Twice or half?

Architectural Review, The, Feb, 2008 by Sutherland Lyall

Harvard Design Magazine at www.gsd.harvard.edu/research/publications/hdm, is a bi-annual publication whose subscription costs locals about 16 quid and us over here maybe [pounds sterling]30. I think bi-annual means twice a year.

If it means every two years that's quite a lot of dosh for participating in what is actually the means for a bunch of academics to claim publication brownie points and thus promotion to adjunct professor or whatever. People un-anxious to read a lot of academic waffle can try the above url to read maybe 15 per cent of the printed version on-line--and for free. Actually some of it is quite readable and thoughtful and in the current issue there are perceptive book reviews and the odd feature. Try the piece titled Blowfish, subtitled 'What to do When a Design Jury Attacks'. This is a jokey response to the horrors of the traditional jury. One which I think has legs is No 22, the Condescension response: 'Look the critic dead in the eye and say, "Well, well, look at Mr Fancy-Pants"' ... another is the Godzilla Defence: 'Suddenly scream like a monster and lumber around the room with your arms straight out. Proceed to crush your models like a small Japanese village'. And another suggests you just beat 'the living crap out of the critic'. I have to say that although I really go for the latter, the other hundred or so suggested responses are pretty wimpy but they do underline how lowly architecture students regard the crit as a helpful method of teaching.