TimesOnline.co.uk recently posited, "Bad pay, few jobs and an uncertain future? Who’d want to be an architecture student in the current climate?"
Students, tell us in the comments or in the new Archinect Facebook Fan Page why YOU want to be an architecture student. The best answer posted by Friday October 30 12pm PST (as judged by Archinect) will win a Sumo Omni!
TimesOnline.co.uk recently posited, "Bad pay, few jobs and an uncertain future? Who’d want to be an architecture student in the current climate?"
Students, tell us in the comments or in the new Archinect Facebook Fan Page why YOU want to be an architecture student. The best answer posted by Friday October 30 12pm PST (as judged by Archinect) will win a Sumo Omni!
Above: Sumo Omni chairs at a recent American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) convention
Rules:
37 Comments
to be an architect
ARCHITECT
FITS ME BEST
I'VE TRIED ON
OTHER SHOES
BUT THEY'RE ALL
TOO LOOSE
BARCODES TO MY KNEES
ELBOWS OF CONCRETE
I AM BURIED DEEP BENEATH
WHILE BUSINESS SUPERSEDES
learn an asian language, it's called leverage.
move to asia, it's called switch of economic power, aka new opportunities.
..the west has enough opera houses, stadiums, and towers that look like cocks.
architects and designers have been exotic menials for too long. many business thinkers are promoting the idea of the necessity for design thinking to be integrated into all systems and organizaitons. the problem is the imbedded and calcified studio system that promotes the outmoded "genius designer" role over the collaborative teams and lateral thinking. until fundamental changes are made here the profession will continue to suffer.
been asking myself the same question...
It IS truely an incurable disease.
i am in architecture out of necessity, otherwise my hand, heart and mind would remain intolerably still.
“You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces; that is construction. Ingenuity is at work...I thank you, as I might thank railway engineers or the telephone service. You have not touched my heart. But suppose that walls rise towards heaven in such a way that I am moved. I perceive your intentions. Your mood has been gentle, brutal, charming, or noble. The stones you have erected tell me so. You fix me to the place and my eyes regard it. They behold something which expresses a thought. A thought which reveals itself without word or sound, but solely by means of shapes which stand in a certain relationship to one another. The shapes are such that they are clearly revealed in light. The relationships between them have not necessarily any reference to what is practical or descriptive. They are a mathematical creation of your mind. They
are the language of Architecture. By the use of inert materials and starting from conditions more or less utilitarian, you have established certain relationships which have aroused my emotions. This is Architecture.”
-Le Corbusier
because everything else is too easy
Architecture to me is about reviving the present degradation of social responsibility. I believe in an architecture that would re-imagine the city as a hub of both commerce and community, where class and race aren't issues but celebrated in a diverse community working together for the betterment of society...through good/responsible architecture of course!
do the girls come with it?
I topped my class in a gamut of fields, maths, physics, art, drafting, history and english. Architecture was the only field that allowed me to continue to explore the complex interrelationships of my education to date. It made sense to study Architecture, even if I didn't give a rats arse about "Architecture" per se'.
5 years later and it's a love hate relationship. But for me to do anything else would feel like cutting off a limb and I would be poorer for it.
I love applying myself to the teamwork, collaborative and leadership roles available in the office. I love the infinite depth and variety of issues to engage with. I love the ability to make something beautiful. I love the idea that an ambitious yet balanced professional future is possible. and I love the sincerity and character of many fellow architects/students. I love the ability to visibly value add to the community/commerce/infrastructure/dialogue of the world around me... instead of simply talking about it.
I hate the culture of innefficiency and professional self-sabotage (re: fees, the presiding bodies that are supposed to serve the profession and the propensity for my fellow professionals to voluntarily drive themselves to divorce, alcaholism and insolvency). I hate the fact that if my university was a consultant I would fire them for professional incompetence.
But I don't think I could have chosen anything else, and I would chose the same again had I the choice again... although I may have spent my time with more discretion and efficiency, but that can only be learnt through practice.
Peace
I like to draw, and wanted to see my scribbles come true.
To change the world.
because I totally love living in a hammock under my drafting table in studio, love hearing meaningless banter by the two girls next to me, and totally love slicing off pieces of my fingers at 4 in the morning, duh!
My interest in Architecture began about 10 years ago, when I read various architectural magazines. Ever since, Architecture has become a part of my life and the well defined focus of my further studies.
I realize that Architecture is neither simply art, nor just science, but a complex mix of imagination, creative thinking, enthusiasm, technical ability and a polished way to engage various people. I am interested in a vast variety of architectural issues, starting from the relationship between Architectural Design and Landscape Architecture, from traditional concepts to utopia, leading to globalisation and architectural values. I am interested in absorbing the social and cultural through architectural experimentation and applying it directly in design action.
I have been fortunate to visit many architectural masterpieces, both at home and abroad. During my journeys I have examined historical and contemporary buildings and learned about architecture by immersing myself in the life of different cities.
In July 2008 I attended the “Architectural Association Summer School” in London, which introduced me both to the culture of the school, and the richness the world of architecture has to offer. This experience drew me into a world of architecture I was not familiar with. The AA Summer School opened doors to a radically new experience of the subject and taught me to visualize architecture from a non-traditional point of view. The course gave me the chance to develop my ideas individually and to collaborate actively as a part of a team. I experimented with new approaches, understanding and exploration of architecture.
My spare time interests are devoted to design and architecture as well - from reading architectural books and periodicals to trying myself in design.
