"It means that a school like ours, which is trying to combine excellence in creative design and in science, is penalised because on the design side we have not been peer-reviewed," says Professor Bill Hillier, the chairman of the Bartlett school of graduate studies."Architecture in England is a huge success story. Our top architects are the world's top architects and the Bartlett is the school supplying fresh blood, so this is extremely damaging to that success story."The Bartlett has some strong support. According to Andy Bow, a director of Foster and Partners, its research is world class. "Students do the most innovative urban appraisals I have ever seen," he says. "The balance they achieve between the technical and the artistic is perfect." Paul Finch, the editorial director of the Architect's Journal and the deputy chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, says there is no evidence that the Bartlett's work has fallen off since the last rae, when it received a 5.A number of architecture departments are supporting the school. Edinburgh University, which had been hoping to gain a 4 but in the event got a 3a, also feels that the panel barely looked at its work. "We were shocked by the result," says Professor Richard Coyne, the head of architecture "It was almost as if they didn't look at our output.

Our design work was compiled as portfolios, but none of it was called for."Other departments are cautious They believe the school played the rae game badly. If it had entered town and country planning under a different heading, it might have retained its 5. As it was, planning pulled the overall grade down.This analysis seems to be borne out by Hefce's reply The complaints are unjustified, it says The school entered its academics under three headings The biggest group was planning, which was rated 4. The next biggest, architectural design, was labelled of national and international importance, but much of the work was not supported by analytical or theoretical explanations The smallest entry for the space group was rated 5*.

"The quality of research in the submission as a whole could not be said to have sufficient work of an international standard to meet the criteria for awarding a 5."Professor Peter Brandon, the panel chairman, rejected complaints of bias. Great care was taken to ensure that architecture was properly represented, he says. "The panel went to extraordinary pains to ensure that each submission received a fair hearing. A key feature was the reading of the outputs, which went far beyond what was required by the methodology. There are bound to be some disappointments, but I do believe the panel was rigorous in its judgment."l.hodges independent.co.uk.

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