I'm a current Junior in High School who has only discovered my true passion for architecture this past summer after attending Cornell's arch summer program. As Cornell currently ranks as one of the top B.Arch programs in the country and after taking two courses in arch there, I decided to make it my reach. My GPA and extracurricular are strong... but I have to start compiling the 15-20 slide portfolio required for applying to Cornell.
I have a generally weak art background, lacking even the most basic skills with most mediums. But I'm not one to shy away from getting my hands dirty and picking up new skills to complete a portfolio in the next two years.
So I guess my question is where exactly do I start? I have a fairly creative mind and don't have an issue with crafting up ideas in my head, but I lack the ability to bring them into the real world. What skills would be the most useful for me to pick up? Is two years enough time to establish a strong foundation in drawing or other forms of expression? What are some good ways I can balance my time and make sure I'm churning out quality work, while at the same time staying focused and on track?
If anyone has a word of advice to drop below, please do!
tl;dr - Junior in HS reaching for Cornell. Needs to start putting together a portfolio for application, but lacks any skills in art.
Architecture school is about communicating design intent and this relies heavily on visual arts/graphics. You can have all the creativity in the world but if you can't sketch out a few lines on a piece of paper, then you'll be passed over. The skills you claim to lack are the very foundation of a good application. My adivce, take sketching classes and start drawing things around you. Walk to the street corner and turn out a half dozen versions of the stuff around you. Set up some flowers and objects and draw 50 versions of the scene in a few hours. This will give you a handle on shading, perspective, scale, etc.... all fundamentals you need to demonstrate in your applications which you can polish into finished pieces. (and for fuck's sake, don't start by drawing from pictures)... but it's a long road to build a competitive portfolio if you're starting from scratch.
Adding on to N.S., you usually can also showcase anything else creative you do - sculpting, painting, modelmaking, etc. Two years is plenty of time to improve your skills and pull work together. Cheers eh, and good luck.
There are lots of good B.S. Arch programs that don't require portfolios for admissions at all (MIT and Princeton, for example). They accept supplemental portfolios but consider them less crucial to the application. If you're worried about your portfolio quality, you could apply to a few of these. Obviously a B.S. isn't accredited and can't get you a license but it could help you develop graphical skills in college without the portfolio gatekeeping your admission. Just pointing this out so you can keep your options open.
Definitely practice looking at things in your world and responding to them creatively.
There's probably a group of kids at your HS who dress strange, aren't part of any of the other well-known cliques, and pretty much LIVE in the Art Room(s). Become one of them.
If your HS doesn't have these people, see if you can take some classes at your local Community College (back in my day, it just required a form signed by my HS Principal).
Go to sites like this one Urban Sketchers and start sketching like NS mentioned above.
Also, like you when I was a Junior in high school I decided I wanted to be an architect so I wrote some firms in my area looking for a summer job. The summer gig didn't work out but one firm wrote back and said they hired an office boy/girl typically from September to September to replace the previous one when he/she went to college. So I did that. Worked 20 hours per week after school and an occasional Saturday.
Worked well as I then had a job for the following summers.
Good luck!
ETA: Also photography is another great artistic outlet. I was heavily into that and nowadays it's so much easier as back when I did it we needed a darkroom. Get a camera and start shooting.
Jan 3, 21 5:00 am ·
·
GeeseDown
I appreciate your reply.
If I may ask, what kind of work were you looking for when writing to these firms?
Jan 3, 21 11:37 am ·
·
architectrunnerguy
I assumed it would be typical office boy stuff which turned out to be correct. My duties where running prints (this was pre computer days so I had to manually run the blue print nachine), errands, getting the mail at the PO (in the summer when I was there in the morning), taking the mail to the PO in the afternoon, making sure office supplies where stocked, taking the boss to the airport...etc. After a while I was helping the draftsmen with lettering and making templates for reflected ceilng plans and such
Jan 3, 21 11:58 am ·
·
architectrunnerguy
Sorry, I think that posted early. I wanted to also say like in most things it's not really WHAT you know it's WHO you know. I made several life long contacts there including the office boy hired two years behind me. He and I set up our own firm 10 years later which grew to 16 including 6 architects doing work up and down the east coast. And yes, we had and office boy/girl from the local high school coming in after school!
Jan 3, 21 12:18 pm ·
·
GeeseDown
Wow, that's quite the story! Thanks again for sharing.
Jan 3, 21 1:24 pm ·
·
architectrunnerguy
Looking back that was a fun time. Had an automatic summer job once I went off to Va. Tech and they had me back at Christmas break to build models. Bonded with one of the draftsmen who became sort of a mentor and learned to drive a stick shift on the office vehicle (a VW micro bus) while going to the post office. Fun times! Hope it works out for you!
Jan 3, 21 2:12 pm ·
·
GeeseDown
I'm sure a lot of great stories came from your experience.
Take some art classes at your high school, and if possible perhaps there is an art school in your city where you can sign up for some classes. Start any classes such as sculpture, photography, graphic design etc whatever interests you. Personally I was never into drawing things that I literally saw- I was more into abstract sculptures and photography and I had very good results from my applications. But I found this out from taking even the most basic fundamental art classes. Two years is plenty of time to built up some foundational work.
