....you know the janitors by name.
....your roommates say "good morning," and you reply "good night."
....you carry a toothbrush in your backpack.
....someone asks you for your phone number and you give them the studios.
....you start paying rent for your desk space in studio.
....You total up 3 meals of the day to your breakfast."
....'Red Bull' is you favorite drink.
....all of the Christmas gifts you give are wrapped in trace.
.....you ask Santa Clause for architecture supplies.
....you ask Santa Clause for a sleeping bag.
....after all of your expenses, you can't afford to pay attention.
....you have 3 or more cups of double shot coffee espressos in one night .
...you hear the same song on the radio 3 or more times in one night.
.... You know the different smell between UHU and Pritt glue
.... You can stay alive without sunlight, communicate with people nor having foods but you would commit suicide if the plotter doesn't plot your work out .
....construction workers are already working.
....You've lost your house key and u realized week later
....you sleep more than 16 hrs at weekends
....you dance madly at 3 am though you aren't drunk
.... You are an expert and Photoshop, illustrator and auto cad but u don't know how to use MS excel
....you've got 2 subjects / day but you got to study it whole day
....you spend more time in studio than in your own bed.
....your parents are complaining that you're not having enough fun.
....you only leave studio to buy supplies.
....you haven't taken a shower in a week.
....you see showering as a waste of time.
....you've ever dreamt about your models.
....upon hearing 'supermodel', you think of a nicely crafted-foam core model.
....your parents have more of a social life than you.
....your 14-year-old brother has more of a social life than you.
....you consider using broccoli for your models.
....you enjoy hanging out at 'Home and Garden Fair'.
....you know all the 24-hour food places in the area.
....your friends get more sleep in one night than you do in one week.
....the streetlights turn off.
...You consider 3AM an early night.
....when you are out at 3AM, and people knows where you're at.
....everything you eat comes in single serving baggies.
....the idea of a 24 hour 'Kinko's' make's perfect sense .
...smoking sounds appealing.
....you're out on Friday nights in studio.
....the only building on campus with its lights on is your studios'.
....you say "It's only midnight- I have plenty of time to finish."
....you confuse sunrise with sunset.
....you ask what time it is, then ask "AM or PM?"
....your Friday night is 68 hours long.
....you know how much a cubic foot of concrete weighs (150lbs).
....you slice your finger, and the first thing you think of is if you'll be able to finish your model.
....you understand why architects have glasses and white hair.
...You call some great architects as if they are you friends. err... Frank... Tadao.
....you know all of these are true, no exaggerations.
....you can listen to all your CD's in one night.
....certain songs remind you of studio.
....Sister's favorite brand names are Prada DNKY etc... But yours are Mastex, Staedtler, pentel, rotring
....you dare not to have a gf/bf coz no one can accept for what you are
....you can conceptually compose the food on your plate.
....you think the 'Weekender' happens every weekend.
....upon hearing 'Weekends' you think of sleep.
....the 'Shop Cafe' closes when you arrive, and reopens before you leave studio.
....you have to wait for breakfast shops to open.
....you go to the food shop, and order the "usual", and they understand.
....you use architecture tools to eat.
....you only buy groceries once a month.
....you wake up to go to school and you're already there.
....you start wearing all black.
....you have no life, and admit it.
....you start to critique a radio selection's selection of songs.
....you bring your friends to studio to keep you company.
....you refer to outside studio as the "Real World."
...."going out to eat" is at the 'Shop Cafe'.
....going on a vacation involves going to 'Flax' or 'Pearl'.
....you confuse today and tomorrow.
....you tell time by when other people leave studio.
....you can write a 6-page term paper by procrastinating.
....you hear "Didn't you wear that yesterday?' followed by "and the day before that?"
....you roommate files a Missing Person Report.
....you count the number of days (not hours) you've been awake.
....you think days are 48 hours long.
....you go to the store to buy a six-pack of 'Red Bull'.
...."Homecoming" happens once a term.
....on Halloween, you dress like your instructors.
....on Halloween you trick-or-treat in studio to get arch supplies or 'Red Bull.'
...."respect", "coolness', and "hatred" are all based on how much sleep you get, or lack of.
....you see your own picture on a milk carton.
....you start using words your instructor uses.
....your bed has collected a layer of dust on it.
....concept of time is not forward, but a countdown from the time a project is due
....you contemplate suicide 3 times a day.
....you contemplate dropping your major 3 times a day.
....you have a tent pitched in studio, but still don't go to sleep.
....doing models all night long excites you.
....you know the people in the studio better then your roommates.
