 |
Jurying an architectural design awards competition is an
interesting experience. In early August, I had the privilege of
participating as a juror for the American School & University
(AS&U) annual portfolio of school design. I joined
Gerald “Butch” Reifert, AIA, from Mahlum Architects
in Seattle; Fred Smith from Clark County School District in Las
Vegas; Greg Letnaunchyn from the Milton Hershey School in
Pennsylvania; and Ed Brady from Rhode Island College in reviewing
more than 200 pre-K-12, college, and university projects.
Like many design awards reviews, the jury of several people must
evaluate a large number of projects in a short time. To allow a
little more review time per project, some design review processes
split the pool of submissions among jurors, such that some might
evaluate elementary and middle schools while others review high
schools and colleges. It’s also good to get several opinions
on each project, however, so other design award programs, such as
CAE’s, asks every juror to review every project.
The shortness of time usually dictates a process in which the
jurors scan each individual project to determine whether it is
worthy of further consideration. Typically, 10 percent to 20
percent of projects are set aside for further in-depth review and
discussion. Because much of the second day is usually spent
discussing and coming to consensus about the top contenders, the
jury often has only 10 to 12 hours for its first review of all
submissions. With more than 200 submissions, if you do the math,
you find the jury has three minutes or less to determine
whether any given project will make it to the second round.
AS&U’s two-day process led to some interesting
discussions and led me to think about ways to improve our own CAE
Design Awards process. I thought I would use this article to offer
those interested in submitting projects for awards some thoughts on
the do’s and don’ts of award submissions.
Do use good photography. With limited time to
review each submission, photography is critical to getting to the
top. The projects that won awards had good documentation of the
spaces and characteristics of the completed work and were easy to
understand. They focused on including pictures that told the story
of the project, and generally were not focused on using pictures of
the most “architectural” space. Invest in good
photography and be clear with the photos you submit. They should
clearly demonstrate the story you are trying to tell. For the
pre-K-12 environments, don’t just focus on the media center,
front entry, and cafeteria. Use the photos to communicate how the
design is improving learning.
Do write a good narrative. Because the jurors do
not have time to read every word, they scanned the narrative to
determine whether the story was interesting and moved on quickly if
it was too wordy or poorly written. Make your narrative brief and
concise. Avoid clichés or buzzwords. (We kept a tally of the
more bizarre and misused words and phrases we came across, and it
will be published in the magazine.) Check your grammar and
spelling—it matters. Above all else, be clear about what your
message is and support it with photography. If you talk about a
strong community use or connection on a project, show it with the
photos or the jury won’t be convinced.
Do follow the instructions in the submission
package. As much as architects hate to follow the rules,
follow the rules. Your submission will be in a large pile with
other submissions, and if you don’t have something that is
required or if you padded your submission with irrelevant
information, it will be quickly discarded. The rules for submission
are there for a reason—so the jurors can readily compare each
submission on its merits with all the other submissions.
Don’t have someone unfamiliar with the project write
the narrative. Projects with long rambling narratives
written by someone who doesn’t know the project are quickly
eliminated from consideration. The project should be described in a
way that is easy to understand. This is a companion to the “Do
a good job with the narrative” rule.
Don’t Photoshop people into your photos. It
is obvious when photos are digitally retouched, and it doesn’t
help your project. Put real people in the shot when the photo is
taken.
Don’t use three-ring binders. Use a portfolio
with fixed plastic sleeves. Sleeves fall out of binders, and they
are hard to go through when reviewing the projects.
Do make your submission interesting. You need to
catch the attention of the juror within about 30 seconds if you are
going to make it to the second round, whether it’s through a
compelling narrative or superior photos that tell your story
clearly. You want to stand out from the crowd, so find a way to
make your submission different while still meeting the submission
criteria. A little humor can help, if it is done tastefully.
Above all else, remember that you are submitting for an award for a
learning environment, so your submission should demonstrate how
your project is an exemplary place for learning. In most instances,
that means it should show how the learning takes place. Ninety-five
percent of the submissions we reviewed did not show how
learning takes place. No one in that 95 percent received a
citation or special recognition.
While many of my suggestions might seem like common sense, people
make the same mistakes every year. So, the next time you are
planning on submitting for an award, be clear, have great (not just
good) photos that show the story, and develop your submission
professionally while creating something interesting for the juror
to review. It might just get you to the top of the pile!
Look for the AS&U Portfolio in November, and pay close
attention to the projects that received awards; they really
exemplify high-quality learning environments that are making a
difference.
Tim Dufault, AIA, is a principal of Cuningham Group
Architecture in Minneapolis, a member of CAE’s National
Leadership Group, and the chair of CAE’s 2005-06 Design Awards
Jury.
|
