You’ve decided on a career in architecture and landed your place at architectural college. Now it’s time to prepare yourself for what lies ahead with these five pointers.
Top Up Your Sleep Savings Account
During your studies you will need to learn how to top up your sleep to reduce the deficit whenever you can. Fuelling yourself with caffeine might work short-term, but the slump that follows will often negate the benefits. Take power naps whenever and wherever you safely can. They are the saviour of every student of architecture and will ensure you retain your sanity until the end of your studies!
Turn Holidays into Learning Opportunities
Keep learning. Even your holidays should be a learning opportunity. Visit places with interesting architecture such as thin shell tensile structures, and keep an open mind to really absorb other cultures. It might sound like a working holiday, but the break from staring at your computer will be as good as a rest, and you will gain a breadth of knowledge that no book will ever teach you.
Draw Everything!
Architects are in essence artists. Hone your artistic skills by sketching as much as you can. You drawings will be the key to expressing your ideas visually. Sketch freehand so that you can develop a good sense of form, perspective, space and lines. Although you’ll need to keep notes, the images you produce will arguably be more useful in the long term than the reams of notes you have taken.
Get Hands-on Experience
According to the Royal Institute of British Architects, the most common route to full qualification involves at least 24 months of practical experience. This is the minimum requirement to sit the final qualifying exam, so from the start, think about where you would like to do your internships. Whilst you’ll probably be doing mostly donkey work, the sort of experience you will gain from working in an environment like fabricarchitecture.com will be invaluable to you in the future.
Don’t Forget to Look After Yourself
Finally, eat well-balanced meals, keep hydrated (more water less coffee!) and watch your posture as you hunch over your computer screen for hours on end. Studying architecture many not be easy but if you are prepared to study hard and are passionate, your rewards will come in due course.
