I am a 23 year old house flipper/real estate agent and I am looking to enroll into a bachelors architecture school. I want to pursue architecture to fulfill the strong desire of designing my own ground up developments. Being that becoming a licensed architect will take me at least 8-10 years I need a way that I can balance my current occupation with first school, and then my arch internship. So I have compiled a few questions for you to answer please:
How do architecture firms feel about having outside projects taking place?
Is architecture school conducive to having outside responsibilities, or is it a full time commitment?
What are other routes I can take to designing my own developments without having to become a licensed architect?
*The client fulfillment side of architecture is not very appealing to me whatsoever. Although I am willing to "do what I gotta do" in order to get to where I want.
In my limited experience it seems any architecture firm you may be employed by would frown upon you moonlighting as a developer, or any other pursuit that could be construed as a full time endeavor outside of your responsibilities at your day job.
Architecture school is notorious for the sheer amount of time you have to commit to each project, not to mention your other classes you have to take, if you're in the US you'll also have to go on to complete the M.Arch degree in order to "fast track" licensure. as a B.S. Arch. will force you to work as an "intern" for an additional 10 years or so depending on your state's laws.
Other routes, don't build anything over your state's floor area threshold to where a license is mandatory. Look it up for your jurisdiction. Or you could just hire an architect as a partner in your business... (This would be the quickest way)
Why bother going to architecture school ... just hire a licensed architect to work for your company (you probably can get one for not a lot of money) and then tell him (her) what to draw ... that's what most developers do anyway.
1) they don't like it, many firms have no moonlighting policies, and I could see some principals getting really weirded out with an intern running multimillion dollar project on the side...no dice.
2) it is a full time commitment plus, if you really want to be an architect it is worth the time to be invested in your education, especially studio time and culture. The people that don't engage in this really miss out on what architecture education is all about.
3) hire architects to design your projects. You don't want to invest tons and time and money into a profession that is going to take years of education and work experience to even be remotely close to a position where you can design your own project with any competency.
*you should not go into this field, you have a romantic idea that is just a pipe dream...stick with what you are doing and hire professionals to design your buildings. You already have the developer mentality and tone of architects being a necessary evil. Coming into this field like some cocky shit isn't going to bode well. 23 year old flipper/real estate agent turned architect. ha!
@jla-x Honestly it just seems very appealing to develop a property that was once just a vision in my head. The satisfaction from selling/flipping a property just isn't there anymore. It seems though that I won't be able to continue with what I am doing and attend architecture school.
Yes, I could hire an architect to design what i envision, but it just isn't the same.
The way you sound, you're better off just earning money and finding someone who will fulfill your every design wish. Or know how to pull money out of people so your peddled vision can be realized by someone else.
The end result is the same, only you don't need to do any of the grunt work or spend another decade in school.
Be an imaginer. Walt Disney Didn't figure out the engineering for his rides but still developed the overall concept...You can still design your own projects to an extent... You can design whatever you want. If you are going down that road however, I would suggest you get deep into the books and learn everything you can about architecture and urbanism. You are in a unique position to develop something better than the junk out there. Look into people like Joseph Eichler.
Aksumite - over the course of my career I spent more than 1/2 my time in real estate development -- the remainder has been spent as a practicing architect in small and medium sized design firms. I can say without much fear of correction that during the time I spent in real estate I had infinitely more influence and control over the architecture than I ever had working in / owning a design firm.
Many posters above are telling you to keep (and grow) your current business and hire an architect you know and trust to provide architectural services. That is very good advice and you should give it serious consideration.
There is no reason you cannot develop a strong collaborative relationship with the architect you hire. Real estate can be a very creative activity -- developers rarely, if ever, rely solely on their architect to figure out the highest and best use of a piece of property.
