Accelerate Debates: Constructive Criticism

Name: Accelerate Debates: Constructive Criticism — Open City
Start: 2025-03-15T16:00:00+0000
End: 2025-03-15T18:00:00+0000
Location: Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Saturday, March 15, 2025
4:00 PM 6:00 PM

Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 66 Portland Pl England, W1B 1AD United Kingdom (map)

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Good criticism isn’t necessarily positive, but it is always constructive.

It has the power to shine a light on a path to progress, providing knowledge and advice via reviews and tutorials that brings new meaning to the way we see our work, our profession and the world around us. In short, good criticism can stick with us for the rest of our lives.

Unfortunately, so can bad criticism.

Fear and intimidation from some tutors and bosses passes under the guise of ‘tough love’, perceived as a necessary evil to incentivise students and workers to achieve their best. Your mental health is seen as expendable currency in the non-stop drive towards success. These bad practices or lessons that we learn in our education, we then take into practice and this, in turn, forms a culture of acceptance.

In a profession that increasingly needs to value empathy, respect and collaboration, how can we build this into our training to become a core part of who we are as building designers? Criticism is central to the way we learn but where do we draw the line between it being constructive vs. destructive? Do we need a critical review of criticism, or do we just need thicker skin?

Join us at the RIBA’s Festival of the Future, where we bring together a panel of experienced educators and progressive thinkers to collectively brainstorm different ways of constructively teaching and learning that could reshape the sector for years to come.