Critical method: A pedagogy for design education

The paper presents an applied model for the practice and teaching of Architecture: Critical Method. This method has been developed by Alexander Wright in the course of the last twenty years. The paper illustrates how it has been applied in the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the University of Bath in teaching design at undergraduate and graduate levels. The paper outlines the lineage of the model and its roots in critical rationalism. It also provides an account of the various techniques used in generating design solutions within Critical Method and illustrates the role of criticism in the design process. The paper includes examples of how Critical Method is employed in setting design projects, assessing student work, teaching design and in raising students' critical self-awareness. The paper also outlines the practical pre-requisites to adopting Critical Method in architectural education.