....Drimmels are a lifelong investment, if you can keep the parts.
....Gesso is pointless.
....X-acto knives can be dangerous
... as we all know or will find out.
....Beer pyramids AND Red Bull pyramids are some of our late-night late projects.
....Elmer's glue doesn't dry quick -- not even close.
....They know the phrase "Always done, never done" all too well and wish the professors would stop saying it
....They can always have more construction lines.
....They know the number and price of their favorite item in the snack machine downstairs, as well as every other item and all the drinks in the other two machines.
....And if you have been drunk while in the studio working on a project, join the club.
....they believe they should be paid just for having the major
....you drink more in studio than you do when you're out
....you have sent messages on aim to another jackass architecture student in the same room as you are(done tht)
....you think "X-Acto Blade Throwing" is a sport.
....you have 3 or more 'Mountain Dews' in one night
....you spend more time in studio than with your partner/other half.
...."scoring" involves an X-Acto blade
....you don't find out who wins the Presidential Election until Thanksgiving Break, if you get one at all.
....a break consists of moving your car.
....you've memorized you favorite vending machine combination item
....you use your T-square or straight edge as a baseball bat.
.....the day has 2 sunrises.
.....you test which glue will cause your model to burn faster.
.....when you tell people you major in "architorture"
....you can't draw without listening to music!
....when people tell you that they like walking around with you because you see things know one else does.
....when you don't understand how someone doesn't strategize their way through traffic
....when someone says "icon" and you think of Louis I. Kahn.
....when someone says "eye candy" and you think of gratuitous details on a building.
....when you use words like "gratuitous".
....when you have to use spellchecker to see if you spelled "gratuitous" right.
.... When you're not sure what day of the week it is
.... When you have slept straight through a day and into the next day after a final review
.... When lack of sleep makes you feel and act as if you are high
.... When any flat surface is seen as a place to take a nap, in hallways, on drafting boards
.... When a relationship with an upperclassman seems like a good idea because they might be able to help you on your project
.... When a relationship with an underclassman seems like a good idea because their final review is before yours and therefore, they can help you produce once they are finished
.... When the books that you read consist primarily of photographs and not so much of words
.... When you have to ask your fellow architects to give you wake up calls
.... When you have three or more alarm clocks in your room.
.... When cutting yourself with an x-acto seems like a good idea because it will give you an excuse for not having finished your work
.... When you go to studio and spend more time socializing than doing work
.... When you have big enough balls to tell a critique that they are wrong
.... When everyone in studio hates you because you are the one who plays their music too loudly
.... When after playing your music too loudly the same people who hated you start to take interest in your music
.... When you have developed an addiction to buying new albums, because you have gotten sick of all your old ones
.... When trying to decide what album to play you find an album you haven't listened to a while and it ends up being the perfect choice.
.... When professors for courses outside of the architecture school are lenient once they are aware you are an architecture student.
.... When you tell someone in another school that you are architecture major and they automatically assume you have no social life
.... When you have a non architect friend who wants to tag along to architecture parties because they know that architects have the best parties
.... When you are the only sober person standing outside of the hot truck on a Friday/ Saturday night
.... When you have a sign taped to your back that says do not disturb unless you are ordering food or handing out free blowjobs
.... If it were possible to bartar sexual favors for production help, you would seriously consider pulling tricks
.... You have given a final presentation with your fly open
.... You try to do things to make your friend laugh while he is presenting
Original Source
An Architecture Student
The experiences of an architecture student...unsurprisingly.
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Twas The Night Before Hand-In
'Twas the night before hand in, and all through the house,
Not a printer was working, not even my mouse;
All the CAD files done and completed with care,
just another 1:100 and then we'll be there;
its 02:45 and im ready for bed,
but i'm picturing models to make in my head;
Turn to my friend caffeine, at this late hour,
only to wish you had time for a shower;
Uhu in hand the model takes shape,
material choices? make the windows Opaque?;
Then out on the street arose such a clatter,
Oceana girls, one fit, the other fatter;
Longing to be out, a club with Dance and Hip-Hop,
instead stuck in doors with cracked Photoshop;
Illustator slows down maybe not enough RAM,
i'd rather be like this than have an exam;
Precious time left, the screen damaging my sight,
realising i just smoked my last Marlboro light;
The layout and font begin to appear,
shuffling through sketch books ideas become clear;
The morning approaches, we've blazed all night,
thanks to Red Bull the submissions' in sight;
The last file is sent, it begins to plot,
stretching and yawning my body in knots;
The section appears, my re-done crit sheet,
pressure is over, portfolio complete;
Shouting and raisng my hands to the skies,
last print in hand, to my feet i did rise;
Leaving the house, reminiscing the hectic,
did i remember to scale the axonometric?;
I step to the street, and turn to hear,
architects rejoice the hand in is near;
Handed in on time, its the end of the Grief,
until the handout of the next brief.
