Everyone in here thinks too hard on things not necessary!  I understand your concern and seeking of advice for your portfolio.  My...opinion which probably should not account for much...follow the kiss statement in terms of arrangement.  Meaning, instead of poisoning your portfolio approach will endless amounts of research or opinion, keep it simple and make sure it is a reflection of yourself.  Do not loose that by taking from everywhere else.  Not trying to re-invent the wheel, just self reflect and do what says you best and feels good in your eyes!  Keep it natural to you and think about who you are and what feels good.  Instead of nomenclature or traditional if you know what I mean.  Hope you get more comments...good luck either way, sure it will come out fantastic...remember hard work ALWAYS reaps reward!  Also, it always all about fit in the viewers eyes, and thats where you want to be anyways...hence all the more reason to be U! 

the end is fine.  or not at all.

i just had a portfolio come in that was quite nice with no artwork at all and i didn't notice it except the applicant wrote in the CV that applicant had "advanced" artistic skills.  portfolio showed good drafting, very nice models and ok designs, but no artwork.  I did not mind its absence until they took credit for being really good at it.  It wasn't evident in the architecture either so not sure what the idea was there.

still, that didn't matter too much for us because we are not interested in artistic abilities.  we assume an architect can draw and sketch but don't care if it is artful or not.

luck

geez jump. I'm SORRY for claiming to be an artistic genius and not including samples in my portfolio. I though japanese from canada were more trustworthy. Anyways, here's a painting I did:

Do I get the job?

Dude, you're nearly good enough to sell those paintings, especially if you put them on tambourines!

(Aside: I miss evilplatypus, who introduced me to that website.)

And to try to be actually helpful: as planetb says, you're overthinking this.  Put the artwork in the back, put your architecture work in the front.  If you apply for an MFA, do the opposite.

Always put your best work at the front. Always, always, always. People won't go through your portfolio like they're reading a novel - they'll flip through it like a picture book. Grab their attention early and hopefully they'll be intrigued for the minute or so they look at your work.

also, art in the back.

damn you rusty.  the portfolio came in last night and had literally written something like "ADVANCED ARTISTIC SKILLS" near the top of the cv.  Is that you?

i looked for the advanced skills and looked for them again and now i know it involves dogs and cutesy ribbons and very possibly some dangerous frolicking i am sold.  completely.  i am afraid that you are too advanced for us though.  recommend applying toyo ito asap.

Thank you all for your advice and encouragement. I will experiment with putting it in the back and see how it goes... You all are right that I am definitely at risk of over-thinking my portfolio, so this makes me feel better.

Does Toyo Ito like presidential paintings? Couse I do those as well.

Front of portfolio material for obvious reasons.