Disclaimer: The purpose of this article is to tweak out some stereotypical moments and does not intend to decimate the values of this multidisciplinary field.
Have you read this meme and laughed at the harsh reality of this situation? Have you ever had to explain the difference between an architecture(oops architect) and a civil engineer? Then you are at the right place, and bound to get a nostalgic ride down the lane!
We all are aware of architecture as a career is a heart-wrenching path of blood and sweat until the 40s, which is when you savor the glory. If you are lucky enough, you might start off hitting home runs by the early 30s, but only after walking on the fiery embers for five years. Listing the ABC’s of things, events, and elements that a student of architecture comes across during this metamorphosis from an average human to an architect. If you know, you know!
A: Artist at heart? Architecture is your path.
“Wow! You seem to be good at art. Why don’t you try getting into architecture?”
Ever been asked this question? Kudos—you are officially allowed to be a part of the community. Just kidding!
Many students come across this situation; however, architecture manifests art in both tangible and intangible forms.
B: College name = Brand Value
Agree with it or not, throughout those five years, and maybe a little beyond, the first impression you inject upon anyone involves your college name. Strange, isn’t it?
C: Concept
The seven-letter mantra you learn during those five years, imbibe and continue to live for the rest of your life, is a concept. An architecture student learns that every line that he/she etches on a piece of paper or the screens should hold meaning.
D: Deadline
If concept is the seven-letter mantra, then the deadline is an eight-letter despicable nightmare for the entire architecture community. One which you must have tried to run from, however, cannot get away with it!
E: Error
Imagine you have been working meticulously throughout the night or had initiated a high quality render on this project for submission to that professor you do not like or that client who keeps nudging you all the time – and beep! An error pops up on the screen, and your heart crashes into a million tiny pieces, each pinching you on the inside. Architecture is a journey that makes you go whimsically crazy.
F: Faculty
If there is anything as sacred as the first construction sheet you draft, that is your faculty. They will rate-shake-break you but, in the end, mold you from clay to intricate pottery.
G: Go Green
Only at an architectural school can you learn that green is just a color but an efficient way of living in harmony with our environment. Sadly, only a handful of architects continue to inculcate it in their practices—and an even lesser proportion of this community understands the real meaning of these terms.
Installing energy-efficient fenestrations, but chopping down ten trees does not make a project- sustainable.
H: Home is where the studio is.
As an architecture student, you are supposed to forget what sleep feels like, and your design studio becomes your home. A studio is where you will evolve ideas, cry over your redos, sit along with your batchmates, and train your mind to think outside the box and learn to speak with buildings.
I: Internship
“What have you learned in your college!”
A line that every intern hears once in their life while working with architects. Another painfully beautiful chapter of architecture—the first step into this field where you unlearn all the wild ideas you had about design and slapped with a reality check of function and design scope.
J: Jury
While the deadline is a regular nightmare, the jury is temporary – but a scarier one. Just like Thanos from Avengers, a jury has the power to obliterate the sole meaning of your work with a snap of harsh critique! Better be cautious with this one.
K: Kitchen triangle
Did you discover that a simple kitchen is also designed efficiently on a kitchen triangle formula?
L: Life = Laptop screens
After initial years of hand drafting, as you switch to the software – little do you realize that now your life is going to revolve around laptop or computer screens.
M: Minimalism
Less is more – an architectural idiom that every student of architecture comes across once in their life. While the world out there celebrates bling, the architecture community showcases minimalist traits in their design, sometimes in their wardrobe too!
O: OOPS
No, it is not why you chose architecture; its a command in AutoCAD.
P: the four essential Ps – Presentation | Photoshop | Portfolio | Print
While the prior three quintessential P’s are the sine qua non factors defining the aesthetics, print is an additional trait that a student during the journey. Until you do not spend hours at the print shop, be updated on the sizes, types, and variety of paper, you cannot be a bonafide architect.
Q: Quirky
Yes, we speak and describe buildings – just like humans!
R: Redo
You cannot authenticate your architecture experience until your drawing sheets have not been vilified with a daunting redo mark!
S: Staircase Sections
Drafting a staircase section is the Catch-22 situation that you loathe desperately initially, but with practice come to peace with towards the end.
T: The tormenting trauma of thesis
Remember the endless all-nighters you pulled before the final jury to complete your models, prints, and walkthroughs, without moving away an inch from your screen? The journey comes to an end with this final milestone – embracing all the blood, sweat, and tears you shed in the past.
U: Urban
When you start concerning terms like urban fabric, you have finally started embracing the meaning of architecture. Architecture is not just drawing lines, but the notion of how our designed spaces can affect spaces around.
V: Varied Vocabulary
If you read the one above, you can clearly understand how architects communicate in a language different from regular conversations. Even the most common words like texture, fabric, kitsch, and skin, define our world uniquely.
W: Window
When an average human looks at a window, all he can see is a frame covering glass; however, you can disintegrate a window literally into at least 50 elements and have multiple varieties for most of them. Aptly quoted by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, “God is in the details.”
X: Xgen Key Generator
As students paying endless bills for architecture, you may surely recognize this one! Wink, wink!
Y: Y-Axis
Gone are the days of horizontal expansion; this century is all about vertical growth.
Z: Zen
You would discover trends changing with your consecutive years in architecture, but this is one of the few to have sustained for generations.
