Reverse Crit

Gabe Greiner of 2Form Architecture presents the A&K Development project

This past Monday, representatives from three AIA-SWO firms presented projects in progress for the 2009 Reverse Crit at Lawrence Hall on the University of Oregon campus. The event provided architecture students with the opportunity to turn the table on AIA-SWO professionals and comment on real-world projects (as opposed to the usual scenario where it is the students whose work is being reviewed and scrutinized). Organized by AIA-SWO Associate Director Mariko Blessing, Assoc. AIA, and members of the University of Oregon American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the Reverse Crit was an unqualified success. Students not only provided the professionals with constructive feedback regarding the design of the projects, but also discussed the differences between academic design studios and professional practice.

The AIA-SWO firms that participated in the Reverse Crit and their projects were:

2Form Architecture – A & K Development Company, and The Anthony (Richard Shugar, AIA; Gabe Greiner, AIA; and Michael Soraci, Assoc. AIA)

Michael Soraci and Richard Shugar discuss The Anthony

Nir Pearlson, Architect – Imagine Graphics Expansion (Nir Pearlson, AIA; Roger Ota, Assoc. AIA; and Scott Larsen)

Nir Pearlson points to a feature of the Imagine Graphics Expansion

Rowell Brokaw Architects – The Silverton Senior Center (Kaarin Knudson, Assoc. AIA)

Kaarin Knudson explains the design of the Silverton Senior Center

These up-and-coming firms are among AIA-SWO’s best and brightest. The three offices have collected a lion’s share of recent AIA-SWO Design Awards, People’s Choice Awards, and accolades in the local press. They selected projects for presentation at the Reverse Crit that were well-suited to the occasion, all at a stage in the design process when the broadest range of design issues is actively being addressed.

Thanks to Mariko for championing the resurrection of the Reverse Crit, and to Nicholas Lopez and his colleagues at AIAS for handling the event’s logistics and inviting the student participants.