I would like to know whether there is a role within architecture where one simply designs from an aesthetic stance, not keeping in mind as many of the technical constraints that a traditional architect may have?
I come from a visual/graphic design background but not in architecture , recently I have found myself involved with creating architectural visualisations for a few small projects. My problem with seeing myself doing this long term is not having a role in actually designing the structures themselves. Can you have a role where you not only visualise the desired plans but also conceptualise the design itself ? I suppose it would be some kind of conceptual architect who plays a purely artistic role to assist maybe the more rigid bounds that some (not all) architects may have.
I know the answer could be a flat: no go and get a degree in architecture. Not only are the financial and time constraints an obstacle to this but also I have never been the best technician. I have however excelled at creative tasks. Having to excel in technical proficiency is the reason I didn’t decide to pursue architecture in the first place so having to learn all the ins and outs of construction dose not seem like it would be the best avenue for me.
Anyway thank you all for your time and I appreciate any advice on the matter.
Non Sequitur
May 3, 17 10:59 am
So you want to only focus on the 5% of architectural practice?
Do you have any idea how many current architects would kill for the chance to work exclusively as you describe? Most, if not all, successful architects excel in both the creative and the technical. There is also no shortage of dreamer M.Arch grads available for grunt design concept work.
If school and proper intern training is not for you, best marry rich and use that wealth to treat architectural design as a (expensive) hobby.
Wilma Buttfit
May 3, 17 11:10 am
There are some marketing firms that only do the aesthetic portion of the architectural and interior design and work with an architect to get the technical and legal stuff done.
Everyday Intern
May 3, 17 11:50 am
So what you're saying is you want to be an artist?
People have been doing art for a long time now ... I don't see what would be stopping you aside from your personal financial situation. If that is the case, see Non Sequitur's advice about marrying rich. Failing that, try to convince clients to commission your art, or buy it once you've created it. Of course, that starts to bring in those pesky constraints like budget into the purely aesthetic equation.
You also might find it easier to stick to 2 dimensional space or virtual space. Doing art in 3 dimensional space starts to bring in pesky constraints like gravity.
Good luck!
Wt2B
May 4, 17 7:29 am
This sounds pretty nice but I guess it would be quite difficult to convince people to transform my drawing into the real world. Do you know of anyone who has been able to do this before for example have their work exhibited, gained interest and scored a build from their concept?
Everyday Intern
May 4, 17 11:45 am
Check out Lebbeus Woods.
l3wis
May 3, 17 7:58 pm
there are firms that do a lot of conceptual work and competitions, so if you found the right role in one of those then it could be a decent fit. you would still have to be detail oriented and get a degree though.
alot of bigger firms have in house visualization and digital practice groups that work on renderings and other 3d stuff to support the architects.
Wt2B
May 4, 17 7:31 am
Thanks for that, I suppose from what your saying yeah, it would come down to knowing everything a traditional architect needs to know if I am required to gain an arch degree
think_again
May 3, 17 8:12 pm
I really depends on how good you are and if you are willing to adapt to the rest like the technical, social, cultural, geographical, climate, altitude, ...
I myself I'm not happy with the profession and I'm finding ways to adapt and discover emerging and unknown trends within the practice of architecture.
I will stress that research is crucial for what you are trying to do. Best of luck don't be dragged by negativity as I have in the past.
Wt2B
May 4, 17 7:36 am
Thank you, so your saying somewhere along the lines of look at emerging and inventive ways within architecture as some of these break the bounds of what has already been taught or may not require the same structural knowledge? for example using recycled crates and tubing for units that are becoming frequently more popular. I suppose this is more of what I was thinking anyway but being able to get paid work or see your idea come to fruition Id just have no idea where to start, it seems like if you pitched this to a potential investor they would just laugh at you with no Architectural degree..
Donna Sink
May 3, 17 9:05 pm
Why not try video game design - lots of designed architecture in games that doesn't require physical constraints!
Wt2B
May 4, 17 7:37 am
Its a good suggestion, I suppose im just more interested in architecture then I am
games. It would be a nice alternative though
citizen
May 4, 17 12:04 am
or set design
Wt2B
May 4, 17 7:41 am
Thanks all for the great advice. I guess to cut it short then, there isn't really ever a dedicated position in what I described unless you have already been there and done that on the traditional Arch path..
l3wis
May 4, 17 8:38 am
yea, you will never be able to really do arch. design until you get a degree. getting a degree would not be hard for you i think, there is a minimal amount of technical knowledge required, it's mostly creative exercises. but ultimately you will be expected to work on technical documentation in practice which is very detailed oriented and probably goes against your grain.
alot of people do visualization, visual effects for movies or games, stuff like that and seem to like it a lot.