Not a printer was working, not even my mouse;
All the CAD files done and completed with care,
just another 1:100 and then we'll be there;
its 02:45 and im ready for bed,
but i'm picturing models to make in my head;
Turn to my friend caffeine, at this late hour,
only to wish you had time for a shower;
Uhu in hand the model takes shape,
material choices? make the windows Opaque?;
Then out on the street arose such a clatter,
Oceana girls, one fit, the other fatter;
Longing to be out, a club with Dance and Hip-Hop,
instead stuck in doors with cracked Photoshop;
Illustator slows down maybe not enough RAM,
i'd rather be like this than have an exam;
Precious time left, the screen damaging my sight,
realising i just smoked my last Marlboro light;
The layout and font begin to appear,
shuffling through sketch books ideas become clear;
The morning approaches, we've blazed all night,
thanks to Red Bull the submissions' in sight;
The last file is sent, it begins to plot,
stretching and yawning my body in knots;
The section appears, my re-done crit sheet,
pressure is over, portfolio complete;
Shouting and raisng my hands to the skies,
last print in hand, to my feet i did rise;
Leaving the house, reminiscing the hectic,
did i remember to scale the axonometric?;
I step to the street, and turn to hear,
architects rejoice the hand in is near;
Handed in on time, its the end of the Grief,
until the handout of the next brief.
Friday, 18 March 2011
10 Things You Should Know About Design Studio
1. All-nighters are not a requirement
Architecture students are terrible at managing their time. While part of the design process is the vetting that goes on between students, rarely do architecture students show up, put their heads down, and get to work in a methodical productive manner. There is a lot of competition and gamesmanship that goes on but if you manage your time like the studio was your job, all-nighters simply wouldn’t happen. I see all the time that when older people go back for an architecture degree or a masters – people who have been out in the work place or have other “grown-up” responsibilities, they never pull all-nighters. They don’t have to because when they are at the studio for 8 hours, they get 8 hours of work done. It’s the guy sleeping in the lounge during structures class whose desk is littered Starbucks cups that pulls all nighters. This person will also brag about pulling an all-nighter – as a “grown-up”, this makes me chuckle.
2. Last minute changes do more harm than good
It’s always hard to stop designing, especially in school, but at some point the goal is to present the concept and the drawings and models to support your ideas. If you were to think of this process as if you were presenting to a client and work backward from a deadline, you will have far less negative work. If you determine that it is going to take you 4 days to build your model out of basswood and 2 days to render the drawings, leave yourself the appropriate amount of time and stop creating original work. If you have all these great ideas and no method to effectively communicate them who cares? (I don’t)
3. A bad presentation during your review will not sink your grade
If things are still the same, people get really worked up and more than a little stressed out when the time comes to pin your work up on the wall and get reviewed. The good news should be that your professor, the person who will actually be giving you your grade, knows all about your project and how much time and effort you’ve put in. As a result, you should be less concerned about the guest professors/ reviewers who don’t know anything about your work, have 10 minutes to “get it” and then offer some meaningful insight. More times than not, those professors have their own pet project or something that they are into and their comments are simply a narcissistic way to make your project about them. Your project could be a multi-disciplinary research housing station on the dark side of the moon and the “sustainable” professor will find some way to ask you about rainwater harvesting. (think about it – I’m not making a joke, you know that could totally happen). Same thing happens to the person who can render really, really well. Their presentation will look amazing and the guest reviewers will go on and on about great this project is and how feeble the previous one was, this person’s on a entirely different level, etc. etc. … But everyone in the class (including the professor) knows that this project doesn’t work, despite looking as great as it does. Everyone is influenced by snazzy graphics – but unless this is a rendering class, you professor will know who did what and where the value lies.
4. Your portfolio has a 3 year lifespan (max)
Yes, your portfolio is important and you will use it at various points during school and your early career to leverage it into something you want. Just realized that at some point in the early future, you will be embarrassed that you thought your work was so great when it clearly sucks. Your portfolio will find a home in some closet with other items of diminishing importance because you will discover that the purpose your portfolio serves isn’t what you thought it was. It isn’t to show off some awesome creative project you designed, it is about illustrating your proficiency in various skills of the trade and demonstrating that you know how to think and process information. Think about it – do you really want the message your portfolio sends to be how great you can render? Because you’ll be the “render guy”.
