Although most of us go through a 12 year school education before we start pursuing a degree, architecture is somehow a whole different experience to start with. The things one learns in an architecture school are very different from what is expected.
The moment you walk into an architecture school, we realize that there are no books contrary to the popular belief of having books to study. It is at this moment that one realizes that for most part of the architectural journey you are your own teacher and your teacher is also as much a student in this process. Unlike many professional courses where there is a set of rights and wrongs, architecture has very few rights and wrongs. The process of learning in architecture or design colleges is extremely personal and may vary for most people.
Here are some things that I learnt from my education in architecture:
1. Exploring far and wide for answers.
We often hear this word “explore” in the initial years of college. At the formative years of the course, the exploration is truly emphasized and hence students are left kind of clueless as to what to explore and where to explore from. The exploration in architecture is an unsaid mission to accomplish for every design studio. As creative individuals, we are constantly trying to find ways to execute ideas. Coming from the standard school system of learning from textbooks and being taught answers to questions as opposed to finding the right questions to answers is challenging at first and then slowly becomes a way of life. The quest to find questions and answers is always fun and sometimes becomes a personalized experience.
2. Patience
The most taxing thing about studio education is the fact that there are times where we keep going back and forth in the process of design. I remember an experience from my studio where I was unable to draw well and put my ideas to action. Through the multiple studios I learnt that the key is to be patient about the process of designing, there are times where we have to look at our design ideas and drawings from a third perspective.
3. Drawing more skillfully and quickly
A lot of people who start drawing at a very young age tend to join architecture to pursue their interest in drawing but architectural education is not just about drawing but also about being skillful at the way your ideas are represented. I think it takes time to find your nag in the right way to convey your ideas to people while giving a jury or a discussion. The key to finding the balance of making good drawings is to make them not only look beautiful but also make them quickly. Today there are multiple ways and softwares to help make the drawings look better and as detailed as one can go.
4. Bringing your thoughts to action
The entire architectural process has a lot to do with bringing thoughts to action. During the internship especially, during site visits and communicating with clients is when we realize the moral responsibilities attached to being an architect. It is with this that we realize that bringing one’s thoughts to action in a right manner, coordinating with different people and keeping in mind the economic effects is very important.
5. No software is too hard to learn if you really try.
In recent years, a lot of new graphic softwares and 3-D modelling softwares, help in making the entire process of drawing easier and faster. Some of the softwares tend to look difficult and may be intimidating but learning these softwares always helps in having a better understanding of designing and some of the generative designs have proven to be better also. The use of technology is also playing a key role in helping develop new sustainable materials of construction. The use of technology and softwares is something that all budding architects can pursue with the help of multiple online resources and especially the lockdown in many parts of the world has helped in bringing together a sea of opportunities to learn new softwares.
6. Reading is the best form of learning
Although we always seem to talk about drawings, reading about great work of architecture and understanding the intention behind the designs is always a beautiful learning process. The learning by reading about architecture also helps in developing our own visualization capabilities. Since we have always been taught to write and interpret it is always easier to put words to action while designing also.
There are definitely more things to learn in architecture school. The countless cuts made while making models always leads us to a new lesson. The more number of things you try in college, the more you find out the does and don’ts of what works best and what doesn’t. The entire learning curve in architecture also helps in building a strong personality and the idea of creating and being creative always allows a sense of uniqueness like no other professional practice.