Wt2B
May 4, 17 1:01 pm
Thanks, I was under the impression that the majority of Arch degrees were in fact based around the learning of engineering, maths and science required for the title. If the case is more as you described then it would certainly suit someone like myself more.
Wt2B
May 4, 17 12:45 pm
Thanks for the reply
"Do you seriously think they license architects if all they did was pretty sketches?"
"If the role of Architect was purely aesthetics, then you are providing nothing that anyone is willing to pay a big amount of money for."
My point is that I am not looking at becoming an architect so in answer no i do not think this is the role of an architect otherwise I would not be asking the question. There are other industries (one of which you outlined) where a creative is put in place to work with those with more technical knowledge, in order to help develop a more innovative product.Those involved don't create sketches that a child could draw, I think your idea of professional concept design is some what distorted.
I take on your points though, its seems there is no way around the deep knowledge one must obtain in order to have any place in the arch design process.
Bloopox
May 4, 17 12:48 pm
Some large-ish (50 people and up) architecture firms organize themselves with separate "design" and "production" or "technical" departments. In those the designers come close to having the role you're looking for - though they're still constrained by client's program, the technical department's and engineer's structural partis, etc.
There are also some big-name design firms that, for the most part, do not do their own CD sets in-house, so their staff are nearly all designers and managers, and the former usually only stick with the project through DD.
Having had design roles in both of those types of firms I can say that it is possible to find a job in architecture where you spend nearly all your time on the tasks you're describing. What it takes to get those jobs are usually an artsy portfolio, some skill at hand sketching, and usually a degree from a name-brand design-oriented school (not always an architecture school though - I've known some of these designers to have other art and design backgrounds) and some connections with the firm. In the firms that separate designers and production/technical staff the ratio is about 2 designers per 30 others, so if that's the role you want you can pretty much target only the 600 or so largest firms in the US, if that's where you want to work. You can be an artist in an architecture firm, but you should expect that you'll work under tight deadlines, experience frequent requests for total re-designs, and regularly be expected to develop as many as 20+ schemes for the same project at once, only to have them glanced at for seconds each before most are dismissed. This is not to say it can't be a rewarding path.
There are also firms (again usually large) who hire non-architect artists to produce materials for their proposals and marketing. In most of those roles the person also has responsibility for putting together the graphic components of the proposals, which is not all that glamorous - it's more of a desktop publishing kind of job, in the time between creating the beautiful models and renderings.
Wt2B
May 5, 17 9:48 am
wow, thank you very much for this insightful look into what is possible.
"experience frequent requests for total re-designs, and regularly be expected to develop as many as 20+ schemes for the same project at once"
sorry just to ask would this again be more along the lines of what a visualiser does so create a graphic to represent what has already been designed or would there be any input into the design of the final construction from this role? Thanks
Hi all,
I would like to know whether there is a role within architecture where one simply designs from an aesthetic stance, not keeping in mind as many of the technical constraints that a traditional architect may have?
I come from a visual/graphic design background but not in architecture , recently I have found myself involved with creating architectural visualisations for a few small projects. My problem with seeing myself doing this long term is not having a role in actually designing the structures themselves. Can you have a role where you not only visualise the desired plans but also conceptualise the design itself ? I suppose it would be some kind of conceptual architect who plays a purely artistic role to assist maybe the more rigid bounds that some (not all) architects may have.
I know the answer could be a flat: no go and get a degree in architecture. Not only are the financial and time constraints an obstacle to this but also I have never been the best technician. I have however excelled at creative tasks. Having to excel in technical proficiency is the reason I didn’t decide to pursue architecture in the first place so having to learn all the ins and outs of construction dose not seem like it would be the best avenue for me.
Anyway thank you all for your time and I appreciate any advice on the matter.
So you want to only focus on the 5% of architectural practice?
Do you have any idea how many current architects would kill for the chance to work exclusively as you describe? Most, if not all, successful architects excel in both the creative and the technical. There is also no shortage of dreamer M.Arch grads available for grunt design concept work.
If school and proper intern training is not for you, best marry rich and use that wealth to treat architectural design as a (expensive) hobby.
There are some marketing firms that only do the aesthetic portion of the architectural and interior design and work with an architect to get the technical and legal stuff done.
So what you're saying is you want to be an artist?
People have been doing art for a long time now ... I don't see what would be stopping you aside from your personal financial situation. If that is the case, see Non Sequitur's advice about marrying rich. Failing that, try to convince clients to commission your art, or buy it once you've created it. Of course, that starts to bring in those pesky constraints like budget into the purely aesthetic equation.
You also might find it easier to stick to 2 dimensional space or virtual space. Doing art in 3 dimensional space starts to bring in pesky constraints like gravity.