5. Hard work is easy to see
You aren’t fooling anyone, there isn’t any coasting and if you think you can get away with it you learn the truth in the most public and humiliating manner. That guy we mentioned earlier – the one who thinks you have to pull all-nighters even though he sleeps during class – he’s full throttle isn’t he? He lives, eats and breathes this stuff - clearly he is going to make a great architect. Right? I could make a drop-in appearance in any studio and pick out the people who work really hard versus the ones who work hard at looking like they are working hard … and your professor knows it too. Yes, there are still prof’s out there who like and support this sort of behavior because it shows “dedication” or at the very worst a high interest level.Ultimately, hard work is it’s own reward.
6. Take business and real estate classes with your electives
I never did this and to be frank, it never even occurred to me. I was already taking a million hours and I saw my electives as a chance to coast a little. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy them or get anything out of the process . I took an intro to Ceramics class as a 6th year senior – all the other students were freshman Fine Arts majors. I had a great time in this class and I am pretty sure I had a guaranteed A after 3 weeks. The professor and I would talk about design and trends and he appreciated that I was there because I wanted to be there, not because I had to. I also did about 50x more “projects” than anyone else because I didn’t screw around as much as the others. Looking back, it was one of my favorite classes but I really wished I had burned that elective with something that would have helped me with my job today.
7. Visit your professors during office hours
This should be lesson #1 but it wasn’t as cool a lead off as all-nighters. This isn’t particular to studio as much as it is any and every class you take. When you take the time to visit your professor and ask some questions, say hello, whatever, magical things typically happen. Most professors are required to keep office hours and depending on the class they teach, I found that nothing happens during this time. As a result, I could ask about the lecture and not only would it get personalized for my benefit, but the professor was now engaged and invested in my success. I wasn’t a suck-up, I didn’t go by to say wass’up but I did make it a point to make an appearance early on in the semester. I just wished I had learned this lesson before I took physics as a freshman.
8. ”Sell” your professor
You should get used to thinking of your professor as your client and not your buddy. I know this might sound contrary to the preceding point but this is more about settings expectations. When you talk to your professor about your project, it’s important that you be able to clearly articulate your reasons for taking the design in the direction you have chosen. You need to think that it is your job to convince them that your assumptions are valid and that there is a good idea behind your logic. The professors job isn’t to do your project for you but rather help protect you from yourself and help guide you along the path you’ve chosen. I always like to hear professors engage in psychiatrist talk, i.e. “Why do you think this was an appropriate gesture” or “what do you think the result of that (blank) would be?” It’s their job to help guide you, not tell you what to do.
9. Crits are not what you think they are (value)
I touched on this a bit in item #3 but most architecture students think this is just about presenting their design and getting the wise and illuminating input from the guest reviewers – it’s not (see #3). This is really another important part of your education. The most important thing you can get out of these critiques is practicing the art of standing up in front of a room of people and emanating confidence and knowledge. You are the expert on your design so you should be able to convey the objectives, strategies, and directions your design takes better than anyone else. Talking under pressure without ahh’s and uhmm’s is a skill – not a gift. If I had known that the ability to effectively communicate was a more prized skill than designing in an architectural office, I would have put more effort into developing it. Nobody wants to hear that anything other than good design sells but it simply isn’t true. The person who can be put in front of the client and communicate and make a connection will be more valued than a skilled designer. Those “star-kitects” you see in the magazines generally have the ability to be amazingly good at both.
10. Break the Rules (big picture)
The best projects tend to be about ideas and not about the literal execution – at least it is at design oriented programs. Who cares how that 10″ column is going to support the “lifestyle pod” on your habitat tree. If people are talking about your toilet layout and not your positive and negative space, your design probably isn’t very good and you are on the road to becoming a successful project manager. Kudos.
.
I feel like it is important to add that there are all kinds of value to staying up late and being with your studio mates. Going out for a coffee and street meat at 1:00 a.m. tends to build relationships and strengthen solidarity within the studio. I am not telling you to avoid that – you need to do it; it’s part of your education process. I am telling you to get your work done during regular hours (8am to midnight) and then you can screw off with your friends late at night listening to Miike Snow and remixes by Mark Ronson all you want. You can even be “that guy” who walks around offering unsolicited opinions that require a massive design reset - if you want, but nobody likes that guy (that’s #11).
