“Architecture beings where engineering ends,” a quote by Walter Gropius, was written in almost every architectural book. Before entering architecture, we knew it was true, but it was only after entering an Architecture College one knows how much it is.
We hear a lot of things such as “architecture students are up all night completing their assignments” “Students get their sheets torn by the professors and are given a lot of redos” “Architecture students survive on beverages such as caffeine or tea” “It requires a lot of hard work and determination”, and a lot more. While some of these were true but the others not so much.
Entering Architecture College was like entering a whole new world. All of us had different expectations, some rational but some completely irrational fears, many wanted to prove themselves, some boys were just for the girls’ thanks to the Bollywood clichés which had them believe that entering a college will get them a girl.
Some people desperately wanted to prove themselves, while others were there because they did not score enough to get into an engineering college. No matter how the students got into the institute they somehow managed to get in, and now we’re in for a reality check.
Everyone had a different expectation about how the first day of college will be like each one of us remember the day vividly. Begins with a professor telling the rookies how a lot of them will eventually end giving this course up really soon and follows by giving them an enormous list of stationaries they’ll be needing for their forthcoming classes.
The professor also lets everyone know about the endless nights they’ll be spending working and how fun this journey is truly going to be. Before you even realize this journey comes to an end. Looking backward you realize that the college taught you so many architectural as well as non-architectural things too and it was a home away from home.
Architectural things | Home away from home
- One of the very first things that you learn in architecture is learning from your own mistakes. Thanks to endless redos and the process of going through the same process over and over, one realizes from his/her own mistakes.
- We also learn that god lies in details. The details are more important than one assumes them to be. They can literally make or break a design.
- The best utilization of space, the functionality of the space is also something that one learns in architectural college. One is taught to look through all the angles, sometimes literally to come up with the best possible solution.
- The process of making your thoughts come live on paper in the form of sketches and then developed in the model is a very important skill that is learned in college.
- The art form of public speaking and marketing oneself thank to the countless presentations one is supposed to give in front of his/her peers, the professors, juries, etc. is enhanced during all of this. One has to explain why his/her design is incredible, stand by it and defend it from all the criticism.
- Working with a different group of people, who have very strong but opposing ideas and voicing our own idea between all of them is something that is enhanced during all these years. Making adjustments, being a little flexible and understand others’ opinions and manage to complete a given task is a big achievement within itself and something that is supposed to be done in the outside world and the architecture school prepares you for it.
- Consistency is the key to success. Hard work pays off. You realize this in the end when you are done with a project; you look back with a quint smile on your face.
- Sketching is one of the biggest skills one learns in college. Conveying your ideas within a few minutes, convincing your professors and peers is a difficult task and sketching helps a lot during this process.
- Making your idea come live through highly detailed models that can be either physical or virtual using software is taught in college. From the way one is supposed to hold a pencil to using high-end software, an architecture college covers everything.
Non Architectural Skills
- Surviving on a few hours of sleep is a superpower architecture students learn during college. The constant competition, tremendous workload, a huge pile of redos require staying up all night to manage somehow accomplish all of this.
- Caffeine becomes ones best friend helping him/her survive the sleep-deprived nights. You can spot an architecture student with dark circles under his/her eyes and a coffee in their hand.
- Accomplishing all the tasks require a very efficient utilization of one’s time. Time management is a skill the students master as they are always on their toes looking for opportunities and efficiently manage their time but as productive as they can be.
- The greatest non-architectural skill one learns during the 5 years of college is handling criticism. Being ridiculed by the jurors and not taking their criticism personally and growing through it an exceptional skill one develops.
- One learns to embrace their failures, accept their mistakes, and are truly willing to make changes wherever necessary.
- An architecture student develops a high pain tolerance as well. Be it the professor tearing their sheet up, breaking their model, getting their fingers to slit by paper cutters, or burn by using hot glue, they are immune to all of it.
An architecture college molds you into something incredible and extremely unique. You live, laugh, cry here. You make amazing friends who become a family over the years.
Architecture college becomes a home away from home. One cherishes every moment spent here; know-how significantly impacted you being the individual you are now.
