10 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Year in the Architecture Program Pt. 2

by Makayla Murphy, Nelson Architects Student Intern

As my time in the School of Architecture at Montana State University comes to an end, I look back on my time as a student. I have learned a lot, not just about the career that I will be pursuing after I graduate in December, but the skills I acquired to make it through the architecture program. Many of these skills I learned a lot later in my college career but hope that new incoming students can learn them sooner than I did.

6. Remember to Eat, Sleep, and Move Around

The culture in architecture school can sometimes be unhealthy. You spend long nights working on projects. Your professors assign you a mountain of homework that is due the next time you meet. It is so easy to get caught up on getting your work done that you forget to perform the necessary survival skills needed to stay physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy. This is one the most important words of advice that I can give: remember that you need to eat, sleep, and get out of your desk chair.

It is so easy to say, “Let me just finish this first, and then I’ll sleep/eat” These activities may seem like they take up too much of your precious time. In reality, they are so essential in getting an assignment done. Food fuels your body and keeps your brain ready to focus on your work. Sleep allows your brain to rest and allows it to recuperate from its long day of work. Even two or three hours of sleep during a night that you believe should be an all-nighter will allow you to produce better quality work and be ready to present it in the morning.

Finally, you need to take breaks! Get out of your chair and go do an activity. Cook a nice dinner, take a walk, go exercise. Having a minimum of thirty minutes of activity a day will allow your body to get some needed physical activity. When you get back to the task at hand, you will find yourself more productive and possibly will see a new angle on your project.

7. How to Choose the Right Professor

Depending on your school, you may have limited options for selecting specific professors. One of the few times you get a choice in professor is for the studio style classes. Here you get four or five choices. During the first year or two, it this doesn’t matter as much, especially because you are not familiar with who most of the professors are. When you get to know a little more about your design style and get into the upper years of college, professor choice is a lot more critical.

I would suggest that you choose professors based on their specialties. When I began selecting my studio professors, I mainly looked at who valued hand drafting versus who valued drawings done on the computer. The first year or two are perfect for professors who value hand drafting. Hand drafting allows you to get a feel for line weights and how to get your thoughts from your head onto paper. It is when you get into the last couple years of school, where you want to start transitioning from paper to digital. At this point it will be very beneficial to have a professor that values and understands the computer programs you will be using. A professor who has these qualities will be easier to work with and will set you up for a more successful project.

8. Time Management

Managing your time in architecture school is difficult. Sometimes it seems like there is not enough hours in the day or week to complete all the homework that needs to get done.

During the last couple weeks before a studio project is due, time management is critical to ensure that your project is as complete and presentable. This is the time when every student is scrambling to make their finishing touches on the design that has taken up most of their life over the class period and create boards that showcase their work. During this time a day-by-day schedule can assist you in managing your time and completing your project by the due date as well as ensure that you are remembering all your other classes.

Lots of things can happen while you work through a task. A drawing may get ruined. A model will take longer to cut and glue. Computers can act up – and crash, typically during finals week. When things like this happen, the extra buffer time you scheduled will allow you to regroup and finish your project on time.

9. Learn Revit!!!

Revit is a building information modelling (BIM) software. It is used by architects, designers, engineers, and contractors. In fact, Revit is increasingly becoming one of the main modeling programs used by architecture firms.

Learning how to use Revit early on in school will not only allow you to design your project digitally but will be a valuable skill to add on your resume when you are looking for a summer internship or job after college.

For most schools, students are mainly given a crash course on the basics of Revit. You learn how to draw walls and stairs, place windows and doors, and model a roof. My personal introduction to Revit was only about two weeks long. Over the past couple of years, architecture programs have changed to allow students more time to get acquainted with the computer software. With that being said, I would highly suggest spending more than class time to get familiar with Revit or take an extra Revit class if your school offers it.

10. Get an Internship

One of the most helpful things I ever did in school was gaining experience in the actual field as an architectural intern. Unfortunately, I waited until my fourth year of school to get one and wish I would have gotten one sooner. The environment and functions of an architectural firm is completely different from school. You are dealing with real clients, real projects, building codes, and budgets. In the office you work in teams and need to coordinate with each other.

Getting an internship will allow you to experience what it is like to work in the architecture field. It also allows you to see what parts of school you need to focus on more to prepare you for after graduation. The sooner you experience this, the sooner you can see if this is the right field for you. In my case, I found that I was more confident in my choice of career after working at a firm.