‘Humour is mankind’s greatest blessing’– Mark Twain and ‘A day without laughter is a day wasted’- Charlie Chaplin; such beautiful quotes convey to us the importance of the funny side of our life. In the life of architecture students if we look closely then we may find it stressful but in the wider picture, every traumatic experience has some humorous story behind it. These incidents leave an unerasable memory in our life and we feel nostalgic when we recollect our student life for example getting a redo after working on a sleepless night or coining-up some stories to explain the design concept to the jury. Here, we will be discussing a few comical incidents that we all might have faced or still facing in our study life.
‘Night Outs’ for the Architecture Students
In the architecture discipline, students usually tend to redefine certain terms such as the phrase ‘Night Out’ no longer means spending a leisure night with friends rather it is all about friends who gather at a place and have a bittersweet time by working together with their architecture equipment for the whole night. These night outs are more likely to be seen when there is a deadline approaching. The funny side of this experience is the consequences which the students have to face by attending the morning classes with their heavy-eyed faces and dozy minds.
The Latecomers of the Class with their believable Excuses
Punctuality reflects one’s ability to maintain self-discipline in their life. But always there has been at least one person in the class who is known as a latecomer. They not only arrive late for their classes but they also have mastered the art to convince the professor with believable excuses such as producing a false narrative of their health condition with a fake doctor’s prescription or narrating a fake accident story and showing injuries to bluff the professor. Nowadays the professors are also smart enough to catch a lie so one has to be careful before making any excuses.
Chill runs down one’s spine on hearing the word ‘Redo’
The worst nightmare in the life of an architecture student is when the professor scribbles or tears the sheets and asks for a redo. This is heartbreaking for any student who has spent hours drafting a construction or a detail sheet with an expectation that it will be appreciated. But the funny side of this exacting incident is when the students take the smarter approach by choosing to trace the drawing on a glass top table with a light underneath which ultimately gets acknowledged by the professor.
When an Innovative approach turns into a Disaster at the Workshop
Architecture is a creative field and students are flooded with their innovative ideas and designs but the main challenge one has to face is when they have to turn their visual design into a physical model. There are times when one has to use the laser-cut machine to carve an intricate design but accidentally, the fire from the laser-cut machine ends up burning the model due to its high intricacy work. Such unforeseen events do take place, so one has to be careful at a workshop, or else the humorous experience can turn into a tragic episode.
When the Poet’s Corner becomes a cheating hub during the Exam hours
Particularly in architecture, students are more reluctant to study and appear for the exam as more weightage is given to the practical works than the theories. Thus, they come up with ingenious solutions to face the exams of the theory papers. The funny side during the exam hour can be seen when one after the other students make excuses to go to the restroom as they have had asked the juniors to prepare short notes and hide them near the restroom.
When the Design Thesis Jury is more about the Drafting Skills
During the design thesis, one is more concerned about the design idea as it has always been prioritized. There are times when the students are confident with the concept but unfortunately the jury does not proceed the way they had expected. As the judges ask questions more about the person’s drafting skills such as the different types of lines and line weights used for indicating a hidden object and a roof overhang, the missing of the one-tile down arrow or the symbols ‘UP’ and ‘DN’ not presented in block letters. This does sound annoying but the judges try to introduce the students to the professional world of architecture where an intern or a junior architect has to draft more and design less.
First Official Meeting and Site Visit as an Intern
An Internship is considered to be the silver lining in the life of an architecture student as after years of hard work one has reached the final stage of their Bachelor’s degree and gear themselves up as professionals. This is not the only reason for one’s excitement but also one is eager to attend their first official meeting and site visit with an expectation to deepen their technical and practical knowledge. As an intern one would witness the funny side behind such serious meetings as they discover that these meetings are mainly to yell at the contractor for running behind schedule.
Prolonged Coffee Break at the Office
Coffee breaks are mandatory especially during the afternoon when people feel drowsy after their lunch break. This break is usually for five or ten minutes and this rule is generally followed by most of the architecture firms as it tries to maintain its punctuality and discipline. But at times these rules are not strictly followed by the interns and they prolong the coffee break for a few more minutes. As a reaction to their action, the company gives them a firm warning by stating a deduction from their stipend or to fire them.
Everyone’s life has always been a rollercoaster and it entirely depends on us as to how to react to the situation, handle the delicate moments carefully, learn from our experience, and cherish the bittersweet memories sportively. We should continue to see the funny side of the life of the architecture students and the architects and recall our graduation days as a sweet memory with a pinch of salt. Thus, when we are nostalgic we will be grateful to experience the hilarious side of the sweet and sour memories.
