How do you know that you want to become an architect? If you ask a handful of designers, the answers will vary from one end to the other, and as with many careers, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact influences. Even among our team, everyone has a different reason! For myself, I fell in love with travel shows that highlighted homes and destinations with different architectural languages. Although the list of reasons is diverse and long, there are five traits or signs that most architects have that have influenced them into this profession!
1. Joy of Creating
It’s not surprising that there is overwhelming joy in the act of conceptualizing an idea and bringing it forth in the physical world. Like so many other design careers, architecture is just one avenue that allows for creativity to flourish. However, it’s crucial to recognize that although there’s a time and place for super conceptual design, a significant degree of this profession requires practical and informed design decisions to construct. It’s common to go through architecture or design school with rose-colored glasses about entering the workforce. Unfortunately, to create amazing designs, there are times when firms must take a business approach to work first. This is not to discourage you from exploring this unique field, but we also want to share the truth. I’ve seen peers leave the field because of the disconnect between “academic-style” architecture versus “work-style” architecture. For clarity, “academic-style” architecture tends to push the boundaries of constructability and aligns with hyper-conceptual projects. Whereas, when I mention “work-style” architecture, this perspective aligns more with practical and well-thought designs that benefit the client or end-user over innovative designs. Ultimately, whether it’s residential or large-scale commercial design, architects have a hand in bringing ideas into the built environment!
If you have a creative mindset, then becoming an architect is one avenue that you should consider!
2. Solving Real Problems
A design problem calls for a design solution! As enjoyable as creating is, it’s worthwhile for a designer to impact the world we occupy. It’s often forgotten that architects were not just designers, but every architectural project aimed to solve issues. Homes were for comfortable and affordable living spaces; retail stores optimized accessibility and presentation; government buildings for security, and more. Any building program came into existence because there was a need for it!
In today’s world, architecture has extended beyond the simple need for a program. Being one of the most significant man-made structures, buildings have an immense impact on ecology and sustainability. So architects now have the responsibility to find ways to make buildings give back to their site, too. Don’t get me started on mushroom architecture or biomimetic design.
If you are passionate about solving unique problems and tackling some of the biggest issues in the world, then becoming an architect might suit you!
3. Shaping Lives
As architects, we enjoy having a clear intention of design that shapes the inhabitants’ lives in projects. Although architects can be portrayed in media to have this god-like persona reinforcing this notion, it’s essential to understand that any design at any scale will shape the world. We forget that a slight difference in our environment could change how we interact within a given space.
Have you ever heard about the prank of moving every piece of furniture by one inch every day or something similar along the lines? The prank intends to annoy whoever is targeted, but the principle of the situation affects the daily life of the “prankee.” Now, I’m not saying to go out and do this, but can you imagine the effect that a piece of architecture can manipulate the individuals’ decisions?
If you are curious how a given environment or design affects an individual’s psychology and daily routine, then architecture could be a field you’d want to explore.
4. Shaping The Future
Buildings have a life span. Whether it’s temporary or long-lasting, architects not only shape the lives of people but the future as well! Apart from the physical attribute, a good design can create wondrous things that can be measured and not measured! What I mean is that a project could revitalize a decaying local economy, bring together the community, or get worldwide attention. The list of possibilities can go on, but whatever the reason, it uniquely changes the region’s future.
Let’s take a quick look at La Sagrada Familia!
This project by Antoni Gaudi is not complete yet, but the name of the basilica rings worldwide, bringing in countless visitors each year! This project generates a large amount of tourism revenue that the city of Barcelona can now re-invest into their city!
If you want to impact an environment long after you leave, architecture could be the right fit!
5. Conserving The Heritage
This sentiment has two perspectives, which I’ll briefly discuss to illustrate if one connects with you more! One clear view that aligns with conservation results in becoming an architectural historian – a subset of architecture. Are you interested in the interpretation of history or conservation of history? We recommend doing additional research to see a clear path and interest to becoming an architectural historian if you answered yes. This unique subset of architecture allows future generations to understand the lifestyle and culture of the local region and is much appreciated as we fast approach the technological world! Eloquently, Hermann Hesse said, “Without words, without writing, and without books, there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity.” As to which, I’d like to extend this quote to architecture, too, leading me to my next point!
The other sentiment resides in honoring historical context and culture by analyzing the past to inform or support future designs. Understanding the region’s cultural significance and architecture hints at assumptions about how people engaged in the once-lived society. This information lends itself to modern architects or designers, like yourselves, to create a modern homage to history by undergoing a contemporary lens to formulate a “new” design element.
If you didn’t know, it’s pretty hard to make a claim of plagiarism or copying in architecture. This is because design is subjective, and we are continually looking into precedent examples to provide insight and suggestions to innovative designs. If you find yourself piqued with either perspective combining history with innovation, becoming an architect is the best of both worlds!
Well, that’s all we have for you today, and if you’ve made it this far, you deserve a cookie. I hope you found this article interesting and took something from it! Sharing is caring! We hope to provide you with valuable insights and share them with someone who might find this helpful. Make sure to follow our YouTube and Instagram for more content!
Out of these 5, Its always challenging to deal with the point no. 2 Solving real problems. I tend to create another one easily having the first problem in a row. how to deal with that?
Hi Arafath, we thoroughly know the feeling of never-ending problems! Although we want to solve them all, fixing the world’s troubles will always be an ongoing journey. It’s crucial to weigh the pros and cons of each problem and determine what solutions will have the most impact based on your analysis. From there, we can only hope that we, as designers, facilitated the conversation and resolution of the outlying problems. We hope this bit of advice helps you!