Jan 2, 15 7:02 pm ·
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House Flipper/Real Estate Agent to Architecture School
I am a 23 year old house flipper/real estate agent and I am looking to enroll into a bachelors architecture school. I want to pursue architecture to fulfill the strong desire of designing my own ground up developments. Being that becoming a licensed architect will take me at least 8-10 years I need a way that I can balance my current occupation with first school, and then my arch internship. So I have compiled a few questions for you to answer please:
How do architecture firms feel about having outside projects taking place?
Is architecture school conducive to having outside responsibilities, or is it a full time commitment?
What are other routes I can take to designing my own developments without having to become a licensed architect?
*The client fulfillment side of architecture is not very appealing to me whatsoever. Although I am willing to "do what I gotta do" in order to get to where I want.
Thanks in advance
In my limited experience it seems any architecture firm you may be employed by would frown upon you moonlighting as a developer, or any other pursuit that could be construed as a full time endeavor outside of your responsibilities at your day job.
Architecture school is notorious for the sheer amount of time you have to commit to each project, not to mention your other classes you have to take, if you're in the US you'll also have to go on to complete the M.Arch degree in order to "fast track" licensure. as a B.S. Arch. will force you to work as an "intern" for an additional 10 years or so depending on your state's laws.
Other routes, don't build anything over your state's floor area threshold to where a license is mandatory. Look it up for your jurisdiction. Or you could just hire an architect as a partner in your business... (This would be the quickest way)
Why bother going to architecture school ... just hire a licensed architect to work for your company (you probably can get one for not a lot of money) and then tell him (her) what to draw ... that's what most developers do anyway.
to answer your questions:
1) they don't like it, many firms have no moonlighting policies, and I could see some principals getting really weirded out with an intern running multimillion dollar project on the side...no dice.
2) it is a full time commitment plus, if you really want to be an architect it is worth the time to be invested in your education, especially studio time and culture. The people that don't engage in this really miss out on what architecture education is all about.
3) hire architects to design your projects. You don't want to invest tons and time and money into a profession that is going to take years of education and work experience to even be remotely close to a position where you can design your own project with any competency.
*you should not go into this field, you have a romantic idea that is just a pipe dream...stick with what you are doing and hire professionals to design your buildings. You already have the developer mentality and tone of architects being a necessary evil. Coming into this field like some cocky shit isn't going to bode well. 23 year old flipper/real estate agent turned architect. ha!
Why do you want to design your own projects?
i think you're better off investing in the business you have now (unless you are truly unfulfilled by it)
the degree & license aren't going to do anything for your business beyond being a marketing note
maybe the graduate real estate degree at Columbia? that might help you push your career forward in a meaningful way
@jla-x Honestly it just seems very appealing to develop a property that was once just a vision in my head. The satisfaction from selling/flipping a property just isn't there anymore. It seems though that I won't be able to continue with what I am doing and attend architecture school.
Yes, I could hire an architect to design what i envision, but it just isn't the same.
The way you sound, you're better off just earning money and finding someone who will fulfill your every design wish. Or know how to pull money out of people so your peddled vision can be realized by someone else.
The end result is the same, only you don't need to do any of the grunt work or spend another decade in school.
Be an imaginer. Walt Disney Didn't figure out the engineering for his rides but still developed the overall concept...You can still design your own projects to an extent... You can design whatever you want. If you are going down that road however, I would suggest you get deep into the books and learn everything you can about architecture and urbanism. You are in a unique position to develop something better than the junk out there. Look into people like Joseph Eichler.
Aksumite - over the course of my career I spent more than 1/2 my time in real estate development -- the remainder has been spent as a practicing architect in small and medium sized design firms. I can say without much fear of correction that during the time I spent in real estate I had infinitely more influence and control over the architecture than I ever had working in / owning a design firm.
Many posters above are telling you to keep (and grow) your current business and hire an architect you know and trust to provide architectural services. That is very good advice and you should give it serious consideration.
There is no reason you cannot develop a strong collaborative relationship with the architect you hire. Real estate can be a very creative activity -- developers rarely, if ever, rely solely on their architect to figure out the highest and best use of a piece of property.
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