All posts by Aldo

Attitude, Formation, Principles

22 Simple Guidelines for the Successful Architecture Student

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"Victory is the child of preparation and determination". ~ Sean Hampton

Today, I thought I’d give a bit of a token piece for the new readers, for them to get an easy overview of all the topics Archi Student Help has covered in its first 50 pages or so. 

From me to you, here’s a 22 point summary of the blog’s take-home points for young designers thus far, geared at helping you become your best self yet. If you find them helpful, please – feel free to share them with your friends. 

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1. Discover early on what it really means to design. And in-grain it into your thinking.

2. Understand that the best take-home from every project isn’t a pretty rendering, but a more-informed design process.

3. Prioritize your health. Consider that life is a marathon and not a sprint.

4. Invest in your brain power. Integrate life-hacks into a comprehensive program to keep you revved like a well-tuned car.

5. Become process-oriented. It will make you happier, more consistent, and will give you solid self-worth. Continue reading 22 Simple Guidelines for the Successful Architecture Student →

Design, Feature, Formation

When A Toilet Costs More Than A HOUSE.

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A common oversight by young architecture students is to pay little attention to the finer strokes of a design’s intent.

The little nuances are definitely important, and add flourish and aptness to the spaces you create. As architects, you’re going to be exposed to a wide spectrum of clients, from various demographics, earning capacities, and levels of luxury.

You’re going to have to find design solutions to cater to their tastes, wants, and budget – from the pragmatic to the super rich. And sometimes, the difference is in something simple – like picking a toilet.

A knowledge of technology is one way that facilitates an apt connection between user and designer – in order to support a lifestyle.

To demonstrate this, we’re going to do a comparison on seemingly one of the most mundane fixtures that architects specify – the humble water closet.

A toilet is a toilet, yes?

Not so fast. Continue reading When A Toilet Costs More Than A HOUSE. →

Design, Formation

The 5 People You Meet in Every Project: Who Are You REALLY Designing For?

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"Our thinking is a pious reception". ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today we’re going to open up your brain and look inside for a bit – in order to realize some very important stuff.

Don’t fret, and don’t run away. This is an exercise in meta-thinking. And as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, meta-thinking is a great tool for gaining meaningful insight about your own design process.

After all, once you understand how your thinking process ticks, you’ll be able to determine your cogs in the system, weed them out, and become a better designer in the process.

This post covers something extremely critical: your motivations. 

When you handle your studio projects, who are you really designing for?

In going about your design process, whose face are you picturing with each line? Who is the end goal that your architecture must satisfy? With each little move, each element, each nuance, whose nod of approval are you primarily valuing?

You’ll be surprised at the many possible answers, their implications, and what they say about your own aspirations.

So then – as you look purposely at your finished architectural program, sketch on a napkin, get your hands goey with your sketch model, or manipulate shells and fabrics on Sketchup or Rhino, who is primarily on your mind?
Continue reading The 5 People You Meet in Every Project: Who Are You REALLY Designing For? →

Brainpower, Fitness, Health

12 Ways to Increase Brain Power For Architecture School – PART 2

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Previous: 12 Ways to Increase Brain Power for Architecture School – PART 1

In the first part of “12 Ways to Increase Your Brain for Architecture School”, I gave my first six life-hacks for keeping your mind clear, powerful, and alert for those long lecture days and even longer work nights.

In case you need a bit of refreshing:

  1. Ditch the sugar.
  2. Get enough sleep at night.
  3. Drink enough water.
  4. Make sure you’re getting enough Omega-3s.
  5. Make nuts your snack of choice.
  6. Enjoy a cup of brewed coffee.

Today I want to continue the chain and add a few more brilliant, effective things you can do to help your brain stay revved in high gear.

Implement the complete twelve in a comprehensive and quantified program, and you my friend are setting your brain for some serious pampering throughout life.  Continue reading 12 Ways to Increase Brain Power For Architecture School – PART 2 →

Attitude, Blog Info - Q&A, Stories

The Start of Something New: A Short Story

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Adam was a tortured freshman in Archi-torture school.

The first semester of his 5-year long bachelor’s degree had just concluded, and as he slumped down in a dazed stupor on his dorm’s dusty couch, he couldn’t quite imagine himself surviving the next few terms.

It’s not as if he hadn’t expected that it would be difficult- it’s just that no one is really truly prepared for the new kind of work and endless projects that come in design school. He thought it would be hard – he didn’t know it would be hell.

“But don’t you guys just draw?”, his high school classmates would ask him when he showed up zombified during their first reunion. He wanted to flip the table – they didn’t understand. Heck, no one outside the circle of the design profession seemed to understand.

“Come on Adam, it’s just a night of drinks. Won’t it like, take you an hour to finish your drawing?”
“You’re just going to make a building pretty. Sounds easy enough”.
“Ooh, architecture. Is that…. like engineering?”
“How hard can it be?”
Continue reading The Start of Something New: A Short Story →

Design, Formation, Principles

Pointers for Designing an AWESOME Room – Part 1 (20 Tips)

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What’s in a “room”? A supposedly basic and elementary term for defining a space, you’d think. As architecture students, you’ll be designing a lot of rooms for your projects. Sounds simple enough – group together some blobs and squares to fit the form you want.

