When someone hears that you’re in Architecture school they simply assume that it is all about drawing and that it is all fun and games. But for someone in the field of architecture knows that it is not just that it is much more. A student’s perception as to what architecture is all about changes throughout the five years that he/she is there and hence the definition of the learning of architecture changes with time. Architecture is dynamic and so is the knowledge we inherit in architecture school. Here are 7 things that we learn in architecture school, which is not just limited to architecture but can also be implemented in our daily lives.
1] Courage – To throw away what you love
The first lesson that you will learn is about letting go. You have got an assignment to make the best possible model that you can make of your dream house and you complete the assignment, in time and have put a hundred percent of your efforts in it with the hope that it would be considered as the best. During submission, you see that the professor is finding faults and even throwing away models that are not feasible in real life. You are next and the same happens to you, you are shattered that all your efforts have gone down the drain in just a couple of minutes. You sulk around the entire day and maybe even the next day. But as an act of revenge, you try again and incorporate all the remarks that the professor made for the previous model and in turn, you get the good remarks. Architecture school helps you put in your negative emotions into good use instead of doing something that isn’t right. It teaches us to transform our negative energy into positive and let go of what made those negative thoughts manifest us in the first place, and all of this requires courage.
2] Journey not the destination
No one or nothing can put more emphasis on the importance of the process than architecture. Right from the first year of architecture school we have been taught about the process be it of design, construction, or even architectural history. The process is the key element to the make or break of a project. Even though there isn’t a correct or right way of approaching the process, how you make your way through it, solving obstacles one by one is what counts. No two processes are the same making it a bit challenging but once you’ve mastered it your final destination always turns out to be the best.
3] Simplicity at its best
As a newcomer into the field of architecture, we love to experiment with whatever comes to our mind. While the experimentation is appreciated, too much or too little of anything makes it less attractive. Putting everything into one always results in chaos, instead of going with what works with you or the project and keeping it to a minimum not only gives it a functional viability but also an aesthetic look. This is one learning that goes beyond architecture and is applicable everywhere.
4] Taking a note
Taking a note does not only imply the notes that you write down during lectures but also when someone criticizes your work. The most annoying thing that one feels during architecture is the criticism that is being given to your work towards which you’ve put your heart and soul. Sometimes it is all negative remarks that you get, which often brings down your morale to work or do anything. But if you’re persistent and determined then you learn to take in the criticism and turn it into something constructive. This is the most difficult of all the things that you learn and apply during the five years of architecture school, but it is the true translation of ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’.
5] Patience
Above everything else, the only thing that you will learn without fail and without any guidance is patience. Architecture as a course, as a career demands patience. If you cannot come to think of a concept before the submission and are panicking, have patience it’ll all work out. If you are finding it difficult to manage all of the subjects and are struggling to keep up with the submission, take a moment, breathe. If at some point you feel that architecture is getting overwhelming and that you cannot do it anymore, pause, think and analyze. Throughout the five years and maybe even beyond you’ll face a lot of curveballs thrown at you, but eventually, it comes down to you, whether you choose to stand, stare and let it hit you or hit it back for a home run. Patience is the magic that you are waiting to happen, it is in you to let it out.
