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tenaciousarchitect
Joined: 30 Aug 2008
Posts: 5
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 Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:36 pm Post subject: You were once in my shoes, So please help |
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Hi guys, this my 1st, just saying hi and asking 4 ur help. 
Ok, most successful people often say that having passion and love for what they do is the key contribute factors to their success. So after years of searching for that passion, I finally realized my passion and love relies in the architecture. And I’m in the start of seeking a Bachelor Degree in Architecture, however I cannot afford any misshape and come across something that could cost me time, money, and energy, when I could’ve just avoided with just asking or preparing ahead.
So my question to guys is (if u can grab the go back in time train) what’s the one or two thing(s) u wished that someone warned you about, when u started your journey to this wonderful field( architecture life)?
Thanks in advance |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1104
Location: UK
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:00 am Post subject: |
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Develop good memory skills. Fixing things to memory as you go along will save you heaps of time in the future.
Also the old adage 'it is not what you know but who you know' is very appropriate. Making friends, alliances, asking advice, sharing information, cadging and copying, calling-in favours are not an optional extra if you want to pass your course. |
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lt770
Joined: 03 Sep 2008
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:56 pm Post subject: keep going on |
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| perharps everyone experience such period, if you want to hold on your dream, what you need to do is keep on going and change your attitude toward the life and the things that happened to you. with the time passed, you will find you have a good attitude toword everything. including the passion for architect |
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lt770
Joined: 03 Sep 2008
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 7:56 pm Post subject: keep going on |
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| perharps everyone experience such period, if you want to hold on your dream, what you need to do is keep on going and change your attitude toward the life and the things that happened to you. with the time passed, you will find you have a good attitude toword everything. including the passion for architect |
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tenaciousarchitect
Joined: 30 Aug 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:38 pm Post subject: |
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1st thing, thanks 2 lt770 and lekizz for time and support.
2nd thing, I’m sort of surprised after 200+ viewers i only got 2 replies, is that that the norm or are people 2 busy 2 type 2 words?
in any case, thanks 4 ur time |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1104
Location: UK
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| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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There are over 1 billion internet users but I doubt they are all registered members of Designcommunity so would be unable to reply 
In any case, it seems participants here have far more questions than answers. Yours was one of the better worded questions, so well done, shame you didn;t get more replies! |
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Checkpoint43
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 74
Location: Lexington, VA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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I know you'd like to avoid wasting time, money, and energy, but as you make your way into the field of architecture, you won't be able to avoid spending a lot of time, money, and energy to get there.
Perhaps the best advice I could offer is to enjoy the journey.
Look for opportunities along the way.
Good luck, and welcome aboard.
Checkpoint43 |
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Married To The Job
Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 36
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 3:19 pm Post subject: Some people tried to talk me out of architecture |
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Some people tried to talk me out of pursuing architecture, but I was never in doubt (from about 10th grade on) that I would become an architect. Some things that you might think about -- the things you may have a passion for in school may not be the same things you will be spending the day doing once you are into your internship and early practice. So learn to cultivate a sense of curiosity and passion for as many parts of the process as you can.
School is so design oriented that it is possibe to forget that the architect is only one piece of the puzzle, but if the field is actually a *service* oriented profession rather than a product oriented profession (architects have clients rather than customers), you need to think about other people that contribute to the team. Learn to consider the process and experience from another's viewpoint...the owner, who may be a newbie and needs guidance (or who might just know more than you); and the contractor, who needs clear and timely information; and even your boss -- an Architect who may appear to have lost all 'passion', but on whose shoulders rest the fiscal responsibility of the firm who needs knowledgeable, self-starting employees with a good sense of when to ask the important questions.
Also, learn to see the big picture, the long view...and appreciate it for what it is...a continuous learning process. |
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innova+e
Joined: 21 Dec 2007
Posts: 41
Location: lisbon
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| Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 1:19 pm Post subject: |
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" 2nd thing, I’m sort of surprised after 200+ viewers i only got 2 replies, is that that the norm or are people 2 busy 2 type 2 words "
Here is my advice, based on your own post. I would take the above response to your query and get used to dead ends. In university dealing with the academics, and further in the profession, applying for jobs, meeting budgets, design constraints etc.. If you truly find that architecture is indeed your passion, keep at it and don't let anyone derail you. Don't go into it for the money, that is for sure, unless you are not worried about becoming the next Donald Trump. Architecture offers a variety of other benefits aside from that. Rely on yourself ,and don't wait or expect anyone to do anything for you. have fun. |
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toufic
Joined: 03 Jul 2004
Posts: 26
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| Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 2:28 am Post subject: |
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Research an analysis is very important. For each project u take in university try doing an intense research for many architects, explore their work, their mind,and try to feel the space they have created...
It is not wrong in the beginning to be influenced by conceptual projects and by international architects, those play a major role in your formation as an architect. Talent plays a role but education and passion play even a larger one......Good luck in your journey and am sure u'll enjoy....u must enjoy and have fun to come up with nice designs..... 
_________________
TOUFIC HAIDAMOUS
ARCHITECT |
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Loki214th
Joined: 23 May 2008
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:58 am Post subject: |
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Some things I wish people told me before getting involved in the Architecture Business:
A) You're probably not going to get as wealthy as quickly as your peers who chose to be doctors, lawyers etc.
B) Most Architects are recognised very late in their life, late 40s early 50s.
C) You struggle in your 'early' years.
D) The hours are long, the clients are annoying, the liability is high and the Fees quite often do not compensate.
E) There can be some very lucrative projects, but these are few and far between.
