Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
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Cranbrook Academy of Art
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
Unfair Grading or not
Dear community of Archinect.
My (attached) porfolio received a 42 grade in design and I am quite shocked with this grade. If there are other tutors here or professionals could you please give me your honest opinion regarding my projects and the received grade which I feel like it was somehow unfair.
My portfolio: https://issuu.com/florydao/doc...
other students work from my cohort (undergraduate year 3) so you can see the standard: https://wsa-ondisplay.co.uk/ca...
Thanks.
42 out of what? 100? 50?
Why does it look like all the projects went through a washing machine? Renderings are simple and colours are murky so it's really hard to get a good grasp of the qualities of the space. Also, you really need to edit and format that text. Centre justified with ad-hoc line returns is super awkward plus the context needs a rewrite.
WSA, so I'd imagine 100.
You don't have people on the visuals, but on your intro you mention your desire for vertical co-living between generations.
I don't know your project brief, but there appears to be no development sketches, however, on your second to last page you have some great hand drawings. Why aren't there more shown?
No progress sketches because most students these days go straight to CAD/3D without working out ideas by hand. Much easier to copy/paste and Ctrl Z than to work through 30 iterations in your sketchbook.
Thank you for your response, I can understand why people might assume that however, that was not the case. I uploaded some sketches I have done really quickly throughout the year at https://issuu.com/florydao/docs/sketches-merged
They're not as good quality as the ones in my portfolio but these were more like 1-2 mins quick type of sketches.
Quality isn’t important for quick process sketches, showing how you think is. They should be in the portfolio you linked. They’re good.
Have you tried following up with the studio director for further clarification? E.g Some instructors are sticklers on citation. That is going to be a more productive use of your time. (We can’t read minds here.) If you want validation that the work looks visually nice at the outset, you have it. Good luck!
Ps. Honestly as someone whose taught, any low grade assigned should come with redlines / verbal write up. Ask the instructor to include or meet in person to clarify their response.
*who has
The feedback they gave me was "While there is ownership of design, process of research and engagement needed to underpin is less. Fabric response seems underdeveloped in final submission The portfolio is lacking in precedents some aspects of conception seem dated. There a numbers of errors and omissions There is a lack of reference to precedents which have guided the work"
However in tutorials our tutor put a lot of emphasis on design on technology (construction details) )which I uploaded here https://issuu.com/florydao/doc...
I had many errors in technology module as well but there I got a first class honors grade for my submission. In design, I really dont understand their grading.
Hi!
Sounds to me like some of it is failing to cite process / precedents (citation) that inspired the project. If I were you, I would follow up with the instructor and see if that grade can be reconsidered if portfolio can be resubmitted with appropriate precedents incorporated for new grade evaluation. “There are numbers of errors and omissions” could be elaborated on further if this goes beyond the project’s lack of precedents and “fabric”(building envelope?). This should be a moment where you can learn and grow, so hopefully the instructor will continue communicate if it wasn’t clear before.
I wish I was told about the importance of precedents because I had many, we discussed a lot about precedents but I was in such a rush to put everything together I forgot about them.
My tutors won't give me more details on feedback and refuse to let me resubmit. It's really awful because I'm scared I won't be able to apply for master or a good university because of this.
You’ll be fine. Bumps happen. Bad grades / bad semesters happen. With each new semester / studio there is an opportunity for reintroduction, so don’t think this one moment (5 months) has a barring one your overall trajectory. It sucks for sure, so be angry for a short minute, then go start kicking butt / taking names.
I looked at your cohorts' works and it seems to me that your tutors arent a fan of your representation e.g. standard Revit renders. In general, your works lack finesse and not detailed-oriented enough in which I think where your school direction is heading and focusing on.
your work has a nice look and is presented clearly. the ideas make sense and have elegant graphics. better than half the portfolios i see tbh.
but the level of development is basic, no technical drawings at all. things like structure, stairs, elevators don't seem to be thought out in the drawings. and no construction detail at all. no real context or site either.
you'll need to see if there was some expectation to include consideration of construction, details, structure, life safety systems in your design. my guess is you scored very well in the limited part focused on design concept and presentation but entirely missed some other important items.
on the whole it's nice though and in my opinion would be adequate to get an entry level job. your school though is trying to prepare you to be aware of everything an architect needs to consider and much of that isn't shown here.
i think you must have misunderstood something about what was required in your work - since what you did focus on is done well. ask the instructor for clarification and a chance to make it up.
Thank you for your kind response and for the insights, I had construction details submitted in a different portfolio for the technological module https://issuu.com/florydao/doc... I uploaded them here.
I only had a semester (5 months) to finish the project so unfortunately, I wasnt able to finish all the details as I would have wanted.
5 months!?! Our terms were 8 weeks. Most of my real projects are in CDs before 5 months. You use the time you're allotted. Perhaps that's what's affecting your grade?
In UK there is a different system, projects usually take 1 full year to have everything completed but I hope to achieve your level of efficiency
The Canadian school I went to (with a department head from Bartlett) is similar - studio projects are 4 months long (Master's thesis is 8 months). Not uncommon from what I understand.
Very 2020, it looks like all your projects are in lockdown!
I'm going to call "unfair grading" on my Civil Engineer next time they screw up.
SFE may allow to to retake a year, generally you get course length + one year for UG funding if you have the opportunity to resit the module next year. I’m guessing it’s a 40 credit module? One bad grade won’t make a huge difference if your other modules are good.
More importantly, enjoy the experience. Grades aren’t everything, you’re mentally and commitment are more important.
It's not about grades, it's about principles and the unfairness of the way they judged my project comparing to other students.
Being compared to others goes with the territory, from academia to the profession. Not sure about UK, but US architects are expected to act in a standard of care / relative to another architect in the same geography, time, budget etc. While I don’t agree as instructor discussing directly with student a, why their project should be more like student b’s(tactless delivery) the logic isn’t necessarily unfair.
Yeah, florydao, this isn't math school. You need to rid yourself of that mindset. I saw many students who approached architecture that way and none of them did well if they didn't figure that out quickly. Keep an open mind. Grades aren't everything. You might even learn a thing or two.
That's what I expected as well, not all teachers are like that, in previous year I had the highest grade in design. However, this year my tutor gave me the lowest grade, in the first semester I also received the lowest grade for reasons such as "not having doors drawn on the floor plan" and then I would have a conversation with other students and they would tell me they didn't have time to draw doors either because it was a big scheme project and the focus was developing the design.
Do you know EK001? https://archinect.com/forum/thread/150240993/scandalous-grading-for-my-project
Your project feels completely different from the work shown on the website, you sure you bought into your tutors proposal for the studio?
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