My daughter is a sophomore in HS and wants to be an architect. I am a math teacher and know next to nothing about the profession. She likes to draw floor plans and was wondering if there is a relative inexpensive software program that she could use. Also, do architects still use drawing boards? If so, I was thinking of maybe getting her one of those. Any other things she should be doing to prepare? Thanks!
archietechie
Nov 12, 17 4:00 am
Most, including myself here would discourage that choice of profession but if she insists...
- SketchUp (3D modelling)
- AutoCAD (2D plans - student ver. Is free)
- Photoshop (General visualization purposes)
Non Sequitur
Nov 12, 17 6:31 am
I don;t discourage the profession but I would emphasize creative hand drawing, painting, sculpting over software. Anyone can be taught in a few hours how to push buttons on a computer.
davery5872
Nov 12, 17 7:40 am
I understand discouraging the profession. I am a teacher and would most certainly discourage her from going into teaching. I like the software ideas, but right now she only has a Chromebook. It may be time for her to get a windows based laptop. I was wondering about a drawing board or the LEGO Architecture Studio. Even though she doesn't use her thousands and thousands of Lego's much anymore, she does design and create rather large and involved structures from time to time.
geezertect
Nov 12, 17 10:49 am
Do they even offer drafting in high school anymore? IF so, obviously that is something she should pursue. I join the others in not endorsing architecture as a career, unless of course she marries a doctor or investment banker.
Architecture is a great hobby but a lousy profession.
randomised
Nov 12, 17 8:40 am
A set of power tools to build models and/or prototypes?
Becky C
Nov 12, 17 9:14 am
A drawing board is a fine idea if she would use it. Drawing and sketching in 3-D is a very good skill to develop too so sketchpads are good. In high school, I took painting and drafting classes too. I used my high school artwork to make a portfolio that got me into an intensive B Arch program so skipped the Masters. I would suggest she spend some time in an architecture firm too. It isn't drawing floor plans, that's like saying I want to be a teacher so I can have the answer book, there is a lot more to it than that. You will want to get a feel for everything an architect is responsible for before committing. Most architects are just as stressed and overworked as teachers if not more so. My dad was a math (and science) teacher too and I am an architect and have taught many years in a private school. Photography classes are good too. And the book, Drawing What You See I think it’s called.
archinine
Nov 12, 17 11:11 am
If possible try and get her involved with a local firm. Perhaps she could do a part time internship or a tour of an office just to understand what the day to day looks like. And how unglamorous it truly is.
There's a real need for hand sketching ability-in 3D not just floor plans. Fewer and fewer young people seem to be able to do it. Anyone can learn computer buttons doesn't mean the drawing is useful.
LITS4FormZ
Nov 12, 17 12:23 pm
Several schools offer “career discovery” summer programs that give you a glimpse of life as an architecture student. I personally attended the program at Notre Dame, a great preview of a more traditional architectural education. You’ll come out of a program with a couple portfolio pieces from projects you complete and it’s a great opportunity to meet like-minded people her own age who are trying to figure out if architecture is for them. I was able to experience my first all-nighter and subsequent critique with little to no sleep.
jcarch
Nov 12, 17 3:17 pm
My parents fostered my interest in architecture at about the same age.
Skip autocad - but get her sketchup and encourage her to play with it, watch tutorials online, etc. It's a fun program to play with. Autocad is many things, but it's not fun.
My parents bought me a copy of Francis Ching's "Architecture: Form, Space, & Order," which was a revelation to me, both for the great drawings inside, but also getting a first glimpse of different ways that spaces are organized. Seeing what plans, sections, elevations are and how they work together, etc. I still have that same copy up on my bookshelf.
And they got me Ching's "Building Construction Illustrated," which I also loved, again seeing great drawings, and beginning to understand how wood frame construction really worked.
I also took drafting for 4 years in high school. If they don't have that, maybe your daughter could set up an independent study class where she designs a building, keep it simple, start with a one room cabin in the woods, and if she sticks with it, move up to designing a house senior year (I also still have the drawings from those classes - boy did my designs suck, but at the time I thought they were great, and had a blast making them).