F) Quite often, the Business of Architecture is less about fantastic and amazing designs that you see in Magazines, and more about turning around simple, workable designs quickly to get them out to the client, to get paid.
G) Clients don't pay. Its difficult to get your money after producing drawings in some cases. It's a constant back and forth and give and take between you and the client. Delays on the client's part eat into your profit and it is very difficult to collect on losses due to client delay.
H) There is a need to keep meticulous records, send everything in writing to the client to cover your ass, and make copious notes on resources used and payments made. However, for a small and growing firm it is almost impossible to find the time to do the job on schedule AND keep track of all this.
I) Your peers who decided to go into Construction/Project Management will be earning a higher salary than you.
You probably know the positives already, since you want to be an Architect, so won't bother going through those |
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tenaciousarchitect
Joined: 30 Aug 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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^ U mean little thing. My intension for this thread was to see how I can avoid the unnecessary waste of time stuff while pursing my dream, NOT to get me to stop pursuing my dream altogether.
Ps. those hardship (in ur list) are given is every little field! Success in anything comes with love and passion. I hope u can remember what they are
Last edited by tenaciousarchitect on Sat Oct 18, 2008 5:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Loki214th
Joined: 23 May 2008
Posts: 4
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| Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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| tenaciousarchitect wrote: | | ^ U mean little thing. My intension to this thread was to see how I can avoid the unnecessary waste of time stuff while pursing my dream, NOT to get me to stop pursuing my dream altogether. |
Well...this is what I read: "what’s the one or two thing(s) u wished that someone warned you about, when u started your journey"
And those are some of the things I've heard Architects say they wish they knew, so they could have been prepared.
Edit: They exist in every field to some extent,but there are specific challenges in Architecture in particular that you won't find in other fields.
The point is that there is a difference between the theory, passion and design of Architecture and the Dream of Architecture and the realities of the Business of Architecture. |
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WalkerARCHITECTS
Joined: 25 Sep 2007
Posts: 44
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| Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:12 pm Post subject: Best Architect advice available |
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Architectural commissions are found at the crossroads of both opportunity and performance. Here is that important time saving stuff you need to know.
Opportunity, flows from potential clients, and is therefore too often a function of name recognition and not talent. The same small number of "big names" get the opportunities to do the good projects, the best projects rarely go to "no-names".
When people look to hire an exceptional architect they typically are looking for names they recognize because they naturally associate names with great projects they have seen published; in reality architects whose names are not known, are often much better architects than the "big names", because they are or were, the talent, that actually did the project that got published while they worked as an employee for the "big name".
Under copyright law "work for hire" means the employer gets to put his name on the work of his employees. That is the common practice. So your name is rarely known as the actual talent that created the architecture.
In most firms the employees do the bulk of the design and the project work, they just never get the credit they deserve and are consequently going to be passed over by potential clients once they are out on their own, until they become "big names" on their own. The big truth is that the "big names" rarely do the big projects themselves, although a very limited few do!
You have to be good at Architecture to succeed but you also have to be visible to get your own clients. There will be no success without clients.
Architecture is both science and art and is therefore also business and personal commitment to your art. It is a career and profession as a business endeavor. Architects are professional consultants providing services who are paid a professional fee for Architectural design and consultations. They may also be artists of great power as demonstrated by the Beijing Olympics facilities.
Designing architecture because you are driven to it, because it is a part of you and the most important thing in your life, is architecture as art and for art. As art, architecture must be a deeply personal journey and you must have a commitment to your art. Architecture is inseparably both, a business activity in the first case and artistic expression in the other. You will be hired for your talent to create beautiful architectural works by your employers as well as your clients.
Without commissions which flow from business activity there is no opportunity to achieve your art.
Just to become an architect and have access to commissions you will have to work very hard and do whatever is necessary to master the science and the art of it, qualify for the examination process, pass the exams and get licensed. Now that you can receive commissions lawfully and are licensed to practice by the state, that does not mean that you will have opportunities to get projects.
Setting out on your own as early as possible is essential. You must start and then build your own practice. Typically this will take a great deal of resource, money, very good connections in your community and management expertise which too often in the profession, no one has taught you. You will need to build name recognition. You need to be known in your community and be respectable so that you can command respect.
All of the advice shared with you here is good advice. None has been mean or dishonest and you are respected so be respectful.
The two things that were told to me by my mentor at the university were #1. Never give up your dreams or your vision. Employees never get to design anything they can call their own, so you need to get commissions on your own and do them every chance you get. #2. Plan on financing your practice from the beginning of your career. No one will loan you money when you need it; it is rule among money lenders, so if you borrow money for your practice, you need to borrow it when you do not need it, in that way only, will you will have credit on tap when you do need it.
These are two things that I wish someone had told me, but did not. Take me seriously;
#1 You will never be paid enough money as an employee that you can save enough money to start your own practice, I mean NEVER.
#2 Immediately start building name recognition, in the university, as an intern, before you are licensed, after you are licensed etc., because commissions typically flow to "names" and not to "no-names" and without significant commissions no one will ever give you any press. Without press you will not get commissions. Clients are looking to hire talent" but believe that talent and big names are the one and the same, if they stop and think about it
TLW |
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solidred
Joined: 05 Jan 2006
Posts: 621
Location: Scotland
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 10:25 am Post subject: |
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Hey, TLW, I'm twelve or so years into practice, currently unemployed and I've found your post both comforting and useful. You're absolutely right!
Working as an architectural employee, in my experience, truly sucks. Consequently, I find unemployment far more fulfilling: I don't regard it as 'down time with nothing to do' but as 'crucially important time in which to catch up with my own agenda'.
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