eLanguages.ac.ukUniversity of Southampton

Listening to a presentation and part of a critique in architectural design

A solution to a conceptual design problem

Design solution

The skill of critiquing a design work is an important one in the field of architecture and design. A designer gives a presentation of a solution to a conceptual design problem and this is then critiqued by their audience. The process involves both questions and a discussion, and requires analytical and evaluative skills in order to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the design.

In these activities you will practise listening to a presentation made in English by a student of architecture and design. You will also listen to part of a critique of a student's presentation of their design proposal.

Activity 1: Listening to a presentation to check your understanding

In this activity you are going to practise listening to the first part of a student's presentation about an architectural design project in which she outlines the problem her design will address and its aim. You are going to check your understanding of the main points that she makes. The presentation is given in English, which is an additional language for the speaker.

Instruction

Instruction

Listen carefully to the presentation and view the slides at the same time. First select the check boxes next to any points in the list which you hear the speaker mention. Then answer the question about the aim of the student's design. Finally read the feedback.









What is the aim of the student's design?

Here is a transcript of the first part of the student's presentation to refer to:
Transcript (pdf, 54KB). You may wish to print this document.

Activity 2: Listening to part of a critique

Critiquing an architect's design proposal is a common practice in the field of architecture. In this activity you are going to explore an example of a student's presentation in architectural design being critiqued by a member of their audience, and check you understanding of it.

Instruction

Instruction

Listen closely to this short interaction between a student presenter and a member of their audience, which follows the student's presentation about their design proposal. As you listen to the critique, decide which of the statements below are true and which are false. Select the appropriate button and then read the feedback. Then listen again and notice the kind of language the questioner uses to critique the student's design. Make notes of any useful structures that the questioner uses inthe text area provided and then read the feedback.

 The questioner feels that the new access road should be built higher.
 The questioner thinks that the new road would not reach far enough into the district.
 The student's choice of route for the new road reflects his intention to increase the lighting of the area.
 The questioner asks what the perspective of the road would be from other viewpoints.
 The questioner is concerned that the new road would impede the view from other vantage points in the area.
 The student did not plan to design the road as a landmark.

Here is a transcript of this part of the critique of the student's presentation to refer to:
Transcript (pdf, 54KB). You may wish to print this document.

© Archi21 Project Consortium: Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture Paris-Malaquais, Open University, University of Ljubljana, Aalborg Universitet, University of Southampton and eLanguages, Modern Languages and Linguistics, University of Southampton, 2012.
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