An architecture college is supposed to provide students with an initial understanding of the overall social, technical, and artistic aspects of architecture. Architecture as a course promotes the enhancement of design, cognitive, and analytical skills. Architecture college not only helps to be better at the profession but also helps to develop a strong personality. Along with the curriculum through case studies, group projects, study tours, cohesive learning is encouraged. The college plays a huge role in shaping a student’s ideology of built spaces.
The 5 years spent in the architecture college surely prove to be transforming, engaging, and wholesome as a creative learning experience. Starting college as naïve to shaping a self-identity is indeed a journey!
Here are 10 significant takeaways that architecture college offers:
1. Resilience and Patience | Architecture College
Resilience is being able to bounce back after a difficult experience, while patience is being able to be calm in uncertain situations. Both of these are seemingly similar concepts. Initially, after joining architecture college, a countless number of redos and deadline pressures can be overwhelming. Through this process, as time passes—enough patience develops which helps sustain a career later. Architecture is a life-long learning process, with all the downfalls experienced, resilience built during college years helps to continue with the process of learning.
2. Time Management
Architecture is infamously known for its long work hours and all-nighters. Time management becomes very crucial as getting carried away in the design process is very common among students and architects. It often happens that even after spending endless hours of work the output is not effective enough.
Balancing assignments, case studies, group projects can become intimidating at times. With each passing semester, clarity of how a project should be managed is gained. The ability then translates to the profession as well.
3. Teamwork and Leadership
Through several group projects, case studies, and various other group activities a better output is expected by teamwork. Getting along with every individual can be difficult at times. The opinions may or may not be similar. In this case, keeping calm and speaking up in disagreement is required. Communicating an idea effectively is thus learned eventually. If in the position of leadership, carving out a plan according to the strengths and weaknesses of team members is understood.
4. Aesthetic Sensibility-Developing a Unique Style
In architecture college, every passing semester the students are expected to show creativity with the design projects and through other subjects as well. May that be through presentation style, design approach, or attention to detail, a unique style and approach of students are observed. All these activities develop aesthetic sensibility. This also allows showcasing the values an individual stands for as an architect.
5. Communication Skills | Architecture College
Activities like case studies, workshops, seminars help students to evolve their communication skills. Communication skills are very necessary for being successful in the profession. In instances like design explanation during juries, architecture college not only teaches to communicate the drawings on paper but in written and in a verbal format as well.
6. Perspective
While entering architecture college, students usually have a naïve and narrow vision towards life and career ahead. Architecture college helps widen the vision and ability to develop a perspective towards the world. While designing spaces, there are many considerations to be taken into account—right from human psychology to advanced technology in recent years, an architect is expected to know all about it.
Architecture as a course helps to think multidimensionally. It is because of this that architects can work for small-scale projects like interiors to large-scale projects like urban design.
7. Technical skills
With increasing scope in BIM modeling and opportunities through VR (Virtual reality), the technology is developing faster than ever before. 3D visualization is very important for design explanation, for which developing technical skills are a must since the initial college years.
8. Social Awareness
Understanding the pressing issues in society and being able to give back in the form of an architectural solution can be a rewarding process. Developing a self-opinion on the socio-political scenario is encouraged during the years in architecture college. As architecture closely shapes a society, it becomes extremely important to keep ourselves updated about the social aspects around us.
9. Design Ideology
Throughout architecture college, students come across many design ideologies of architects right from Le Corbusier, Meis van der Rohe to Zaha Hadid, and Bjarke Ingles which helps them to develop their unique outlook towards architecture. Exposure to design ideologies not only evolves design skills but also outlook on the spaces around.
10. Mindfulness | Architecture College
To bring out the best design solution, architects need to connect with their inner selves. The expectations of teachers, clients, and society can be intimidating at times, which makes their lives stressful. To overcome difficult situations and to gain self-confidence one is compelled to practice mindfulness since the initial college years.
