Category Archives: Formation

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. →

Design, Formation

36 Things You MUST Consider When Designing Your Project

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(Disclaimer: Many of the examples of this post are as per Philippine Context)

For the most part, defining “good design” is pretty much subjective. Each architect will have his own guiding philosophy on what constitutes an effective proposal- so at least on the conceptual level, debating on merits of styles will be never-ending. However, unless you live in a culturati first world society that likes to live dangerously, you have to be sure that your design is safe and liveable. In order to do this, there are a number of key checks I’ve found to be essential when planning out your design. It’s best to consider these early on, lest you realize you’ve made a critical oversight or code breach too close to your presentation. Or worse – to find out during your deliberations itself while your jury grills you on your fatal flaws. Continue reading 36 Things You MUST Consider When Designing Your Project →

Formation

What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School? – PART 5

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This is the 4th part of a multi-part series about “What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School?“. If you’ve missed previous parts that be sure to check them out and then come back to this page. Happy learning! 

PART 1: Architectural Communication, History and Criticism, and Architectural Design and Theory.
PART 2: Building Materials and Construction
PART 3: Structural Analysis & Conceptualization 
PART 4: Lighting and Acoustics Design

Architects have X-ray vision. Bzzt bzzt.

We can’t see through peoples’ clothes (sorry) – though we can see into their minds; Instead of apparel, architects can mentally dissect the inner workings of a building.

In your quest to achieve your degree in Archi-torture, you will undoubtedly have to dip your toes into the realms of engineering courses – and survive. You’ll be taking up subjects to understand all the different systems that run through buildings, how to optimize them in your design, and what options you can suggest should they all conflict.

One thing to keep in mind: Just because you’ve taken up a few utilities courses doesn’t mean you can do the work of an engineer, because as I’ve already explained before, Architects and Engineers are wired differently.

What these courses will do is give you a good background and grasp of the trades, so you can take the lead during design coordination and site meetings. Architects, as the maestro of the orchestra, constantly have to reconcile everyone’s considerations into the architecture, so you naturally have to know first what those considerations are.  Continue reading What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School? – PART 5 →

Attitude, Formation, Happiness

On Death, Cancer, and Living for Others: Never Take Anyone for Granted

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A solemn November 1 to all.

What are you living for? Who are you living for?

Today on Archi Student Help, I’m going to tackle a very personal story of mine, one that is both heartfelt and inspiring, and one that I hope you can take the time to read. It’s about the death of a loved one.

But why death? How does this even fit into the context of surviving architecture school?

Remember, in whatever we do, our motivations are at the core of who we are. So I hope you’ll consider this:

There are people who have sacrificed their lives for you to be who you are today – and you should live your life to give theirs glory.

Today I’d like to share a perspective on why you should be even more driven to be the very best that you can be, in everything that you do. 
Continue reading On Death, Cancer, and Living for Others: Never Take Anyone for Granted →

Brainpower, Formation

Read Your Local Architectural Magazines and Get SMART.

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If you’ve never took the time to open up an architectural magazine and browse through the content, you’re hampering your learning potential.

I bought my first two Architectural Magazines with my allowance way-back-when in 2008. I was a giddy little freshman who was both clueless and elated to learn about this new world before him. So as I stepped out of the bookstore I immediately tore open my fresh issues of Archikonst and BluPrint, found a nice seat in the food court, and devoured my new found toys.

To this day, I believe regularly buying and pouring through architectural magazines – especially your local ones – is a valuable learning tool for any design student. Here are some great reasons why you should consider buying some fine-print. Continue reading Read Your Local Architectural Magazines and Get SMART. →

Design, Formation

How Do Architects Think? – An Eye Opener

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It’s a sad truth, but many societies tend to belittle the design profession.

This is normally due to a lack of information on what exactly the design process entails – on the outset, most lay people still think that “designing” merely means making something pretty. But as discussed in a previous post “What Does Designing Mean Anyway?“, we know that this is far from true.

So then, how difficult is the thinking process when you’re designing? Is it just a matter of doing a few sketches, considering a few laws, and then voila – the design is ready?

Today, we’re going to do another exercise, to demonstrate again why designers and architects are so valuable in society. Hold your judgement, and let’s go on a quick journey into the mind of an architect.

  Continue reading How Do Architects Think? – An Eye Opener →

Design, Formation

Check Out the 1,715 Entries! The Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition has Rocked the World.

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Update December 3, 2014 – The 6 Guggenheim Helsinki Competition Finalists Have Been Announced!

Image courtesy of https://designguggenheimhelsinki.org/
Image courtesy of https://designguggenheimhelsinki.org/

There are many architectural design competitions that sprout up across the globe on a regular basis. But among them, there are only a few that truly rock the world. The Designing Guggenheim Helsinki competition is one of them. You have to check it out.

“Guggenheim Museum” is a phrase that resonates prestige in most architects, art afficionados, and regular folk alike – not only because of the art pieces they house, but also because of the architecture itself. 

The first Guggenheim Museum in New York was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, one of history’s most prolific architects. It remains as one of the city’s most iconic edifices.  Continue reading Check Out the 1,715 Entries! The Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition has Rocked the World. →

Formation

Why Is It Important for Architects to Sketch?

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It might be obvious, but I’ll say it anyway – Drawing is one of the most important skills of the architect. Today we’ll talk about why.

In a previous post, I answered a Twitter question about whether or not you need to be good at drawing to survive in architecture school. I said that while you don’t need to be excellent to survive, practicing your sketching skills is still an great idea that will bring you a lot of utility in the long run.

Discussed below are some things you may or may not know about drawing, and a couple of personal tips I’ve found to be very helpful. Continue reading Why Is It Important for Architects to Sketch? →

Formation

What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School? – PART 3

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This is the 3nd part of a multi-part series about “What You Can Expect to Learn in Architecture School”. If you’ve missed previous parts that be sure to check them out and then come back to this page. Happy learning! 

PART 1: Architectural Communication, History and Criticism, and Architectural Design and Theory.
PART 2: Building Materials and Constuction

Systems Planning 1

Mother of God

If you’re like me, then you’re not really a whiz with mathematics, and long calculations are sometimes public enemy number 1.

But if you love purposefully crunching values and find a thrill in chasing down a target numerical indication, then you’ll be in for a treat in your structural courses. Continue reading What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School? – PART 3 →

Formation

What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School? – PART 2

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This is the 2nd part of a multi-part series about “What You Can Expect to Learn in Architecture School”. In the first post we discussed Architectural Communication, History and Criticism, and Architectural Design and Theory. If you’ve missed that be sure to check it out and then come back to this page. Happy learning! 

When you get to higher years in architecture school, your courses will start gravitating towards a lot of technical stuff.

Don’t be fooled by your younger years, where you will most probably be focused on presentation, standards, theory, and the creative design process. There is an entire more nosebleed-inducing side of the profession that you can – and will – learn about. This 2nd part is to give you a glimpse at the more technical side of architecture courses. Ready? Prepare your hard hats.

Continue reading What Can You Expect to Learn in Architecture School? – PART 2 →