Lastly, encourage her to take sculpture or drawing courses (assuming her school still has an arts department). I didn't do this in high school, but wish I had.
And BTW, nice job encouraging her interests :)
will galloway
Nov 12, 17 5:27 pm
about the drafting board, there are a few people who draft by hand out there still but I only used a drafting board in the office for about 2 months myself, and that was 20 years ago. It may not be the best investment.
Making construction drawings is not such a hard thing to learn so I wouldnt focus so much on that. Its a lot more difficult to think about what buildings are all about spatially, logically, etc. The Ching books are pretty good start for someone in high school. Like a secret code book that explains the hidden logic of what gets built.
drawing and sculpture are def useful to learn. for software, sketchup is owned by google, might work on chromebook? its intuitive and easy to pick up. In our office we use Autocad, Rhino, all the adobe suite stuff.
I don't discourage learning architecture myself. Its as frustrating as any profession but not any more so. There is a pretty big gap between the imagined profession and what we really do that can be frustrating though.
Miles Jaffe
Nov 12, 17 5:55 pm
Don't define the experience so narrowly. What we're talking about is designing something and following it through to physical creation. Among the many important things to understand are physical properties of materials, translation of scale, and human factors - these apply universally. The traditional skills start with drawing and sculpting but any construction is good - especially woodworking.
A broad set of skills and experience will pay off no matter what direction is eventually chosen. Hopefully it's not architecture.
geezertect
Nov 12, 17 6:08 pm
Have her read "Architect?" by Roger Lewis. A very good and balanced overview of the profession written for wannabes like your daughter.
davery5872
Nov 12, 17 8:29 pm
Thanks for all the suggestions. I have looking at the recommended books and will buy her 2-3 of those. I think I may hold off on the drawing board. She will be taking mechanical drawing next year and computer aided drafting design the year after. I have emailed the school to get more info about what materials she will need for these classes. I know the mechanical drawing class requires the students to have drafting equipment, but in the course description they are not very specific. I would love for her to take sculpturing or computer graphics, but she is required to take a generic art 1 class as a prerequisite. She currently has an option for one elective next year and one the year after. So it would be either mechanical drawing and computer aided drafting or art 1 and either sculpturing or computer graphics.
curtkram
Nov 12, 17 8:59 pm
a nice strathmore sketchpad and a good alvin draftomatic pencil would be a good starter for sketching, and not very expensive. i prefer .9 mm with a soft lead, probably hb.
Erik Evens
Nov 13, 17 1:44 am
Buy her a sketchbook, and encourage her to visit buildings she admires and draw them, both as objects from a distance, and the details.
Erik Evens
Nov 13, 17 1:45 am
Oh, and buy her "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander.
Peter Normand
Nov 13, 17 9:27 am
Sketch-up is a good, and inexpensive way to start with software. I would recommend sketching. The drafting board is not as important as sketching at this early stage, but sometimes the complex perspective drawings skills, which we are losing to the computer aided rendering, do need a drafting board with T square and triangles. If you do get a drawing table I recommend not getting one with the built in horizontal slide and just a plain square board with adjustable table angles so the tilt of the table can be adapted. Also include a 45 + 30-60 triangles, scales and T square and your daughter should be able to practice drawing. In the art supply stores there is this very cheap paper called trace it comes in rolls it is yellow or white that should make a decent gift for the holidays and would help your daughter dabble a bit.
Many schools of architecture have summer camps.
Hope this helps, We need more women in this profession.
