My past few articles have covered things such as personal branding, entering competitions, putting together compelling boards, and personal branding. When this has all been balled up into a project you are excited about, there is just one more hurdle: surviving the architectural critique.

With many of the great “starchitects” out there (depending on how they are perceived), one can typically tell who designed the building by its overall forms and features; Gehry and his amorphous shapes, Wright and his harmony with environment, Pei and his modern cubist themes, etc. The common core these architects share is how they have a personal brand.

In one of my past articles, I mentioned that I have done a number of competitions during my architectural career. Personally, I love doing competitions. It brings me back to the days of studio learning, and getting fully immersed in a project I was truly excited about. I also think competitions have some other great benefits; the opportunity to get published, for acclaim, as a resume builder, to stay active in the architecture world, and (of course) prize money.

Up until four or five years ago, one of my biggest fears was saying something stupid in a professional meeting, collaboration, design charrette, etc. I’m not really sure why; I felt like I had good design tastes, I had years of experience, and many more years of schooling. On top of all that, I had done countless projects in group settings, participated in group critiques (not only as the one being critiqued, but as the critiquer), as well as one-on-one critiques.

Up until four or five years ago, one of my biggest fears was saying something stupid in a professional meeting, collaboration, design charrette, etc. I’m not really sure why; I felt like I had good design tastes, I had years of experience, and many more years of schooling. On top of all that, I had done countless projects in group settings, participated in group critiques (not only as the one being critiqued, but as the critiquer), as well as one-on-one critiques.

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