The rambling recipes & travels of a home baker

Hope you are well.  I’ll try to be fairly brief, but if you have more specific questions about architecture and architecture school, please feel free to ask.  Your questions are fairly broad, so this may come across a bit stream of consciousness.

Architecture is one of the fields that, like law, is continually evolving, new projects, new circumstances and new technologies, but people who do well in this field are good communicators, whether that is graphically or verbally.  We are asked to present to clients, the public and officials, but it’s a matter of trying to get someone to believe in your concept and ideas and convince them.  Your argument is supplemented by graphics and good design.  Having those tools (which some are inherent in people who draw and sketch well, while others learn in school to use the modern tools) are helpful.

In architecture, we wear many hats of being able to manage a client, your boss, the budget, the drawings and also time.  Some architecture is more specialized and you can work for yourself or a large company.  You can go from architecture and work for a contractor or serve as an Owner’s representative who acts as a client.  I think it’s a little like other professions where it requires you to think critically and also prepare your arguments reasonably.

As for schooling, I was fairly direct and went from Wellesley straight to the University of Washington for graduate school.  Architecture schools are usually offering a 2 year program for students who have an undergraduate degree in Architecture and a 3 year program for students who did not study architecture.  With a degree from Wellesley, that is the typical route for us, unless you got the dual degree from MIT.  I did not so I spent the three years.  School is dominated by design studio courses and other supplemental courses like history, stuctures, and mechanical systems.  Design studio is where you draw, design and defend your work.

As for participating in architecture outside of the field, you can easily volunteer on a public board or keep abreast of different city developments. Most large cities have some sort of design review board that is comprised of architects, business owners and general public.  Our commissions in Seattle are always looking for general public volunteers.  These people review new projects in various neighborhoods and try to enforce the design guidelines set forth by the cities.  Almost all public buildings in Seattle have a public hearing and those are always open to the public.  Does your city?

From your standpoint, being in the Legal profession, are you interested in land use law?  Land use greatly affects how land is developed and how buildings are built.  We rely on attorneys to help us shepard projects through various tricky jurisdictions and wade the various environmental laws.

Lastly, there are sometimes historic architecture tours offered in Seattle.  Both architects and fans of architecture help to lead tours for the general public.

I hope some of this helps.  Architecture is a rewarding profession, a little tiresome and sometimes we feel underpaid in relation to other professions, but it’s one of those things that you can do until you don’t want to do anything else.

Let me know if you have other specific questions about architecture.