Architecture crits, or my preferred term, architecture reviews, are how you communicate the ideas and resolutions that you have been working on for the weeks or months prior. It is how you show everything, the hours you have spent thinking about your project, the ideas you have tested and the models you have used to explore different ideas.

It is the only way to

1. Prove you have actually been doing work and have not just found an idea on pinterest and submitted as your own and,

2. That you know and understand what you are talking about

These reasons make your architecture review one of the most important parts, if not the most important part of studying architecture. Get them right and your ideas are efficiently shared with your tutor, nothing is missed and you finish your architecture review confident, and hopefully with no regrets. Get it wrong and all your efforts can be lost in communication, or I guess lack of communication.

In this blog I walk through the 6 stages of an architecture crit that you need to prepare for: The Intro, Site Analysis, Concept Design, Design Development, Final Design and of course the Questions at the end but first.. how do we prepare?

It is coming to the end of the summer holidays (Boooo, I know, but be thankful you still have them!) and a lot of you will be starting to prepare for the new academic year whether that is as a first year where everything will be new or as a second or third year, more familiar with the processes and what to expect but perhaps with a few changes on what is expected of you...

In light of the looming academic year I have put together a list of 5 of the most important things I believe you need to do before your first day. All of these things you can look into now, and best of all they are all free! (Yes, travel and explore is a point, but do this within your own budgets! Sketching from your bedroom window is definitely an option!)

These are things I wish I knew as an architecture student and things I still try and incorporate and do prior to any significant change whether that’s moving city, moving jobs or when back when I was student, moving between years.

I hope these are helpful for you as an architecture student, assistant or Architect and if you have any to add, please write them in the comment box right at the bottom of the page. It would be very helpful for everyone else reading this too!

Enjoy! :)