Over and OUT
Peter N
thatsthat
Nov 13, 17 9:48 am
To echo some of the other comments here, anyway you can help her practice hand sketching will help her in the long run. See if you can find a practicing architect that she can talk to and ask questions. In high school, there were no architects in my area (the nearest was an hour away) but the mentor I found (via my high school's career mentorship program) was moderately helpful, and could answer most of my questions about the profession. See if she can tour an office or two and see how they're organized, the kind of drawings laying around, and what they do all day. Good luck! :)
mantaray
Nov 13, 17 1:37 pm
Hmm, between mechanical drawing/CAD versus art 1/sculpture or computer graphics I'd probably lean toward the latter suite rather than the former. Learning how to be an architect is primarily about learning how to think spatially, and also about learning how to be creative (i.e.: when faced with a blank paper, how to look inside yourself and come up with something to build) and the art sequence will be more impactful on both of those counts. If you think of it, hand drafting is more of a craft/technical proficiency : it's nice, and it's important to learn how to communicate your ideas cleanly and clearly, but in the end that is secondary to how well you can think (design thinking; 3D thinking) and create in the first place. Also, CAD can be learned at any time from free online tutorials in about 3 weeks and a whole semester class on it is DEAD boring. There are literally very few things more boring to sit through a class on than how to use a computer program (ugh, you're a teacher so I'm sure you've had to sit through those gawdawful powerpoint inservices?!) Trust me: I went to school in the 90s when we were taught both hand-drafting (to a high level) and CAD, have used both in practice and have also taught studio courses at university: learning artistic thinking will be much more helpful to her. There are a lot of similarities btwn sculpture and architecture.
Other than that, I echo all the book recommendations. Also there was a VERY good thread here a few months back wherein a mom asked for suggestions for her (younger) child who was interested in architecture--I'll see if I can find the link for you.
Also my mom was a teacher and practically made me swear not to go into teaching. I love being an architect, I love my day to day job activities which vary a lot, but I will say... my mom now periodically tries to get me to go into teaching (!). Architecture is quite possibly the only industry besides nursing where you have to actually work harder than a teacher (even counting in all the tons of unpaid hours teachers put in!), deal with a lot of in the job emotional stuff (client/contractor psychology) but you don't get the (minimally offsetting) benefit of the additional days off. And remuneration is roughly exactly on par. So... even though I love being an architect, I think it's worth going in with eyes open. If I hadn't married a union employee I would have no retirement plan and TERRIBLE health care for example. (Most arch firms are smaller than 50 employees so the benefits are terrible). But I have fun every day!
geezertect
Nov 13, 17 2:20 pm
manta, did your mother change her mind about teaching, or did she come to the realization that architecture sucks even worse than the blackboard jungle?
geezertect
Nov 13, 17 2:18 pm
The artistic stuff is critical for getting through school, but not so much afterwards (others I'm sure will disagree). I disagree with those who seem to downplay the importance of being able to draw, including hand drafting. The architect is paid to produce documents for construction (i.e. drawings). You have to be able to translate your thoughts into the form of a drawing. There is no substitute. Personally, I'm glad that I cut my teeth in the days of hand drafting construction drawings. I think it gave me a real "feel" when I look at a set of drawings.
My daughter is a sophomore in HS and wants to be an architect. I am a math teacher and know next to nothing about the profession. She likes to draw floor plans and was wondering if there is a relative inexpensive software program that she could use. Also, do architects still use drawing boards? If so, I was thinking of maybe getting her one of those. Any other things she should be doing to prepare? Thanks!
Most, including myself here would discourage that choice of profession but if she insists...
- SketchUp (3D modelling)
- AutoCAD (2D plans - student ver. Is free)
- Photoshop (General visualization purposes)
I don;t discourage the profession but I would emphasize creative hand drawing, painting, sculpting over software. Anyone can be taught in a few hours how to push buttons on a computer.
I understand discouraging the profession. I am a teacher and would most certainly discourage her from going into teaching. I like the software ideas, but right now she only has a Chromebook. It may be time for her to get a windows based laptop. I was wondering about a drawing board or the LEGO Architecture Studio. Even though she doesn't use her thousands and thousands of Lego's much anymore, she does design and create rather large and involved structures from time to time.
Do they even offer drafting in high school anymore? IF so, obviously that is something she should pursue. I join the others in not endorsing architecture as a career, unless of course she marries a doctor or investment banker.
Architecture is a great hobby but a lousy profession.
A set of power tools to build models and/or prototypes?
