Case study 1: top of the class

Inevitably, as some went up the pecking order and others down, the results of the latest Research Assessment Exercise will have delighted some schools of architecture and disappointed others. Now may be the time for recriminations and breast-beating. But it would be dangerous for architecture's standing in the academic firmament if it were to claim separate status or that research is somehow different for architects. Instead it is important that the architecture community responds positively to the outcome and understands what it takes to succeed within the rules. A fundamental question to be asked is whether the judgements meted out were deserved.