Madeline Schwartzman

Madeline was quirky, artsy, kind of odd, and honestly really fun! She is certainly a creative at heart, and although her teaching style and class structure felt a bit whimsical and non-traditional, once you let yourself go and allow yourself to follow her lead and just create, I feel you truly can reach your full potential. I found Madeline to be both a great cheerleader while also an honest critic, which is crucial in any studio class. She was very understanding when students felt sick or unwell, or if students felt like they were in a slump. I never felt looked down upon by her, and I feel like the semester was one grand journey towards amazing work. I feel like she really tried to encourage all of us to be creative, let loose, and just flow, and for that I'm really grateful!

Madeline Schwartzman is magical professor. Her super power is bringing out the best in people; those who take her class will produce intricate, thought-provoking, and original designs/contraptions/objects. She succeeds in elevating her students’ projects through personal and honest critiques. Her curiosity about the world and passion for really SEEING is contagious. Her truly unique perspective will inspire you. She takes the time to look closely at what students bring to class for studio and takes on a very rare, deeply personal approach to teaching. Without fail, her critiques are relevant to each designer in the class and their own specific interests and context; she always asks questions of each student about their design and helps them investigate the meaning of their work which encourages excitement about what they are making. I left better knowing my strengths and weaknesses as a designer/architect/artist. And, it says a lot that when I had her as a professor, our studio was entirely via Zoom, yet she still managed to go above and beyond in analyzing my work and taking a real interest in the construction of my projects. She not only welcomed my out-of-the-box and sometimes crazy or silly ideas, but praised them and helped me realize them even further. Her class solidified my choice to want to be a designer because under her care as a professor I grew to understand my cr…

Oh boy was Madeline the worst professor I had in my two years of school. She picks favorites, and her biases seep through everything she says. During reviews with guest critics (critiques) she will defend students she likes and discuss their projects while simply glossing over others. She will take into consideration everything you do and not just your final project, meaning that if you had any mental block with your creative process throughout weeks of work, she will hold it against you. She's also very wishy washy and can change requirements last minute. People who like Madeline's class do so because it's very creative, but that doesn't necessitate her being a good professor.

If you can avoid having her as a teacher I would highly suggest that move! She is erratic and wacky. Some days she can be helpful in helping you produce a product or model and other days she changes her directions completely making you start your project all over. She can be very rude and blunt in ways that are not productive to your learning. I truly believe she grades based on who she likes and who she doesn't. Her projects do not make you want to pursue architecture any further. However, if you do things inspired by the human body she will love it. Everything is architectonic if it doesn't make sense, but if you think something through and explain it she will not like it. I found this class very hard to enjoy. I started every day with a headache when I had her. I look forward to other architecture professors and not having her again. The class was a waste of time. She can be nice if she wants to be, but mostly it's her complaining about her multiple sicknesses .

Madeline is definitely a character but she does know what she's talking about though sometimes there's a bit of a communication gap between her trying to convey what she wants to see and what we think she wants. The bottom line...do the work no matter how bad (or how good) you think you are. If you do the work, you'll do fine in the class. Don't take Madeline too seriously either. She's not malicious and though sometimes she may seem abrupt, she really is just trying to get students to get over themselves and what limitations they think they have. She's supportive and helpful in critiques if you can manage to put forth the effort. There is an insane amount of work for this class but it's only as crazy as you let it get. Keep up on the work and complete what you can. Madeline is very accommodating if you just communicate with her.

This professor was erratic and disorganized but very likable, creative, and passionate. However, she didn’t set expectations that I could understand or adapt to, which made me extremely stressed. The content of the course was wide-ranging and extremely interesting, ranging from standard architectural history “greats” (Corbusier, etc.) to funkier and more contemporary design concepts (including ecocriticism, technology and the body, urban sensorial experience, cartography, alternative and original graphing/data imaging systems). Clearly I am divided about Prof. Schwartzmann— I think she’s a stimulating creative guide but is not straightforward/cohesive enough to effectively serve all students, especially those just beginning a design course. Only less neurotic and self-doubting should apply: know thyself.

I am not sure why the reviews below are quite so positive. Yes, I agree that Madeline is a nice person, but she is a terrible teacher! She changes her mind constantly, which is very inconvenient when you've spent time (and usually money) changing something to make it the way she wants, only to have her tell you that you shouldn't have changed it the very next class. I spent most of my time in the class being confused on the content and point of the assignments, as she rarely took the time to fully explain these things. The one good thing I have to say is she does reward effort...if you put in way more effort than should be required in an intro level class intended for non-majors.

She seems uncertain about her comments which leads to a huge communication gap with the students. Sometimes she makes rude comments, whether or not she realises it. Her projects are interesting but she tends to impose her views on students.

2 major projects -collages, study models, drawings etc A lot of throw away work because you never know what she wants

workload is very heavy. MUCH more than you would normally put into a 4 point class.