CriticalMASS

CriticalMASS 2023 will take place on March 31. The Distinguished Visiting Critic is Lydia Kallipoliti.

History of CriticalMASS

CriticalMass started in 2002. It was the idea of a handful of graduate students wishing to share thesis project work with other graduate schools of architecture from the Southeast Region. At that time, the students were interested in the idea of place and region, and the event sought to bring diverse projects from different institutions together so that the students could share, and perhaps understand, what commonalities might be present in their final project work. The students themselves identified and invited international and national architects and critics to discuss the work and to give an evening presentation. These critics have varied over the past ten years, from those interested in regionalism to those that were launching practices on a more global scale. In all cases, the critics invited reflected the students’ interests and the work they had been exposed to in the David R. Ravin School of Architecture curriculum.

From the efforts of that first handful of students, CriticalMASS has fostered a tradition of collaboration and exploration across schools of architecture. Year after year, the event continues to inspire students to reach across institutional boundaries and come together with shared interests; no other such forum for cross-institution student interaction and learning currently exists. With coordination from a selected student committee and hard work from graduate student volunteers and faculty advisors, each Spring CriticalMASS hosts a series of presentations and discussions from selected students and Distinguished Guests. Each project that is presented responds to a unifying theme, but explores architectural ideas and issues independently through the lenses of technical methods, urban design, and theory.

The yearly success of CriticalMASS is a result of the effort and dedication provided from the current, first-year graduate class and continued support of the students, faculty, and local practitioners. Together we organize and integrate a unique outlet for student work that has become a respected part of the UNC Charlotte David R. Ravin School of Architecture and a joint identity of current graduate students.

Past CriticalMASS Distinguished Guest Critics

2002 Anderson + Anderson Architecture 2003 Pugh + Scarpa Architecture 2004 Rick Joy and Brian MacKay-Lyons 2005 Glenn Murcutt 2006 Jose Rafael Moneo 2007 SHoP 2008 Lewis.Tusrumaki.Lewis 2009 Office dA and Kieran Timberlake 2010 Bryan Bell, Marlon Blackwell, and Coleman Coker 2011 David Yocum and James Dallman 2012 Brigitte Shim 2013 Johnsen Schmaling Architects 2014 Joshua Prince-Ramos 2015 Laurie Hawkinson 2016 Patricia Patkau 2017 Jenny Wu 2018 Anton Garcia-Abril

2019 Charles Renfro, DS+R
2021 Perry Kulper
2022 Mark Foster Gage