Good luck!
This sounds pretty nice but I guess it would be quite difficult to convince people to transform my drawing into the real world. Do you know of anyone who has been able to do this before for example have their work exhibited, gained interest and scored a build from their concept?
Check out Lebbeus Woods.
there are firms that do a lot of conceptual work and competitions, so if you found the right role in one of those then it could be a decent fit. you would still have to be detail oriented and get a degree though.
alot of bigger firms have in house visualization and digital practice groups that work on renderings and other 3d stuff to support the architects.
Thanks for that, I suppose from what your saying yeah, it would come down to knowing everything a traditional architect needs to know if I am required to gain an arch degree
I really depends on how good you are and if you are willing to adapt to the rest like the technical, social, cultural, geographical, climate, altitude, ...
I myself I'm not happy with the profession and I'm finding ways to adapt and discover emerging and unknown trends within the practice of architecture.
I will stress that research is crucial for what you are trying to do. Best of luck don't be dragged by negativity as I have in the past.
Thank you, so your saying somewhere along the lines of look at emerging and inventive ways within architecture as some of these break the bounds of what has already been taught or may not require the same structural knowledge? for example using recycled crates and tubing for units that are becoming frequently more popular. I suppose this is more of what I was thinking anyway but being able to get paid work or see your idea come to fruition Id just have no idea where to start, it seems like if you pitched this to a potential investor they would just laugh at you with no Architectural degree..
Why not try video game design - lots of designed architecture in games that doesn't require physical constraints!
Its a good suggestion, I suppose im just more interested in architecture then I am games. It would be a nice alternative though
or set design
Thanks all for the great advice. I guess to cut it short then, there isn't really ever a dedicated position in what I described unless you have already been there and done that on the traditional Arch path..
yea, you will never be able to really do arch. design until you get a degree. getting a degree would not be hard for you i think, there is a minimal amount of technical knowledge required, it's mostly creative exercises. but ultimately you will be expected to work on technical documentation in practice which is very detailed oriented and probably goes against your grain.
alot of people do visualization, visual effects for movies or games, stuff like that and seem to like it a lot.
Thanks, I was under the impression that the majority of Arch degrees were in fact based around the learning of engineering, maths and science required for the title. If the case is more as you described then it would certainly suit someone like myself more.
Thanks for the reply
"Do you seriously think they license architects if all they did was pretty sketches?"
"If the role of Architect was purely aesthetics, then you are providing nothing that anyone is willing to pay a big amount of money for."
My point is that I am not looking at becoming an architect so in answer no i do not think this is the role of an architect otherwise I would not be asking the question. There are other industries (one of which you outlined) where a creative is put in place to work with those with more technical knowledge, in order to help develop a more innovative product.Those involved don't create sketches that a child could draw, I think your idea of professional concept design is some what distorted.
I take on your points though, its seems there is no way around the deep knowledge one must obtain in order to have any place in the arch design process.
Some large-ish (50 people and up) architecture firms organize themselves with separate "design" and "production" or "technical" departments. In those the designers come close to having the role you're looking for - though they're still constrained by client's program, the technical department's and engineer's structural partis, etc.
There are also some big-name design firms that, for the most part, do not do their own CD sets in-house, so their staff are nearly all designers and managers, and the former usually only stick with the project through DD.
Having had design roles in both of those types of firms I can say that it is possible to find a job in architecture where you spend nearly all your time on the tasks you're describing. What it takes to get those jobs are usually an artsy portfolio, some skill at hand sketching, and usually a degree from a name-brand design-oriented school (not always an architecture school though - I've known some of these designers to have other art and design backgrounds) and some connections with the firm. In the firms that separate designers and production/technical staff the ratio is about 2 designers per 30 others, so if that's the role you want you can pretty much target only the 600 or so largest firms in the US, if that's where you want to work. You can be an artist in an architecture firm, but you should expect that you'll work under tight deadlines, experience frequent requests for total re-designs, and regularly be expected to develop as many as 20+ schemes for the same project at once, only to have them glanced at for seconds each before most are dismissed. This is not to say it can't be a rewarding path.
There are also firms (again usually large) who hire non-architect artists to produce materials for their proposals and marketing. In most of those roles the person also has responsibility for putting together the graphic components of the proposals, which is not all that glamorous - it's more of a desktop publishing kind of job, in the time between creating the beautiful models and renderings.
wow, thank you very much for this insightful look into what is possible. "experience frequent requests for total re-designs, and regularly be expected to develop as many as 20+ schemes for the same project at once" sorry just to ask would this again be more along the lines of what a visualiser does so create a graphic to represent what has already been designed or would there be any input into the design of the final construction from this role? Thanks