What's a day in the life like for an architecture student?
Studio took a front seat to everything. All other classes were put on the back burner. I've had many incidences where a review and an exam fell on the same day and the only studying I got for the exam was me pulling out flashcards after my turn in review. Studio seemed like an endless cycle of reiterations. You'd present one design to your studio instructor to receive feedback and you'd have to redesign to accommodate to their criticisms and the cycle would start up again and again. A lot of all nighters and 4am mental breakdowns when the cutter stopped working and your model is only 1/2 built or if your systems crashed after 6hrs of work and no save...
What is the hardest part about being an architecture student?
Time management and having a thick skin. Studio eats up a majority of your time so learning how to balance studio, other classes, a personal life, personal health, and work was always tricky and often, some aspects of your life has to take the short end of the stick and you end up neglecting at least one of those categories. And nothing has humbled me more than architecture. Before entering my undergrad program, I was a good art student in high school. I won awards and went to regional competitions. I was under the false impression that all of my creative works were immaculate but oh was I quickly proven wrong. You can spend an entire semester on a project and the review jury will tear down your design in a matter of minutes. It's important to learn humility, have a tough skin, and take the criticisms in a constructive manner, after all, diamonds only form under pressure.
In conclusion architecture is a very passionate and subjective profession because it incorporates art with science. And I've never been prouder of my decision more than choosing architecture as my career.
Comments