The Architecture School Survival Guide

Good morning! It's been a while... Our Apologies! We have been taking some time to redevelop our vision... etc... Trust me.   If there is one thing you take from our efforts here, make it this simple but greatly complex lesson. Your unique passions should set the course of your career. Don't believe us? Below are two brilliant, and hopefully, inspirational words for your Monday morning!    

"I paint daily with watercolors on 5-by-7-inch pads that are small enough for me to take them everywhere." Steven Holl Steven Holl was born in 1947 in Bremerton, Washington. He graduated from the University of Washington and pursued architecture studies in Rome in 1970. In 1976 he attended the Architectural Association in London and established STEVEN HOLL ARCHITECTS in New York City. Considered one of America's most important architects, Steven Holl is recognized for his ability to blend space and light with great contextual sensitivity and to utilize the unique qualities of each project to create a concept-driven design. He specializes in seamlessly integrating new projects into contexts with particular cultural and historic importance.  Steven Holl has been recognized with architecture's most prestigious awards and prizes. Recently, Steven Holl received the 2014 Praemium Imperiale, the 2012 AIA Gold Medal, the RIBA 2010 Jencks Award, and the first...

Good Morning Architects! "A harmonious design requires that nothing be added or taken away." Vitruvius Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (c. 90 - c. 20 BCE), better known simply as Vitruvius, was a Roman military engineer and architect who wrote De Architectura(On Architecture), a treatise which combines the history of ancient architecture and engineering with the author's personal experience and advice on the subject. As no similar work has survived complete from antiquity, the book has become an invaluable source, not only on Greek and Roman architecture , but also on a wide range of other topics such as philosophy , mathematics, and medicine. He served as a military engineer and architect for Julius Caesar between 58 and 51 BCE and he personally visited Greece , Asia, North Africa, and Gaul . He was considered an expert on ballistics and he also built a basilica at Fanum Fortunae (modern Fano in Umbria, Italy ) in c. 27 BCE. In De Architectura , written 30-2...

Art Lessons: Meditations On The Creative Life Click HERE to buy! Writing in the same tradition as renowned artist Robert Henri in his classic book The Art Spirit, Deborah J. Haynes looks at the value of art and making art in today's world. What does it mean to become and work as an artist today? What are the unique challenges facing artists in the twenty-first century, and what skills are required to overcome them? In Art Lessons, Haynes addresses the mind, body, and spirit of today' s artists with her personal reflections on what it takes to succeed and feel creatively and spiritually fulfilled. The lessons she shares range in depth and scope from the simple to the deeply philosophical, from encouraging her reader to always have a pencil - or crayon! - in hand, to insist that an artist take a seat, to connecting art profoundly to daily life and the earth. Through her own reflections on art and being an artist, Haynes provides a spiritual compass for today's emergi...

Chapel on the Hill in Middleton-in-Teesdale, England by Evolution Design : Adaptive reuse is becoming essential to the long-term sustainability of architects practising today. In essence, the term adaptive reuse means an existing structure, often of a historic nature, that is being updated, structurally improved and redesigned for modern day use. “Set in the very best walking area of the beautiful North Pennines, just a short walk from the famous High Force Waterfall, this stunning chapel conversion with its historic building fabric and modern interior design is a real Teesdale jewel. The original windows of the nineteenth-century building have been reopened, framing dramatic views of the dales to create a spacious and luxurious self-catering holiday cottage for seven guests. It has a large and fully equipped kitchen, a cosy living room, four comfortable bedrooms, two en-suites and a luxurious family bathroom. The reconstruction, designed by Evolution Design, has just recentl...

What would be one thing you would tell an incoming architecture student to prepare? I can’t tell you anything. I would ask you to ask yourself, “Are you passionate enough about the subject to be fully committed to a life of design?” If the answer is yes, then you will thrive. What architecture books do you recommend incoming students to buy/read? In terms of social understanding and space,  Herman Hertzberger’s, Lessons for Students in Architecture  is a must. From a compositional and formal understanding you will never stop purchasing variations of books. The books purchased should never be limited to architecture and should act as a catalyst to gain access to a broader library of design. Besides your own instructor to go to for questions, who would you feel most comfortable asking questions to? Whose opinion do you value the most? First, you need to know what kind of information you want to embark on. Whether it be concepts, structure, or design functionali...

What your Professors may not have told you... YET! Occasionally, some graduates have complained to us that their design course was a little behind the times. But if that was the case, it's not totally surprising. From a practical point of view, it takes some time to put together a workable syllabus, and when it comes to updating it, the gears of university bureaucracy tend to grind slowly. And actually, there’s nothing wrong with that. Ultimately, you’re there to learn the fundamentals of design, and those remain timeless. When it comes to your first job, your creative director is going to be far less concerned about, say, whether you’re au fait with the latest Adobe software than if you understand the basics of good composition and following a brief. But it’s still worth catching up with a few recent trends that may have passed you by in the meantime. In this post, we’ll bring you quickly up to speed with 5 design industry trends. 1 Design Is Becoming MORE IMPORTANT...

Temple University President Richard M. Englert has announced the appointment of Susan E. Cahan as dean of the Tyler School of Art, effective July 1, concluding a national search. A respected arts education administrator, scholar and curator, Cahan currently serves as associate dean and dean for the arts at Yale College, Yale University’s undergraduate liberal arts college. She will succeed Hester Stinnett, who has been Tyler’s interim dean since September 2015. “Susan Cahan is a dynamic and charismatic leader with a unique combination of vision and broad-based experience,” President Englert said. “In the eight years since the Tyler School of Art moved to a new, state-of-the-art facility at Temple’s Main Campus, Tyler’s faculty have continued to elevate the school’s profile. Susan is the right person to lead them to the next level on the national stage.” As dean for the arts in Yale College, Cahan is responsible for the Yale undergraduate arts experience across all arts discipl...