I am here to tell you that nobody gets their best work done past midnight – EVER. Look up the word ‘serendipity’ if you disagree with me. I am also aware that the work is typically more important than the grade so please don’t misconstrue what I am saying: this is about smarter not harder. Spend the time in the studio working instead of playing tape-ball. Please don’t act like there isn’t a lot of screwing around that goes on, we all know better. But don’t think that the old guy who is working over there in the corner while your rounding second base is a jerk because he wants to get home and see his kids. You are supposed to have fun in college, I am just telling you that there is an alternative manner on how to go about your business – one that will make a difference beyond this semester.
First Impressions of Design Studio 101 and Architecture
So you've chosen Architecture. (K100 for any UCAS applicants). You've been to the open days, done art for A-Level and maybe even done a foundation art or engineering year. You know how it all works, right?
Well, no. Not nearly close. Nothing can prepare you for the domination that is Architecture School. A million posts on this blog couldn't, but this is the best I can muster.
After the initial hectic fresher's week (or fortnight, for lucky students) comes your first 'proper' timetabled week. Often with a design meeting in the studio with your tutor for the next year. You'll be set a group task to get you all working together and know each other, and that's it. On the surface, you'll think that this studio-lark is easy, but it is all a struggle from here.
Studio time, timetabled with your tutor, is most likely to only be a few hours a week, 5 at the most. However, you are expected to spend around 20+ hours per week in the studio, working. This 'work' may be models to illustrate and represent your design proposal, drawings, CAD or maybe just some large format printing, but it is this extra studio time that will make up the bread and butter of Architecture School. At peak periods, such as before a submission, expect to spend entire days and nights in the studio.
Your tutor will seem friendly initially, but when they start to assess and criticise your work, it will seem like everything you've done is awful. Don't be disheartened, whilst they MAY rip your design which you spent the last 36 hours finalising to shreds, it doesn't mean they don't like it! Their job is to find what's wrong with your proposal. And they will find it. Along with a dozen other 'flaws'.
You will get an average-ish mark, and promise to improve next project. You won't.
I will re-iterate this a hundred times, but Architecture School is TOUGH. The lack of sleep, the kilometres of tracing paper used, the cost of tools, materials and printing and the sheer emotional rollercoaster of having your efforts shot down is bad at times, but if you chose to study Architecture - you're a different sort of human. Striving under pressure, not working until you get 'the fear' and constantly having to prove yourself make you stronger, and your studio-game will improve. You will improve.
Well, no. Not nearly close. Nothing can prepare you for the domination that is Architecture School. A million posts on this blog couldn't, but this is the best I can muster.
After the initial hectic fresher's week (or fortnight, for lucky students) comes your first 'proper' timetabled week. Often with a design meeting in the studio with your tutor for the next year. You'll be set a group task to get you all working together and know each other, and that's it. On the surface, you'll think that this studio-lark is easy, but it is all a struggle from here.
Studio time, timetabled with your tutor, is most likely to only be a few hours a week, 5 at the most. However, you are expected to spend around 20+ hours per week in the studio, working. This 'work' may be models to illustrate and represent your design proposal, drawings, CAD or maybe just some large format printing, but it is this extra studio time that will make up the bread and butter of Architecture School. At peak periods, such as before a submission, expect to spend entire days and nights in the studio.
Your tutor will seem friendly initially, but when they start to assess and criticise your work, it will seem like everything you've done is awful. Don't be disheartened, whilst they MAY rip your design which you spent the last 36 hours finalising to shreds, it doesn't mean they don't like it! Their job is to find what's wrong with your proposal. And they will find it. Along with a dozen other 'flaws'.
You will get an average-ish mark, and promise to improve next project. You won't.
I will re-iterate this a hundred times, but Architecture School is TOUGH. The lack of sleep, the kilometres of tracing paper used, the cost of tools, materials and printing and the sheer emotional rollercoaster of having your efforts shot down is bad at times, but if you chose to study Architecture - you're a different sort of human. Striving under pressure, not working until you get 'the fear' and constantly having to prove yourself make you stronger, and your studio-game will improve. You will improve.
An Average Experience of an Architecture Student.
I'm An Architecture Student, I study Architecture at a good UK University, and this blog will chronicle and document every aspect of the atmosphere of being an Architecture student. Having been at University for a few months, I have realised the world I have signed up to and can't let it slip by untold.
I hope Architecture students past and present can relate to this, and everybody else can comprehend (or at least pretend to) how intense and immersive the course is.
I hope Architecture students past and present can relate to this, and everybody else can comprehend (or at least pretend to) how intense and immersive the course is.
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