My choice to study architecture at the AA is based on the school’s unique atmosphere, its rich history and high level of transmitting knowledge and passion for architecture! I know that all the valuable skills, which I will gain during my education there, will help me bring design to life. I believe that attending the Architectural Association is a critical step towards realizing my dream of becoming a successful architect. This century is a very interesting and exciting time for architecture and I really want to be a part of it!
Make my dream come true! I externalize my feelings .. and complement them with dreams of others and in harmony with nature.
Creating livable works of art for a better world. Want to Live!
vbobet@gmail.com
to become a master designer to mirror the society of the epoch.
because I can sleep when I am dead....
My high school architecture classes were fun. My Master's level architecture classes were enticing. But honestly, architecture as a profession is not fun, rewarding, or even remotely enjoyable. And I wonder every day why I picked this and what I could do instead and wishing that I didn't have thousands of dollars of debt due to an education in a career that I am not excited about at all.
I'm about to begin studying architecture because nothing has ever excited me or entranced me more. I can't get away from it. Every time I do anything somehow architecture comes to mind. I live it, breathe it, need it. It's the only thing that has ever captured my attention in this way. It is the only drug in my life. I just can't get enough of beautiful victorians or amazing modern homes. When I was in high school I took a architecture class just because it fit into my schedule, it turned out to be life changing. After that I read every book, looked at every website, and talked to everyone I could to learn more. In the end I guess I can say that I am studying architecture because nothing holds a candle to it, I find it the most amazing thing in the world.
Although architecture jobs are hard to come by these days, good design is as much as a necessity in society as ever before. I have spent the past four years studying interior architecture and am continuing with a march degree because design is inspiring. It is inspiring to anyone who is surrounded by invigorating spaces or objects. Good design encourages creativity and productivity. It has a positive impact on everyone it touches. I want to be an architect to do my small part in infusing the world with good design. Potentially design that is better than good and makes people want to do good.
to master something undefinable
Architecture is art without a pedestal or canvas
mathematical, sculptural & experiencial all at once
contrasting itself into something felt, without lens
and yes… I capitalized it.
Something about Miesypooh
Design education is boot camp for changes in consciousness. The technical and wordly clash against the idealogical and psychological. That conflict is necessary to learn to be alert and perceptive, and school helps you become confident in the conflict.
Architecture brings joy.
Struggling through the question 'how should i start', setting my own goals for aesthetics, being a critics on almost every design come by, draw myself hundreds of plans before coming to an end decision (which are still room for improvement), seeing it coming alive in sketchup and renderings, and all these were topics we discussed that bonded us, students, together.
The ability to simply scribble and still looks good ,we known that as simplicity. The ability to write 'boxy handwriting' makes us proud.
There are yet still loads of fun to be uncover and it will be portray in the drawing and colouring book and hopefully stand up proudly by us one day.
Architecture rocks!
Because sawing out my leg might be less painful than architecture, I’m afraid what I might design with the skeletal structure, skinned leg, and muscles and later find it to be a realization concept for a seven star hotel skyscraper.
who won?!
I’ve been a dentist for more than 10 years, and while I started out with a general dislike of what I had to do for a living, I grew to hate it. I had to make a change.
Over the years I’ve harbored a love of design, a fascination and even obsession with good graphic design, industrial design and architecture. I’d developed some reasonable skills in graphics, and considered it as an alternate career path.
But I also have big ideas and hopes and want to see things improve for the community around me and the many millions of people who are less fortunate than me. In choosing a career in the design stream, I needed to find something which could have the greatest impact, whilst fulfilling my creative bent.
Architecture was the obvious choice. We have the opportunity to creatively solve problems, to influence people’s thinking and to have a lasting impact on lives and communities in ways which no other design profession does. Sure a few exceptional graphic or industrial designers will do that too, but it’s architecture that has the greatest effect.
Why am I still studying architecture? Because I love what I do and the people I’m doing it with. It’s a great community to be a part of. An exciting profession to join. I hope to one day be able to produce great designs that impact clients and communities, and to contribute to the progress of the profession.
We'll be picking the best answer over the weekend, to be announced on Monday.
Why is the main question!Why I study architecture?I'v been asking myself all the time!At the moment i'm fourth year in a unevrsity and i still don't know the answer.What i know is that i study architecture not beacause i choose it but rather than to understand why i chose it!I think Architecture is my destiny and i have to understand my choice.I've always wanted to help people and i think through architecture i can help many people!My dream is that one day architecture will become so powerfull that there will be no need for sick poeple to get medicine.They'll have just to take a walk through building and all illnes, all bad feelings and all bad thoughs will go away.
builder123
Nearly every other field is either too quantitative or too qualitative.
I also love working with others to find a simple solution to a complicated problem.
Because if they can't teach us architecture, I will learn some bad French!
for the sake of architecture
Because of the creative process. It is the only thing that brings inspiration when I hate everything. The sense of community in a design studio and the excitement of seeing someone's ideas evolve and change is an amazing thing. You can see their process, and how each drawing or model affects the concept. The process is the only thing that keeps me in it.
PS: seriously having doubts about making this a professional career.
architecture is universal..its not only talking 'bout building..but it will give big impact to our daily life and surrounding..hence, we must think first before we do something that will effected everything on earth..
Architecture is a torturement in life. Commitment has always go beyond architecture, the more we go, the more troubles we have.. Every single drop of tear and sweat that drop on the land is a miracle of tomorrow's world. Not for us the architect but to the world, it is still a bless.. I do personally felt, what architect go through is the hell but to build a heaven for the people that never realised about our presence.. We did that not for ourselves, not for them but US..
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