A drawing board is a fine idea if she would use it. Drawing and sketching in 3-D is a very good skill to develop too so sketchpads are good. In high school, I took painting and drafting classes too. I used my high school artwork to make a portfolio that got me into an intensive B Arch program so skipped the Masters. I would suggest she spend some time in an architecture firm too. It isn't drawing floor plans, that's like saying I want to be a teacher so I can have the answer book, there is a lot more to it than that. You will want to get a feel for everything an architect is responsible for before committing. Most architects are just as stressed and overworked as teachers if not more so. My dad was a math (and science) teacher too and I am an architect and have taught many years in a private school. Photography classes are good too. And the book, Drawing What You See I think it’s called.
If possible try and get her involved with a local firm. Perhaps she could do a part time internship or a tour of an office just to understand what the day to day looks like. And how unglamorous it truly is.
There's a real need for hand sketching ability-in 3D not just floor plans. Fewer and fewer young people seem to be able to do it. Anyone can learn computer buttons doesn't mean the drawing is useful.
Several schools offer “career discovery” summer programs that give you a glimpse of life as an architecture student. I personally attended the program at Notre Dame, a great preview of a more traditional architectural education. You’ll come out of a program with a couple portfolio pieces from projects you complete and it’s a great opportunity to meet like-minded people her own age who are trying to figure out if architecture is for them. I was able to experience my first all-nighter and subsequent critique with little to no sleep.
My parents fostered my interest in architecture at about the same age.
Skip autocad - but get her sketchup and encourage her to play with it, watch tutorials online, etc. It's a fun program to play with. Autocad is many things, but it's not fun.
My parents bought me a copy of Francis Ching's "Architecture: Form, Space, & Order," which was a revelation to me, both for the great drawings inside, but also getting a first glimpse of different ways that spaces are organized. Seeing what plans, sections, elevations are and how they work together, etc. I still have that same copy up on my bookshelf.
And they got me Ching's "Building Construction Illustrated," which I also loved, again seeing great drawings, and beginning to understand how wood frame construction really worked.
I also took drafting for 4 years in high school. If they don't have that, maybe your daughter could set up an independent study class where she designs a building, keep it simple, start with a one room cabin in the woods, and if she sticks with it, move up to designing a house senior year (I also still have the drawings from those classes - boy did my designs suck, but at the time I thought they were great, and had a blast making them).
Lastly, encourage her to take sculpture or drawing courses (assuming her school still has an arts department). I didn't do this in high school, but wish I had.
And BTW, nice job encouraging her interests :)
about the drafting board, there are a few people who draft by hand out there still but I only used a drafting board in the office for about 2 months myself, and that was 20 years ago. It may not be the best investment.
Making construction drawings is not such a hard thing to learn so I wouldnt focus so much on that. Its a lot more difficult to think about what buildings are all about spatially, logically, etc. The Ching books are pretty good start for someone in high school. Like a secret code book that explains the hidden logic of what gets built.
drawing and sculpture are def useful to learn. for software, sketchup is owned by google, might work on chromebook? its intuitive and easy to pick up. In our office we use Autocad, Rhino, all the adobe suite stuff.
I don't discourage learning architecture myself. Its as frustrating as any profession but not any more so. There is a pretty big gap between the imagined profession and what we really do that can be frustrating though.
Don't define the experience so narrowly. What we're talking about is designing something and following it through to physical creation. Among the many important things to understand are physical properties of materials, translation of scale, and human factors - these apply universally. The traditional skills start with drawing and sculpting but any construction is good - especially woodworking.
A broad set of skills and experience will pay off no matter what direction is eventually chosen. Hopefully it's not architecture.
Have her read "Architect?" by Roger Lewis. A very good and balanced overview of the profession written for wannabes like your daughter.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I have looking at the recommended books and will buy her 2-3 of those. I think I may hold off on the drawing board. She will be taking mechanical drawing next year and computer aided drafting design the year after. I have emailed the school to get more info about what materials she will need for these classes. I know the mechanical drawing class requires the students to have drafting equipment, but in the course description they are not very specific. I would love for her to take sculpturing or computer graphics, but she is required to take a generic art 1 class as a prerequisite. She currently has an option for one elective next year and one the year after. So it would be either mechanical drawing and computer aided drafting or art 1 and either sculpturing or computer graphics.
a nice strathmore sketchpad and a good alvin draftomatic pencil would be a good starter for sketching, and not very expensive. i prefer .9 mm with a soft lead, probably hb.
