Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)
Pratt Institute
Tulane University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Temple University
University of Oregon
Cranbrook Academy of Art
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)
When do I make a portfolio?
So I have a B.Sc. in Business. I used all of my spare time to learn programs like Rhino, V-Ray, Adobe Suite and general design principles. I even created an architecture portfolio within the two years I started learning any software. I was attending a religious university with a crazy dual curriculum, so it was difficult to make. I was accepted to a few M.Arch I programs, but I did not get into GSD or GSAPP -schools I've visited, researched and really admire. This was 3 years ago. Since then, I've held jobs in CAD, rendering and industrial design. I learned so much throughout making that portfolio, but it is no where near what I can make now. I have newfound technical skills and better intuition for design but where does one find the time to make a portfolio? I've design a few products. Most of the jobs I had didn't produce anything useful to a portfolio (unless GSD wants to see renderings of watercoolers I did not design). I just landed a job at an architecture firm, but I doubt I will work on anything useful to my personal portfolio. I also want to mention that I am married and I need to work to pay the bills. My wife has a few more years of college. Is the goal to make enough money that I could take off a few months to work solely on a portfolio? Was anyone in a sort of similar situation? Most students accepted to M.Arch I programs usually have B.A.s in architecture.
Thanks!
Learning software is not important for a folio. Sure, it will help produce (likely bland and generic, but whatever) visuals, but if there is no interesting creative content in those projects, then they get passed over.
A folio is not something you hash out from nothing in a few months. It is supposed to be a reflection of who you are and how you resolve problems in creative ways and most will have condensed several year's worth of independent work into a few pages.
I understand and agree/disagree. You need to know how to use multiple Adobe products for the development of a portfolio. Even hand-drawing would be considered a skill -to me at least. Also, you need a lot of time. Architecture students are notorious for having to pull all-nighters many times per semesters. Where does this time come from?
3 to 4 all nighters for me during undergrad. That was my weekly average, but I also worked part time in an office and had a healthy social life so I made it work. The idea that you don't have time while in school is utter bulshit. It's called discipline... and for me, I did not have computers. Those all nighters were spent actually drawing & building wood/steel models... not waiting around for the renderings.
As for the folio, no, software skills are second to content... 3rd even. Learning how to use computers is super simple. Knowing how to turn ideas into compelling images is not.
Were you studying architecture at the time? Were you applying the work you were creating in college into your portfolio, or were you doing personal projects? If I am studying architecture all day, then I can devote a good amount of hours to the compilation and organization of those projects into a portfolio. But to make your own projects while studying business or working in an unrelated job seems to be near impossible without taking time off. Please let me know if I am wrong.
You're dead wrong. Plenty of time if you're organized. I compiled my arch application folio while in university and in an unrelated discipline. I also held a 30ish hour/week job as well as a healthy social life. What you don't seem to understand is that an architecture application folio is not expected to be about "architecture" and "architectureish" things when the person knows little, if anything, about architecture.
I like the motivation. I don't think that architecture school is directly teaching students how to become better at architecture. When I see a really breathtaking Princeton SOA student portfolio, I don't think Princeton made that student so gifted. I think she/he just spent a lot of time working on his projects and she/he also has natural talent. Even though I don't have the background, I am still competing with students who did complete B.A.'s in architecture and they had a lot of time to work on their stuff. It is definitely within the realm of my abilities to make a great portfolio that does show structures, but the question is of time. I mean, what did your portfolio include? Do you share it? I hardly see acceptances of portfolios that don't show floor plans, diagrams, elevations, renderings... etc.
What you "know" is a very small sliver of what is possible. My first folio (for undergrad) was all hand sketches and paintings and only 7 8x10 pieces were submitted. My grad school application folio was only 50% undergrad projects. The rest was split between personal artwork and real-world (ie. office work) examples... and no, I will not share it. I actually don't even have them in pdf.
NS is giving you solid advice.
My suggestion would be to build on the portfolio you already have- rethink and redo it.
You would be better off working on it an hour a day than trying to do it all at once.
You can post it here for suggestions. Be aware architectural criticism can brutal.
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