Life in an architecture school is one of the most atypical ones you can imagine. As you graduate from high school and step into the world of architecture, the transition is humongous. You enter a world so full of innovation, that it changes the way you perceive day to day life. Patterns, design schemes, color palettes that were present around us all along start coming alive with a newfound meaning to them. They say you need to become the jack of all trades in this field.
Reminiscing about the first-year days of my college, every day was a revelation. From just knowing about the famous Falling Waters to being mesmerized by the Gehry architecture, each time we dived a little more into the sea of architecture. Most of us would still remember the hand-lettering sheets and the anthropometry diagrams that were the highlights back then. Never had I thought that such a hectic schedule full of daily submissions, keeping up with lectures, and bearing patiently with the redos was going to hit me.
One of the most riveting and exciting experiences I had was of a time-based problem. It was a group activity spanning over three days wherein we were supposed to design, compose hand-rendered sheets, construct a model, with a jury at the end. Initially, it took a lot of debating, and pressure from seeing the other groups move on rapidly to get us to agree. The arguments were thrown and caught with crisp counters. Each one of us had wildly different concept ideas, and to decide on the concluding design seemed like a herculean task. Finally, we incorporated all the eccentric ideas from each concept that in-turn made for an unorthodox design. After a few hours, we had found our balance and thus began a non-stop charade of work which would have an unusual end. The lesson this exercise taught us about teamwork was paramount. All this was not without the non-stop coffee, the little noodle breaks and sometimes missing out on the daily meals.
The memory about this exercise that is permanently etched in our minds was the one where we were assembling the model. A little mishap does follow when you are under pressure and working with scalpels or utility knives. The design required several openings throughout the facade, a daring piece of work that the best blade-wielders were assigned. Halfway through, a timestamp of the hours remaining was announced and a nervous chill of panic ran down all our spines. This moment was enough to distract our master craftsman, who ran the blade too far into his thumb. We were quick in action but all so panicky that we did not realize the chaos that was about to be caused. In all the confusion, the superglue bottle had been elbowed, making it topple on the table. It was pretty careless of us, but in our defense, the studio was a beautiful mess by that time. It was not even half of it. Our luck was probably running short that day because the superglue had decided to set course towards our precisely cut sunboard, making it one with the table. They were so inseparable that all our attempts of salvaging it went in vain. It was a nightmare to happen at the eleventh hour. It took us about ten seconds to breathe and absorb the fact that a vast chunk of our hard work and a thumb had been wrecked. Acting immediately was the need of the hour. We swung into action like coordinating machine parts making last moment design changes, remastering plans, and modifying the model. The synergy of the group was amazing to see. Ultimately, the deadline arrived and it was time for the jury.
The jury day was a different sight altogether. You would think of professionally dressed up individuals, calm and composed, explaining the design with proficiency. On the contrary, the exhibition hall was full of weary individuals, heavy-eyed with dark circles. Some were even asleep on the student chairs hidden behind their group mates. It was finally the time to present and we were ready to face the music. Quite unbelievably, the shortcomings of our model were more than compensated by the technical drawings and the unconventional concept that we had wrangled over for so long. It all came together like a beautifully stitched tale. After it was over, the only thing on everybody’s minds was satiating those hunger pangs. The developments of the day most certainly became an amusing subject of discussion for all of us. This incident still makes us chuckle every time we take a trip down memory lane.
Everyone has most likely had such idiosyncratic adventures of their own, accidents that almost ruined things and a lot more rib-tickling memories. Architecture school does offer such a varied variety of experiences. From constructing stages and pavilions for the college fests, the fun site visits, and the study trips to widely-known monuments, this course is a wild ride of its own.
