ABSTRACT
A common lament is that the assessment of design is insufficiently objective, that rigorous standards of assessment are lacking in studio critiques. Interpretation theory, however, shows objectivity to be an impossibility. On the other hand, if we concede that assessment is subjective, then it presents as mere opinion, subject to the vagaries and whims of the assessor. If objectivity is a chimera, and subjectivity anarchic, how is fair assessment possible? The assessment process seems to be mysterious and inexplicable.