High School Architecture Portfolio - A Late Start
I'm a current Junior in High School who has only discovered my true passion for architecture this past summer after attending Cornell's arch summer program. As Cornell currently ranks as one of the top B.Arch programs in the country and after taking two courses in arch there, I decided to make it my reach. My GPA and extracurricular are strong... but I have to start compiling the 15-20 slide portfolio required for applying to Cornell.
I have a generally weak art background, lacking even the most basic skills with most mediums. But I'm not one to shy away from getting my hands dirty and picking up new skills to complete a portfolio in the next two years.
So I guess my question is where exactly do I start? I have a fairly creative mind and don't have an issue with crafting up ideas in my head, but I lack the ability to bring them into the real world. What skills would be the most useful for me to pick up? Is two years enough time to establish a strong foundation in drawing or other forms of expression? What are some good ways I can balance my time and make sure I'm churning out quality work, while at the same time staying focused and on track?
If anyone has a word of advice to drop below, please do!
tl;dr - Junior in HS reaching for Cornell. Needs to start putting together a portfolio for application, but lacks any skills in art.
Architecture school is about communicating design intent and this relies heavily on visual arts/graphics. You can have all the creativity in the world but if you can't sketch out a few lines on a piece of paper, then you'll be passed over. The skills you claim to lack are the very foundation of a good application. My adivce, take sketching classes and start drawing things around you. Walk to the street corner and turn out a half dozen versions of the stuff around you. Set up some flowers and objects and draw 50 versions of the scene in a few hours. This will give you a handle on shading, perspective, scale, etc.... all fundamentals you need to demonstrate in your applications which you can polish into finished pieces. (and for fuck's sake, don't start by drawing from pictures)... but it's a long road to build a competitive portfolio if you're starting from scratch.
Adding on to N.S., you usually can also showcase anything else creative you do - sculpting, painting, modelmaking, etc. Two years is plenty of time to improve your skills and pull work together. Cheers eh, and good luck.
There are lots of good B.S. Arch programs that don't require portfolios for admissions at all (MIT and Princeton, for example). They accept supplemental portfolios but consider them less crucial to the application. If you're worried about your portfolio quality, you could apply to a few of these. Obviously a B.S. isn't accredited and can't get you a license but it could help you develop graphical skills in college without the portfolio gatekeeping your admission. Just pointing this out so you can keep your options open.
Definitely practice looking at things in your world and responding to them creatively.
.
There's probably a group of kids at your HS who dress strange, aren't part of any of the other well-known cliques, and pretty much LIVE in the Art Room(s). Become one of them.
If your HS doesn't have these people, see if you can take some classes at your local Community College (back in my day, it just required a form signed by my HS Principal).
Go to sites like this one Urban Sketchers and start sketching like NS mentioned above.
Also, like you when I was a Junior in high school I decided I wanted to be an architect so I wrote some firms in my area looking for a summer job. The summer gig didn't work out but one firm wrote back and said they hired an office boy/girl typically from September to September to replace the previous one when he/she went to college. So I did that. Worked 20 hours per week after school and an occasional Saturday.
Worked well as I then had a job for the following summers.
Good luck!
ETA: Also photography is another great artistic outlet. I was heavily into that and nowadays it's so much easier as back when I did it we needed a darkroom. Get a camera and start shooting.
I appreciate your reply.
If I may ask, what kind of work were you looking for when writing to these firms?
I assumed it would be typical office boy stuff which turned out to be correct. My duties where running prints (this was pre computer days so I had to manually run the blue print nachine), errands, getting the mail at the PO (in the summer when I was there in the morning), taking the mail to the PO in the afternoon, making sure office supplies where stocked, taking the boss to the airport...etc. After a while I was helping the draftsmen with lettering and making templates for reflected ceilng plans and such
Sorry, I think that posted early. I wanted to also say like in most things it's not really WHAT you know it's WHO you know. I made several life long contacts there including the office boy hired two years behind me. He and I set up our own firm 10 years later which grew to 16 including 6 architects doing work up and down the east coast. And yes, we had and office boy/girl from the local high school coming in after school!
Wow, that's quite the story! Thanks again for sharing.
Looking back that was a fun time. Had an automatic summer job once I went off to Va. Tech and they had me back at Christmas break to build models. Bonded with one of the draftsmen who became sort of a mentor and learned to drive a stick shift on the office vehicle (a VW micro bus) while going to the post office. Fun times! Hope it works out for you!
I'm sure a lot of great stories came from your experience.
Thank you!
Sketch, photograph and collage - then start combo-ing all 3.
Then learn about how to work w pencils, charcoal, shadows, depth and perspective in a class somewhere!
And make sure to include your summer Cornell work in the portfolio! I assume you got good marks?
Take some art classes at your high school, and if possible perhaps there is an art school in your city where you can sign up for some classes. Start any classes such as sculpture, photography, graphic design etc whatever interests you. Personally I was never into drawing things that I literally saw- I was more into abstract sculptures and photography and I had very good results from my applications. But I found this out from taking even the most basic fundamental art classes. Two years is plenty of time to built up some foundational work.
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