I cant comment on your chances, but your work and its presentation is beautiful. Well done.

I don't think you will have a problem getting in somewhere. The work is quite good.

My only suggestions are that where ever you have black fields of any kind to use the gray from the cover and on your titles for each page use the yellow bar and black text from the cover.

Nice job overall. Better than quite a bit that I have seen (that is including what I have seen in my own school).

Thanks for looking over my stuff and the positive feedback guys.

@hagaandaz - im applying to Yale, MIT, Princeton, U Mich, and Georgia Tech.

yeah, that portfolio is intimidating. glad yr not applying where i am

Your work is excellent, but as you may know already, coming from a master-planning program has not allowed you to work deeply within the confines of small contexts (where you would have done work on more visionary-type applications, relevant to M.Arch studies). Compared to fourth year work at my school, yours is on par as far as quality of project and layout of work goes, if not better.

Hey Voltaire – thanks for the feedback. Yes I am definitely aware my portfolio does not demonstrate proficiency in detailed building design – I am applying to M Archs to hopefully fill this void. I am going for 3 year programs and am not banking on any advance placement, so hopefully the scale of my projects will not be an issue.

Applying from the UK in relative isolation, it’s been really helpful to have my work compared with students across the pond – so thanks very much.

I'm not sure if I was looking at the same portfolio as everyone else...

Everyone is praising your work. I don't quite get it.

Yes, your portfolio is chock full of great urban design ideas. It may get you into a number of architectural schools (on presentation skills alone), but I don't get why you would want to do that. There is nothing in your work that indicates even a remote interest in zooming in.

Your portfolio indicates a firm grasp of urban ideas ready to be introduced (reintroduced?) in the way we put cities together. Why would you want to abandon pursuing that? You are most likely not going to be able to do both architecture and urban design down the road.

Let me reverse the question: why would you chose architecture over urban design?

Thanks for the comment rusty – your comments and questions are quite valid. Let me provide some clarification…

Most of the design work shown in my portfolio is academic. After 2 years in practice as an “urban designer” I haven’t been able get involved with much serious master planning work. My undergraduate degree is in planning, and I strongly feel in order to work on actual design schemes (even at an urban scale) I really need to work for an architecture / urbanism firm, and not the more town planning orientated firms I have gained experience from. I’ve got some great project experience on things like design guidance, and spatial policy, but relatively little with actual master planning. So I am not exactly trying to move from “urban design to architecture”, I am more trying to get the qualification necessary to pursue a different type of “urban design” (which by the way, is a hideously vague and deceptive term). I’m not at all abandoning the interest or themes documented in my portfolio, merely trying to gain the qualifications necessary to actually develop them.

I know tons of talented urban designers / planners who have great design minds but aren’t able to translate academic prowess in professional practice simply because they can’t land the right type of job. I am determined not to end up like that. The US offers a great opportunity more me to pursue an architectural qualification without having to revert back to an under graduate degree. Hopefully upon re-entering practice in a few years time ill be better equipped to work for a different type of firm.

This is all obviously explained (albeit in a slightly more positive manner) in my personal essay, so hopefully the “interest in zooming in” will come from that.

Thanks for looking over my stuff and for the feedback – much appreciated.