“It’s 8:35 am, I sneak into my studio five minutes late, carefully camouflaging myself with sheets and models (clearly not)! Right at the entrance, the admirable trio of professors is mumbling among themselves but will turn monstrous once the review starts sharp at 9. Today is the monthly design review, where everyone’s concept will be finalized. I hurdle-hop my way to the desk since the floor is covered with sheets from end to end as if the tables and studio walls were not enough. The studio is so full of nerves that even graffiti-covered walls could not lighten up the mood. Amidst all the chaos and shouting, I could still hear them scribbling through the sheets. The relative aroma of alcohol markers and Fevicol enveloped the classroom. Students racing across desks with microns and color pens, trying to execute the mastery of Zaha Hadid sketches, by the minute. Resisting the wonky hands, the student presenting first is trying to pin-up sheets straight to the walls. In an attempt to center my focus, I quickly grab a seat, place my sheets, and model on the desk, praying that my concept gets a green flag today (it’s a lie we all say to ourselves, don’t we?).”
Well, five years of architecture school is no cakewalk and comes with its fair share of fun, academic grind, sleepless nights, endless juries, and uncountable learnings. For some, it is a mix of excitement and enthusiasm, while for others, it’s a mix of anxiety and sleepless nights. Well for me, it was both. Back in college days, design reviews used to be one bittersweet experience. Studios during design review looked no less than a courtroom, the students as an audience, and the professors as jury (actually), and the student presenting, like a convicted criminal whose fate is to be decided.
The Jury Starts Sharp at 9
As the clock struck 9, the studio which looked like a fish market arranged itself into a sushi restaurant. In a brief moment, the faculties straightened up, with their marking rubric in hand. The first student in order, ready with his panel while other students obliged in silence. The studio project for the second semester was a primary school. The horror of going first for a jury is real unless you are a brave heart. The first few students are bashed left, right, and center, giving others a fair idea of what will be asked, how to explain your design, and especially, how not to piss the professors off (for, they take one for the team). While you may think you can con the jurors into thinking your concept is exceptional, they know, always! One by one, the professors started evaluating our concepts and what it stemmed from, some ships fought the mighty wind, some tanked. It left me wondering if I will sail through.
In no time I was next, overpowering my nervousness, I pinned my sheets up. Religiously following the narrative I had prepared, I began… “Good morning everyone. I am…”and went on for two minutes straight until interrupted with a question… uh… Can you quickly tell me what your concept is? And at that moment I froze. While in my mind I was explaining my concept flawlessly… “I have explored the perception of color in architecture and its effects that are symbolic, associative, synthetic, and emotional. …for a primary school, the vibrant and multi-colored façade will…. I was interrupted again. You haven’t told us what your concept is yet? Contrary to all the logical words going on in my mind I opened my mouth to answer and instead told something stupid. I said…sir… my concept ..is a…rainbow! Yes, I said it. Out of anxiety, I did. The whole classroom broke into laughter leaving me embarrassed. And I cursed my Mind for not co-operating with my mouth (well this wasn’t the first time)!
Second Semester: Design as Discovery
Well, I am sure it must have happened to other students too (hopefully I am not alone in this). The transition from the first semester to the second semester is quite a leap. While the former focuses on abstract thinking, in the latter, the design problem becomes more defined. It’s a phase where you are fascinated with the fancy words you read in architecture magazines like green architecture, sustainability, bio-mimicry, and you want to implement them all! Well, as a first-year student, I was exploring multiple facets of design. “This time around, I took a deep breath before explaining to the professors what I meant, and they responded patiently, even corrected me, and made me rationalize my design concept while highlighting the importance of communicating ideas. And to my surprise, I did get my design approved that day!
Wholesome, With All Its Quirks
That’s the thing about Architecture School, all the experiences, especially the bad and funny ones eventually help us understand the process, molding us into better designers. It’s funny to think about how I struggled with all my might in the beginning, even considered dropping out of school, but ended up with positive life-changing experiences, instead. It has been eight years since that episode, hundreds of concepts and dozens of design executions later, I have grown to love every bit of the design process, especially concept development (yes, you heard it right)! As long as one is persistent, I believe, all it takes is stamina and, well, a lot of coffee.
Let me get back to work, I have yet to work on a new concept. We’ll talk soon.
