Architecture school: A collection of late nights, bottomless coffee cups and a series of constructive crits. Without a doubt, the study of Architecture is tough, but it too shines to push any individual to the best of their abilities.
I did a Diploma in Landscape Architecture in polytechnic and then proceeded to pursue the Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at university. Having gone through 3 years of Landscape Architecture, I decided to take up the challenge of something new but still within the boundaries of what Architecture encompasses, which is Building Architecture. Having made that decision comes with inputs of others saying how Architecture school is demanding and requires many hours put into place to master the art of architecture.
Furthermore, architecture is a male-dominated field, and it is tough for a woman to sustain it. Even though choosing to go to architecture school seems daunting, it still is a decision I am thankful I made. I have learned a myriad of things from polytechnic up till in university, from things I learned directly from school to site visits to the internships. All of which has come in handy not only in the context of architecture but in the way I live my life too.
The things one can learn from architecture school can be categorised in two different ways, one of which is a more tangible way that is directly applicable in the works of architecture whereas the other is in the soft skills one can strongly develop through architecture school. Starting with the tangible skills, mastering technical drawings, and exploring different post-production skills are the few things one can and will do in architecture school.
Technical Skills | Study of Architecture
Going through architecture school means one would eventually study and learn the process of how things evolve from a sketch to ultimately something of real life. This includes the understanding of how things are theoretically being built on-site and how an architect should convey their design to contractors so that the design intent of a project can be projected in real life. This is taught through the study of scale, measurements of general things such as the thickness of different materials and the construction of technical drawings. To further help this skill, one would slowly learn to observe and take in minute details of the things around them. Anything that we can interact with is things we can observe. Things such as street furniture, how our homes are designed and even with each of our anthropometries.
Learning and observing how humans interact with the things around us and how the most general of things such as a chair is designed is important before knowing where the screws and bolts go. From here, an architecture student is then expected to construct drawings such as floor plans, sections, sectional perspectives, and construction details that wrap up to be the tender drawings of a particular project.
Post-Production
Moving on, post-production in architecture school can make or break a project. Initially, before pursuing architecture, I quite never expect to learn the different ways one can represent their project. It is baffling to know and explore the myriad of softwares one can use to aid with the presentation of a project. The use of Vray in Sketch Up, Lumion, Twinmotion or Photoshop can come in handy in bringing a project to life.
Even with these softwares, one can come up with many ways to visualise their design and each student typically has their unique style and touch in the way they represent their ideas. The use of GIFs, video making, and video animation is also the in thing for architecture students. Alike to design, the way one can wrap up and present their design is limitless.
Time and Stress Management
Apart from the skills, one can directly apply to the works of architecture, there too are more intangible skills that one can apply to their life. This of which is time management and stress management. To have a social life and wanting to do well in architecture school requires both, good time and stress management skills. It is a challenge to be in a strenuous course and yet maintains a decent social life that allows one to have a life outside architecture or some downtime to breathe and relax.
Despite the fast-paced and rigour of being in architecture school, one should always slot some time in for themselves so that one would not burn out or get lost in the hustle of things. Always checking and asking themselves whether they are coping well and taking the time to remind themselves why they do the things that they do. I realised that dividing my time came in the small and little pockets, it was more of the saved insignificant minutes that made my hours more productive.
Appreciate the subtlety of things | Study of Architecture
Moreover, with the study of architecture, I have come to realise how much I start observing the things around me. Appreciating how the small and minute details of a design add significance and help accentuates a particular design. It is common for architecture students to be more attentive to the things around them. Architecture students just simply cannot help themselves but appreciate a well-thought design and critique a design flaw when they happen to see one. This also comes hand in hand with design in architecture and helps one to appreciate the small details in the mass of the larger things that a design can hold.
Studying architecture is applicable in the daily things in life and helps students question: why things are the way they are? As Eileen Gray puts it, “to create one must first question everything”. Amongst the skills that one learns from studying architecture, what I realised about architecture is that encompasses many. Graduating with a diploma or bachelor’s in architecture does not mean one must or can only be an aspiring architect.
The study of architecture ventures out to many aspects such as architecture jobs like being a landscape architect or an urban planner. Careers in art and design like pursuing graphics design or being an industrial designer. Even pursuing careers outside of design such as being an architectural journalist, a teacher/professor, or a conservationist. All in all, studying architecture infiltrates one’s life and in good hands, it too can aid in shaping and framing a person’s life. Instilling perseverance, determination and collaboration skills, a student that studies architecture can surely live a creative and broad life.
