Essentially, desk crits are individual sessions involving a one-on-one exchange between student and instructor. They occur at a student’s desk and entail dialogues about the various aspects of the project. The studio instructor may often suggest ideas and approaches they feel will improve particular aspects of the project. Students are generally expected to explore these suggestions by revisiting their design. This iterative process of revisiting and revising alternative solutions is generally considered to be fundamental to the design process.

Informal pin-ups also occur in the studio. Work in-progress is pinned up to a wall surface and discussed openly. This may be done individually but often involves a group of students, and, sometimes, outside critics. Public project reviews are more formal and usually include outside critics. Mid-term and final reviews are intended to create benchmarks for the completion of work, and more importantly, to offer each student feedback that is critical to their development as designers. In addition to serving as a means to assess the progress of individual students, the broader conversations that take place in these reviews are an enriching and integral component of the overall learning process.

Work done in studio is cumulative, and not just focused on the final outcome. Our students understand that continuous and sustained work is necessary for the development of conceptual and technical skills. Preliminary studies produced for intermediate pin ups and weekly desk crits are a crucial part of the total experience and necessary for a successful project outcome.