The architecture course drags on for five long years and we learn so many new things along the way. The course has more than 90 subjects in ten semesters and you can imagine how vast it would be.
From history to structural calculations, we have to study them all. So, it’s not just designs and techniques we learn in our college life; there are a few skills that are etched into us along the way. As you proceed with your semesters you realize that architectural education is so much more than just learning to design great spaces. We also pick up important life lessons that we have to keep with us throughout our careers.
Below are the skills you learned in Architecture College. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say that you developed these skills throughout the five years of your curriculum.
Time Management
Whether in architecture or any other profession, time management is a major problem for anyone. Even the best of us would have trouble with it. The process of organizing and planning how to divide your time between specific activities may seem like a simple task; but when you actually get to do it, blunders are bound to happen. Of course, it may not happen to some of us, but we can’t deny that it is a common problem among professionals of all fields.
Time Management is one of the most important skills learned in Architecture College. We all face the ghost of deadlines since the beginning of the first semester. You endure so many sleepless nights just to get the assignment done in time.
Nonetheless, as you get used to these vexing situations, you slowly start to learn how to manage your time. It may take a year or two, and for some, maybe not until your final year. But believe it or not, before you graduate, you will learn this skill.
Team Coordination
Team Coordination is another one of those important skills you learned in Architecture College. When you go out in the real world, the first thing you have to do is to cooperate with your team.
Architectural design isn’t always a one-person job; most of the time it requires the efforts of a whole team. Unlike our solo designs in colleges, an architectural firm requires an integrated set of knowledge, ideas, and strategies. We achieve these by working together for a common design.
Luckily, architecture colleges make us work in groups most of the time. It may be for a minor design, a simple assignment, or even competitions. Regardless, throughout the five years, we have to work in groups countless times. It may be frustrating at times, but on the bright side, you eventually learn how to work in a team and get along with others.
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Presentation Skills
Presentation skills are one of the key skills you learned in Architecture College. You need these skills to deliver your ideas and designs effectively and engagingly to the audience. Presentation skills include a variety of qualities such as the design of your slide, how you speak, and your body language, and so on.
You need these traits to get your message across to the audience clearly and straightforwardly, and to have the ability to convince them that your design is the best.
These skills are important to convince our professors in college and defend our designs in the final jury. The same design can be viewed as good or bad, depending on the person. Just because someone liked it doesn’t mean others will as well. That’s one of the tricky parts about designs. So, in a presentation, it all comes down to how well you can explain your design. During our college life, we give so many presentations that eventually develop a knack for it.
Image 2_Team Coordination_©irishtimes.com
Communication Skills
Communication skills are one of the most important skills you learned in Architecture College. You need to have the ability to communicate properly, not just in the architecture profession, but everywhere.
Communication skills aren’t limited to just listening and speaking; it includes your hand gestures, tone of voice, eye contact, confidence, body language, friendliness, and so on. The ability to communicate effectively with your superiors and colleagues not only is a positive professional trait, but it gives a good impression of you to others.
Sometimes, brilliant ideas may come to your mind, but they have no value if you can’t effectively interpret them into words. There’s only so much we learn in schools. College is an important place where you develop your communication skills. The more you interact, the better you get. In a way, communication skills are an extension of team coordination and presentation skills.
Accepting Criticism
As mentioned earlier, designs are good or bad depending on the person you’re showing them to. You’re bound to face criticisms both in college as well as in firms. In fact, it’s completely normal. If you look at the bright side, you realize that these “negative” comments are actually suggestions for improvement.
Nothing can be perfect in the world; of course, designs are no exceptions. Architecture is always changing, and so do ideas and designs. Still, we can’t deny that receiving tough reviews on your hard work is a blow to your confidence. So the best thing to do is thicken your skin and to understand what is wrong with your design.
Accepting Criticism is more like a habit than one of the skills learned in Architecture College. Instead of feeling dejected and losing confidence, it’s always better to tackle the situation in a professional way. The jury is always our worst nightmare. We face harsh comments from the juror almost every time. But it’s these things that make us ready for the future.
The role of an architect encompasses a vast range of skills and ways of thinking. We can’t limit ourselves to our desks and think it’s enough to create good designs; it just doesn’t work that way. All the above skills are important, but we also have to know that we can’t simply learn them in a span of weeks.
It takes time, patience, and diligence. These are the things that you slowly develop during your college years, and even after that. This variety of skills we learned in architectural college mirrors the reality of the profession. With this in mind, we can say that these skills are far-reaching and transferable; something that branches off in infinite directions or pathways.