Buy her a sketchbook, and encourage her to visit buildings she admires and draw them, both as objects from a distance, and the details.
Oh, and buy her "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander.
Sketch-up is a good, and inexpensive way to start with software. I would recommend sketching. The drafting board is not as important as sketching at this early stage, but sometimes the complex perspective drawings skills, which we are losing to the computer aided rendering, do need a drafting board with T square and triangles. If you do get a drawing table I recommend not getting one with the built in horizontal slide and just a plain square board with adjustable table angles so the tilt of the table can be adapted. Also include a 45 + 30-60 triangles, scales and T square and your daughter should be able to practice drawing. In the art supply stores there is this very cheap paper called trace it comes in rolls it is yellow or white that should make a decent gift for the holidays and would help your daughter dabble a bit.
Many schools of architecture have summer camps.
Hope this helps, We need more women in this profession.
Over and OUT
Peter N
To echo some of the other comments here, anyway you can help her practice hand sketching will help her in the long run. See if you can find a practicing architect that she can talk to and ask questions. In high school, there were no architects in my area (the nearest was an hour away) but the mentor I found (via my high school's career mentorship program) was moderately helpful, and could answer most of my questions about the profession. See if she can tour an office or two and see how they're organized, the kind of drawings laying around, and what they do all day. Good luck! :)
Hmm, between mechanical drawing/CAD versus art 1/sculpture or computer graphics I'd probably lean toward the latter suite rather than the former. Learning how to be an architect is primarily about learning how to think spatially, and also about learning how to be creative (i.e.: when faced with a blank paper, how to look inside yourself and come up with something to build) and the art sequence will be more impactful on both of those counts. If you think of it, hand drafting is more of a craft/technical proficiency : it's nice, and it's important to learn how to communicate your ideas cleanly and clearly, but in the end that is secondary to how well you can think (design thinking; 3D thinking) and create in the first place. Also, CAD can be learned at any time from free online tutorials in about 3 weeks and a whole semester class on it is DEAD boring. There are literally very few things more boring to sit through a class on than how to use a computer program (ugh, you're a teacher so I'm sure you've had to sit through those gawdawful powerpoint inservices?!) Trust me: I went to school in the 90s when we were taught both hand-drafting (to a high level) and CAD, have used both in practice and have also taught studio courses at university: learning artistic thinking will be much more helpful to her. There are a lot of similarities btwn sculpture and architecture.
Other than that, I echo all the book recommendations. Also there was a VERY good thread here a few months back wherein a mom asked for suggestions for her (younger) child who was interested in architecture--I'll see if I can find the link for you.
Also my mom was a teacher and practically made me swear not to go into teaching. I love being an architect, I love my day to day job activities which vary a lot, but I will say... my mom now periodically tries to get me to go into teaching (!). Architecture is quite possibly the only industry besides nursing where you have to actually work harder than a teacher (even counting in all the tons of unpaid hours teachers put in!), deal with a lot of in the job emotional stuff (client/contractor psychology) but you don't get the (minimally offsetting) benefit of the additional days off. And remuneration is roughly exactly on par. So... even though I love being an architect, I think it's worth going in with eyes open. If I hadn't married a union employee I would have no retirement plan and TERRIBLE health care for example. (Most arch firms are smaller than 50 employees so the benefits are terrible). But I have fun every day!
manta, did your mother change her mind about teaching, or did she come to the realization that architecture sucks even worse than the blackboard jungle?
The artistic stuff is critical for getting through school, but not so much afterwards (others I'm sure will disagree). I disagree with those who seem to downplay the importance of being able to draw, including hand drafting. The architect is paid to produce documents for construction (i.e. drawings). You have to be able to translate your thoughts into the form of a drawing. There is no substitute. Personally, I'm glad that I cut my teeth in the days of hand drafting construction drawings. I think it gave me a real "feel" when I look at a set of drawings.