But as you’ll find out, doing so isn’t as trivial as most people think.

A good designer knows that a whole lot of careful thought should be put into each space, considering factors that relate to human psyche, anthropometrics, technology, energy-efficiency, cost-efficiency, comfort, beauty, engineering, and a whole lot of other synthesize-able things.

Don’t believe me? Well then, allow me to give you a few examples of things you might consider when designing individual spaces.

This first post will contain some 20 considerations, and succeeding posts will continue this chain – in hopes of providing you with a more holistic checklist while planning out your spaces. Continue reading Pointers for Designing an AWESOME Room – Part 1 (20 Tips) →

Attitude, Design, Formation, Principles

The BIG 4: Aspects of Architectural Education You Just HAVE to Focus On.

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Today is a short lesson in efficiency – getting the most bang for your buck with regards to your time invested.

Time and effort is precious in architecture school – so knowing where to focus your energy will be valuable in establishing a solid foundation.

And out of all the different skills and courses you’ll be dipping your toes into, there are 4 that I feel you should pay special attention to.

Naturally this meanders into the subjective realm, but these four are the intersection in a cosmic Venn Diagram of all my learning from my mentors’ – which is essentially centuries worth of experience. In other words, by age old wisdom, these are the four aspects that are largely responsible for driving your trajectory forward – both school-wise and career-wise.  Continue reading The BIG 4: Aspects of Architectural Education You Just HAVE to Focus On. →

Attitude, Happiness, Principles

You Have Hope: Why It’s OKAY to be A Clueless Architecture Freshman

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You enter the halls of your Architecture School. This is it. This is what you’ve chosen for the next five or so years of your life. And you admittedly aren’t sure if you made the right decision.

Maybe you’ve never taken a single drafting course in your life. Or you aren’t versed in the architectural scene at all -You have no idea what Zahaha did, or how much did I.M. pay, or what kind of music comes out of a Renzo piano. Or you may have come from a long line of lawyers, bankers, or doctors in your family.

The bottom line is, your personal background hasn’t been the most conducive one in pursuing a design course. And for the most part, you don’t know what to expect – from the course, and from yourself.

Related: What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School? – Part 1

The first few weeks of plates and exercises hits, and you feel as incompetent as ever. You don’t know where to begin in drafting a sheet, you always get the feeling that you’re not understanding things enough, and you have no idea if you’re even designing properly.

This is helplessness. This is incompetence. This is cluelessness.

If this describes you, I’m here to pat your back and tell you why you shouldn’t dwell on it, and that with a bit of passion, you’ll get over the wall.  Continue reading You Have Hope: Why It’s OKAY to be A Clueless Architecture Freshman →

Attitude, Blog Info - Q&A

10 ESSENTIAL Tips for Drafting Like a Pro (Q&A #3)

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Got an email from Sheena, a fresh applicant in my beloved college org. She has a concern that I’m sure many freshmen in architecture school have: how to combat the woes of manual drafting. Go on girl, take the floor. 

Good day Kuya Aldo! I'm Sheena, an ASA-APP who got your autograph last Hiyas :) But who I am doesn't matter (I'm a freshie who never took manual drafting and art classes before entering UP arki tho).
My problem is, my class for Arch 1 was either free cut, an off-topic discussion, or a lecture of a lesson for the nth time, so I still suck at drafting (especially lettering) and I still don't know how to construct floor plans and elevations and sections. I have only 7 Arch 1 meetings left.
I don't know what to do. I've considered reading books but I don't know what book to start with. P.S. I was so happy when I found about this website! I immediately saved all the articles to my Pocket and I make it a point to read at least one article everyday :D

Continue reading 10 ESSENTIAL Tips for Drafting Like a Pro (Q&A #3) →

Attitude, Blog Info - Q&A, Happiness, Health

9 Meaningful Points on Becoming Happier, Today. (Q&A #2)

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A recurring question I’ve been getting is “What is your most valuable advice for someone beginning or already in Architecture School?”, or something along those lines. So I thought I’d address it in this 2nd parcel of Q&A.

Getting right down to it, my own personal take on this has nothing to do with software or taking a special class. I think that a raging focus on skills training can only take you so far.

Surprise surprise, my most valuable piece of advice for anyone that wants a meaningful time in architecture school is a principle, an attitude that can actually be applied to all aspects of life.

In a nutshell, you could say that it’s become a sort of life philosophy in working towards my life-plan.

It took me over 20 years to really commit to it, but once I did – I never found more fulfillment in all my endeavors.

Related Post: As Promised – My Personal Life Plan at Age 23

Continue reading 9 Meaningful Points on Becoming Happier, Today. (Q&A #2) →