycle of abuse”!
I personally don’t think there is anything “noble” in enduring or perpetuating this approach, and I promised myself a long time ago that if / when I was ever given the PRIVILEGE of sitting on a jury for architecture or design students, my feedback would be constructive, sincere, and as void (as possible) of grandstanding. This kind of humiliation approach is not a necessary “right of passage” required to become a good architect or designer.
Who is with me??? 🙂
I had a chat about this process years and years ago with Larry Speck who was one of my design professors at the time. He was always incredibly positive when he sat in on juries and he told me at the time that building someone up will ultimately lead to a stronger person and that he always looked for the positives in a persons project.
One of the takeaways from that conversation is this: If your reviewer is not talking about your big idea but is focused on some really small aspect of the project, you’ve missed the mark.
Right on Matt! I’m with you 100%. I think that kind of behavior is inappropriate and unprofessional. I’ve been out of school since ’92 and I still see this kind of behavior in the workplace and I want no part of it. I know I can’t control other people’s thoughts and behavior but I can control mine. I also know that I don’t have to give away so much power to other people’s opinions. The opinion that really matters is my own. How do I feel about my work? And I am my worst critic. So if I keep a genuine open mind, a humble attitude and satisfy my inner critic and I’m usually good to go. Thank you all for sharing. I love the discussion.
we didn’t have juries the way you and others have described. but we did have to present our projects, called a Crit, pinning everything up on the wall, to our professor & classmates, as well as anyone else who happened to pass by. i was very shy, so it was awful for me that first year. but i learned a lot during mine and others’ crits over the years. i was even asked to Crit other students’ work sometimes, so i guess i gave good feedback. i learned that you had to start with an abstract thought or feeling or idea, and your project had to be a physical representation of that, along with being structural and good circulation, etc. Art + Engineering = Architecture. i feel bad for the students who didn’t understand the process – the ones who, instead of arguing or re-explaining or standing up for their work, would just make changes based exactly on the professors’ words.
that last point is something that we discuss a lot whenever we have interns come in through the office. The idea that you own the work and your professor is there to guide you along the way but not actually do the work for you. The analogy is your driving down the road with the professor in the passenger seat. It doesn’t work as well when the prof. has their hand on the steering wheel helping you avoid the potholes.
You need to hit some potholes or you’ll never learn why you need to NOT hit potholes.
I remember once a renowned architect and tutor of mine told the whole crit, that he neeeded a whiskey after explaining in vast details my shortcomings. Feeling pretty low with my self esteem after in the pub he came over, and gave me a pep talk. Those words were and his words after every crit in the pub for the next year were actually defining in the way I developed. What doesn’t breaks your makes you!
I was in that class too.
I think we were all probably in that class
Just remember that abusive professors were abused themselves. they thought that the aggressiveness would toughen us up for the real world.
maybe it worked (except for all the complaining)
Luckily, I am one of those people that doesn’t have any difficulties in talking in front of a bunch of people. Or maybe that’s a bad thing … everything in moderation I suppose
I promise you I never said that to any of my students…does that help?
Well, I only heard that once but it seemed that almost all professors had their moments of exasperation where their vocabulary reflected their mood. What do you think your students would say about you in an anonymous poll? (I have my money down on “terrific hair”)
I’d love to know. The students get a chance to do Faculty Course Evaluations anonymously. Overall I get good comments, but not enough write anything…or anything useful.
Ugh! I hated those guys!! We had one that was similar – gone all semester only to show up three days before the project is to be pinned up. He puts his headphones on and proceeds to crank out a dozen or so of the most amazing renderings you’ve ever seen. During the review, the jury members were so hypnotized by this beautiful drawings that his review was going spectacularly … until his actual professor got up and said “you’re going to make some firm very happy producing renderings for them, you’re not going to be a very good architect.”
At the time, I was silently cheering, happy that this guy “got his” but looking back, I think that was probably the harshest thing someone could say to a student.
I have no idea whatever happen to this guy either.
I punished myself with 8 years of architecture school…undergrad architecture, masters in architecture then post grad urban design. (yeah i know…) I have LOTS of character now… I even have a book of comments I would write down from our “critiques”. A particular one I still love using from time to time… “Looks like you have a problem here; and this problem could have been solved with… ARCHITECTURE”.
That is now going to be my catch phrase – that is hilarious. It’s so snarky, it sounds like something students would say to one another, did a professor ever say it?!? (please, please, please)
Also, Same professor left me a package of Kool-Aid on my desk when I started reading books on New Urbanism and hanging out with new urban “sympathizers”. He’s awesome with the snarky.
that’s terrifically funny! I’d like to think that’s the sort of professor I’d be if I ever decided to teach
Absolutely my professor said that. Thank God it wasn’t about MY project!! He was our 5th year visiting professor at the time. I remember the project was a nature museum in Chicago. Our prof worked at SOM in Chicago… still does actually!
I have fond memories of one such experience…at Mississippi State, where I studied, our 5th Year is an “urban studio” in Jackson – so, the last chance that the Starkville profs have to inspire you to go on and do great things is Spring of 4th yr. Our studio prof gathered us after a long few days of juries (not to mention the several weeks of sleepless nights to get to that point). We expected some inspiring words to tell us of the great journey we were about to begin and thrust us forward into 5th year and beyond – but he began this way…”This is undoubtedly the worst class that I have ever had the displeasure of teaching in my 30 yrs at this school.” Ouch
Haahaa! I shouldn’t think that’s funny but I do. Have you ever run back into that professor?
Yes, I actually saw him the next year when he taught a week-long series on downtown’s history (he’s a co-author of Buildings Across Time). Nothing was mentioned that week – so, I guess we improved?
Ahh- fond memories of the firing squad. I remember my sophomore year making my case for a residential design that I was of course fully enamored of. I had been at odds with the professor through the entire design resolution – he felt I was way off base with my concept. At the crit, the professor (a rather head-strong Frenchman) walked up to the wall (of shame) and pointed to one of my drawings and blurted out ‘well, this is a nice drawing, but it is a piece of shit. But it’s a nice piece of shit’. I kid you not – at that point I saw that the university experience of architectural training was something not entirely connected to the practice of making spaces. Fortunately for me, the ego-drenched culture didn’t keep me from continuing through graduation, after which I was free to make my way with a fortified ego and my innate sensibilities intact.