When life gives you lemons, make a lemonade right? Architects somehow know how to make the best out of anything and everything. Where do architects get this trait from? Ever wondered? If you have ever wondered why architects have a lot of ‘survival skills’, the following might interest you.
Leap of Faith
It was during the time of my 12th standard studies that I first came across the field of architecture. As with every panic-stricken 12th standard student trying to figure out ‘what next’, I too toiled around many career guidance pages for the ‘perfect’ course to kick start my entry to the ‘real world’. Owing to the incessant chant of my parents and teachers to ‘figure things out soon’, my mind took a leap of faith by choosing architecture for college studies.
I had an instant liking towards the subject though I was a newbie to the whole concept of architectural studies. I always knew I wanted to pursue a creative field but architecture didn’t hit me until my 12th standard. During my school times, architecture as a professional field of study wasn’t that popular an option for undergraduate studies, and hence my exposure to the merits and demerits of choosing such a field was very limited, almost zero to be honest! Youtube, Facebook, and other popular ”knowledge sources” of today weren’t available during my school times so it was a ‘blind tasting’ of architecture. With all the excitement, anxiety, and anticipation of college life and getting into the ‘real world’, the expectations of studying architecture sort of sunk in between all of it. My mind was a clean slate when it all began. There weren’t any presumptions, for the better or worse.
The Beginning of it All
The first day at our architecture college was filled with ‘motivational speeches’ by faculty members of the architectural department, ‘welcome speeches’ by seniors, and self-introductions by thirty-eight of my classmates. Each of the teachers who were responsible for various subjects, came in and surprisingly asked the same question ‘Why did you take architecture?’. The answers from all the thirty-eight of us were very different, as expected. But one thing remained the same. The naivety of a freshman was spread across every answer put out by all of us. In the gist, we wanted architecture to make a difference in our lives, one way or the other. The beginning to the 5-year long journey of undergraduate architectural studies started that day with all the pomp and hanker one could conjure! Not for long though. None of us had anticipated the gruesome workload that was to follow.
First-year moved away slowly and steadily. Warming up to the structured syllabus of architecture wasn’t very hard at first. With all the site and case study visits, the group works, and introductory design projects, architecture seemed like a dream come true for most of us. It was a perfect mix of creative thinking and logical analysis, an unbiased right and left brain – entertainer. Workload started increasing in the 2nd year with the scale of the project getting bigger. ‘Night outs’ doing drawing sheets started becoming a new normal. ‘Night out’ is a very popular architectural college lingo meaning ‘sleepless nights engaged in architectural design work’. Weekends were filled with design work for the architectural ‘reviews’ of the start of the week. The tone of ‘motivational speeches’ of teachers started to have a stern undertone. In between all of the happenings, friendships started blossoming. Group works and academic work-related travel became the moments of bonding and unity. 3rd year, 4th year came in with a lot of hardship and a lot of opportunities.
Finding the Groove
Our minds were starting to resonate with the architectural perspectives. All of us, at some or the point in these years, started to find our own design style. Some favored minimalism, some favored constructivism, some favored classic, and so on. We were all finding our groove in architecture. With a brief period of mandatory internship in the 4th year, the practice of architecture in real life was an eye-opener in many regards.
After the internship period, our attitudes had changed. For some, it was for the better, for some for the worse. 5th year was the ultimate test of all. With the Master thesis and dissertation submissions, pressures of workload, and deadlines skyrocketed. Somehow we were accustomed to that level of insane pressure by the hurdles overcome by the course of the early years. 5 years of struggle culminated with the final thesis review, the final judgment. It was a tough journey indeed!. Architecture is never for the faint-hearted!!!
Dream, Fly High
One great aspect of studying architecture is that it gives you a wide choice of paths to choose from for the future. Landscape architecture, urban design, urban planning, interior designing, product designing, etc are an array of career options that are wide open through studying architecture. The need for having software skills to be competent in finishing architectural studies helps in diversifying the skill set of an architecture student. Capabilities, skills, and experiences acquired through architectural studies create architects of strong prowess. In short, architecture is an ocean of immense opportunities and possibilities, if you are willing to take the plunge into the uncharted waters of it.
With all the tales of hard work and tireless-ness aside, architecture instills a sense of order and structure in an architecture student’s life. Studying architecture has made me appreciate the value of hard work and perseverance. It has taught me to be aware of the space and society we live in. Architecture has paved a way for personality and professional development in a very sensible and profound manner. Architecture is an amalgamation of creative ideologies, sensibilities, and perceptions within the parameters of engineering. Graduating as an architect is a tough challenge but it is worth every effort taken. Architecture not only helps you dream about flying but also gives you wings to soar high into the vast expanse of unending possibilities! And it certainly will make you into one tough cookie!
