Architecture has just been one of the biggest waves of change I have experienced in life. Right from sleepless nights, to skipping meals, to lessons in punctuality, to changes in my mindset and outlook, to even my outward appearance which is embracing the dishevelled look I majorly have adopted unlike an upgraded wardrobe you were beginning to think, it has taught me a great deal in adaptability. It has shaped me in countless ways and moulded me to think, believe, and question everything around me differently, and going through it was unlike anything I had ever pictured college would be like.
All about that Architecture Life
It is not fundamentally different compared to other courses. We do submit assignments and have class tests – which is possibly the only grey area wherein the similarities end. The assignments themselves are what makes it different- freehand sketching, critical thinking, perspective drawings, model making, photography, design development and so much more. The innate nature of this course is to make one think and create, and in that sphere the possibilities become endless. This understanding is, however, only recently acquired and is not how I initially used to think.
The pressure to produce and submit work on time never felt manageable. All-nighters had become a habitual practice that no amount of organization could help combat. Every semester upped the ante and the workload just never seemed to reduce. Let’s just say trudging through architecture has not been easy but again, the sense of accomplishment thereafter is too sweet to forego and that is what has helped me push through the rather demanding phases in architecture school.
The Spirit of Freshman-ship!
Ever since the first year, I have tried to be as sincere as possible in my work and many a time stretching myself to the farthest limits to do so. That would mean opting out of any and every plan that would hinder me from getting my work done and submitted on time. I always prioritised and put work first before anything else, which did pay off in its own ways but the pressure did catch up to me at times. I would be lying if I said I had not felt tempted to attend a party or go see a movie as opposed to getting concept sheets or floor plans up on time.
Wanting to Break Loose
I did not mind the tag of ‘sincerity’ since it mostly fetched me a good reputation, and somehow the friends I made were not too different from me, they also enjoyed working and in those similarities, our friendship grew. However, there came a time when we were all a little tired of the humdrum college life we were leading and wanted to do something to break the monotony.
There were many competitions and fests that came our way every year but most of them required us to miss classes in order to participate in them and that is not a chance we were willing to take. This one time though we were all on the same page about wanting to participate in one of the many competitions for the annual college fest and so, after a very apprehensive discussion, the six of us decided to sign up for it.
Preparing to Break Loose
The competition was called ‘Setu Nirman’. Just as the name suggests we had to build a bridge as a prototype for the real structure, out of ice-cream sticks. So, the day of the competition arrived, and by lunchtime, I could sense the excitement and nervousness that everybody was emanating. It was finally time for us to exit the class but none of us wanted to interrupt the teacher, hence we just kept passing nervous glances at each other hoping someone would speak up. I took the lead and managed to get permission for us to leave class and we were finally on our way to the competition.
Taking the plunge
Once outside, we were pretty lost as the competition was in another building and none of us had ventured too much out of our department, which was in an individual building. So, we asked around and found our way to the site of the competition. We secured a spot and gathered around it. Once settled, we took out all the materials and found out that we only had ice-cream sticks, a glue stick for gum and a bundle of thread.
Turns out the person we assigned to bring adhesive did not think it through and as a result of which we had no idea as to how to proceed with building the bridge. The glue stick was of no use in keeping the ice cream sticks in place. We realized that in the excitement of participation we had forgotten to bring the required materials.
Luckily one of our seniors spotted us and came over, he suggested to us that we use our cutters and scissors to make incisions on the sticks and interlock the pieces together to build a stable structure. With the time we had left we managed to create a little something that looked stable and was holding together. We felt like we might still have a shot at this.
Breaking Loose
Upon completion, we submitted our structure and placed it alongside other models on a large table and gathered around it for it to be evaluated by the judges. So, each structure had to go through a stability check by dropping it on the table from a little height above it and a weight check over a digital balance. Soon, it was our turn and our model was picked up by a senior and placed before the judge.
As soon as it touched the tabletop, every single piece of the structure came apart as if it were a house of cards being blown over by a gust of wind. Everybody roared in laughter and so did we. We shrugged our shoulders and looked around, upon being asked which group was responsible for making it as the model did not even qualify, lest it should be evaluated.
Back to the Grind
We turned our backs and got out of there as soon as possible, for we could not live with the embarrassment any longer than we already had. It was hilarious, to say the least.
We huddled in my room at night and laughed our guts out, thinking about how the day had unravelled. It did not bother us that we stood disqualified. It is times like these that become memorable later on. It was a fun incident nonetheless. The best part being the number of laughs we generated as a result of it — not saying that was the motive but a silver lining in the oh so crumbly cloud that it was!
