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Architecture students — read these 3 articles before your final review

2020-11-23T15:41:00-05:00

Finals are coming up and many students are anticipating the final review and all that comes along with it: presenting in front of a jury; receiving criticism; and the pressure, stress, and anxiety leading up to it. Additionally, the virtual nature of the presentations bring a new layer of consideration for students. There are many factors that go into a successful final review. Here are three articles that investigate some of the intricacies of presentations in studio.

Students presenting their work at SCI-Arc's 2018 theses reviews

The Architecture Student's Presentation Roadmap

The Architecture Student's Presentation Roadmap outlines some best practices for those communicating their work in studio. There are practical examples on how to outline a presentation and some helpful tips to keep in mind for the big day.

Richard Feynman

Complexity over clarity? What happens when we try to sound too "smart"

In this piece we debunk the myth that one must use complicated language to communica...

Barbara Bestor & Roy Choi, Michael Meredith & Hilary Sample, Amanda Aman, and Princeton SoA to host featured online events today, tomorrow and Friday

2020-05-06T13:10:00-04:00

The remainder of this week's featured online events, highlighted in Archinect's Virtual Event Guide, include Barbara Bestor and celebrity chef Roy Choi in discussion as part of Woodbury's end of year celebration; Amanda Aman shares her travel research from the Arctic Circle; Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample of MOS will lecture and offer a Q&A; and Princeton SoA will be streaming their Arc 504 Final Review "In The Age Of Covid-19."

Are you hosting a virtual lecture? Presentation? Tour? Interview? Happy Hour? Submit it for consideration by clicking here.

Are you an expert in an arena that's especially important right now? Let us know if you would like to work with Archinect to host an online event.

LeBrun Grant Lecture - Architecture of the Arctic Circle Periphery with Amanda Aman
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 | 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
Amanda Aman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C presents her travel research and will describe the architecture of the Arctic Circle and delineate how certain features can be a...

'The Final Review: Negaters Gonna Negate'

2015-05-06T21:32:00-04:00

The review is about speculation as much as evaluation. Critics are not enemies, and they don’t know everything. Admitting a level of uncertainty that necessarily occurs within design education completely changes how one imagines the review moment.

On the ground: UCLA's year-end student expo, RUMBLE, includes flying robots, seceding cities and much more

2014-07-08T18:13:00-04:00

The big catharsis for UCLA Architecture and Urban Design comes by way of RUMBLE, an all-school expo held at the end of the academic year, that includes student work, final reviews, program installations, and lectures. Mixing content from students, practitioners, critics and faculty, the event spans a full week in June, and gives the public a chance to peek into A.UD's world. This year’s RUMBLE included work from studios led by Neil Denari, Frank Gehry, Craig Hodgetts, Greg Lynn, Thom Mayne and many more, showcased across two campuses for the first time in A.UD history.

In addition to their facilities on the main campus in Westwood, UCLA acquired a giant airplane hanger in Playa Vista for its satellite Hercules campus, now home to SUPRASTUDIO, UCLA’s M.Arch II program. You can read more about the goings-on at Hercules from our visit in December. Similar in parts to Blue Tape, USC’s big-bang showcase for its entire architecture school, RUMBLE offers the public a unique chance to see th...

How to pull off a final exhibition for hundreds of architecture students

2014-06-26T19:35:00-04:00

How do you put together an exhibition of over sixty studios at once, including final reviews, for an entire architecture school? With the help of many devoted administrators. Often working behind the scenes and in conjunction with the Deans of schools, administrators like USC's Gail Peter Borden help design and implement final-year shows such as Blue Tape, the architecture school's massive end-of-year exhibition.

Archinect was on the ground at 2014's Blue Tape this past May, and aside from talking with Dean Quingyun Ma and checking in with a few first years, I sat down with Gail Borden, Discipline Head of Architecture and Director of Graduate Architecture Programs at USC, to talk about how Blue Tape got started.

1st year goals and final crit anxieties: a few words from USC Architecture students

2014-06-03T12:42:00-04:00

Last month, the University of Southern California's School of Architecture hosted its annual Blue Tape event, an exhibition surveying work from all levels and discipline. The massive show of work from first year bachelors to masters thesis levels is a prime chance for students to see what's been going on in other studios, and for the School of Architecture to showcase its output to those outside its walls.

Fellow Archinect editor, Justine Testado, and I visited the Blue Tape exhibitions to talk with students, administrators and teachers about what it's like for an entire school of architecture to be on display -- and why it's so important that they open their doors each year.

I intercepted a gaggle of first years exiting their final critique, who kindly agreed (after sighs of exhaustion and shouts of relief) to answer a few questions about life at USC Architecture.

What's first year at USC Architecture like?

Why did you choose USC? [Undergraduate]

Why did you choose USC? [Graduate] (We b...

Editor's Picks #316

2013-05-22T11:11:00-04:00

Beth Mosenthal penned a thoughtful Op-Ed titled The Ego and the Architect. Therein, she briefly examined "the idea of ‘leadership’ in an architectural office".

News
Celebrating the fact that "the Museum of Modern Art blinked" Michael Kimmelman wrote an article Defending the Former American Folk Art Museum Building. Donna Sink commented "A lovely, calm argument and well- written article. Fingers crossed that MOMA's less egotisticsl and more community-focused board members will listen".

Archinect talked to Ivan Blanco, designer of the competition-winning entry in the LA Film Festival Director's Lounge Design Competition. Ivan heads LA-based multi-disciplinary design studio Blnko Design Labs. Eric Chavkin enjoyed the interview but had a couple of thoughts "The scheme is, well, kind of typical but does address the very important IMHO the after film-aspect of going to a screening. The 'windows frame' metaphor is just weak".

Following the release of CLOG: Brutalism—the NYC-...

USC Blue Tape Spring 2012

2012-05-11T11:09:00-04:00

USC School of Architecture's BLUE TAPE, the two day event that brings best of L.A's architectural community together, critiques hundreds of student projects in one big space and gives students a chance to see rest of the classmates' work. In its third year, Blue Tape presentations with spirited review sessions were engaging and most of the discourse was high quality. While my snapshots of rapid curating after a long day of jury duty are not the perfect representation of the work done in the school, they might give you a chance to peek into cross section of this years projects.

Slides

Related:
Blue Tape 2010

Blue Tape 2011

From the School Blogs: It's Almost Here

2011-05-19T11:15:56-04:00

Exit Reviews are starting tomorrow and we all can't believe they're here. They've felt so far away for so long. I'm probably about 98% done with my talk, I go Tuesday at 4:30 so I have time to polish it up.

USC: the World Is Yours

2010-12-14T15:03:00-05:00

Yesterday's USC school wide final reviews meant to be a spectacle for the architecture community and the students and it was. The views from 50 & 51st floors of a downtown Los Angeles building were pleasantly distracting and breathtaking. The endless loop of student projects, varied from conceptual to practical, from small to large and extra large, reflecting the variety of faculty, students and the ideas. Well done. slides