1. Finding a balance.
2. Some projects just suck.
3. Beginners do not know everything.
4. Keeping the clients happy.
5. The volume of admin work.
6. Finding work as a graduate
7. Cannot be biased – even outside of your work.
8. It does not give you the skills to run a business.
9. Unrealistic deadlines.
10. Communication – you can have the best ideas but if you cannot express them, they’re worthless.
11. Difference between school and practice
12. It takes a lot.
13. There is an enormous responsibility.
14. Deadlines. Again.

This video will give you an insight into the challenges of architecture and offer advice for making the most of the opportunities they give you.

You do not always work on the things you want. But you have to own them. Show up to those things and do them the best you can. It is not until you can prove that the menial tasks your given are done well that you are given something with my responsibility.

Your education will not give you the skills you need for practice. And that is fine. What it will give you are the skills necessary to progress constantly in your career. It teaches you methods of problem solving and learning that will allow you to mould yourself and adapt to whatever path you choose to go down next. Gabrielle says architects are “jack of all trades, master of none.” That is right, you cannot be a master at everything. And you are going to have to deal with many different aspects. The ability to quickly pick up new skills, to solve problems when a new project gets put in front of you, how do you move forward? To be able to think problems through independently and think for yourself, that is what architecture school prepares you for.

Kyrstyan says you need to be passionate. Unfortunately, that does not come straight away. It is developed over time through exploring new things. We often go through ups and downs of motivation, as Marianno says, “you have your good days and bad days. But on the whole…” – by trying new things you’ll find something that lights you up.

Make the most out of your peers and teachers. This shifted my perspective quite a lot. I am very much about efficiency and getting shit done, and often skip classes if I feel there’s nothing to gain from it, but this semester I’ve noticed that just by sitting down and listening to your peers, talking with others, you learn so much and gain so much from doing so. It is not wasted time investing in relationships with people. That is what I’ve come to learn.

Nelize says she wanted to quit in her 2^nd year of uni. I get messages like this daily – “I want to quit, it’s not for me.” We struggle in uncomfortable situations. If we do not have clear instructions, or we are not sure how to do something- it can cause doubt and depression. She says, she now knows how to use the software, she now flourishes in her work at Northern Edge Studio – she rocks up to work excited because she initially put herself in the uncomfortable situation of trying something new. Constantly push yourself outside your comfort zone, don’t rely on others to push you and experiment – have fun. Do not take it so seriously. Revise things often. Come back to old ideas and keep going.

Your education is what you make of it. You only get out as much as you put in. Take ownership of what you do. Own it. If you do not do so well at a project, we like to shift that blame on others. I still do this to this day, “the teachers were clueless, I got too distracted by my friends, I couldn’t work from home…” take the blame and move forward. It is the best piece of advice.

What was prevalent across the more experienced architects, they wish they had a wider range of experience in earlier years. Taking opportunities to go on study trips, constructions tours, networking events, working at different practices, trying their own thing. Do what you are really passionate about and not care about the salary.

Buy the Architecture Competitions Yearbook for 2020 (Limited Stock):

→ https://yearbook.archi/?wpam_id=3 ←

Do you ever look at other students work and think “how the f***?”

Today, I received the key to getting better at architecture. A book containing the best architecture competition submissions of 2020 with explanations of how they won and extra interviews with incredible architects who are absolutely killing it. Let us explore what these guys did to create projects that won global competitions. They have to be doing something right. Let us find out what that is. What’s the secret ingredient to successful architecture projects?

From the Author:

“Each project you do is important – it’s a step forward, an additional element that makes you a better designer. Even the smallest project can contain a big idea. But how to make sure that your projects are good? How to guarantee that there is value behind them? How to deliver a project that will grab the jury’s attention and win recognition? What are the secrets behind winning submissions? Well, we will answer all those questions with this book.

The second issue of ACY showcases 10 of the most inspiring and interesting architectural competitions that took part in 2020. Along with them, we are presenting over 30 complete projects with project boards and descriptions. The main focus of this edition is to understand the design process behind all awarded submissions. That’s why we have asked all 10 winners presented in this book a simple question: “What made you win?”. We share stories where they describe the process step by step and give advice that will allow you to understand their ‘secret formula’ better.”

• What’s the secret behind awarded submissions?
• How to make your presentation board stand out?
• How to create an innovative solution to the given problem?
• What benefits come from participating in the architecture competitions?
• How to grab the attention of a jury panel?
• What makes a good project?

Here’s a sneak peak inside the Architecture Competitions Yearbook for 2020:

On over 200 pages you will find:

• 3 interviews (including Nathalie de Vries from MVRDV) where our guests highlight the importance and meaning of participating in architectural competition and its influence on the development of architecture
• 10 of the most interesting architectural competitions of 2020
• 10 detailed case studies of the winning projects, where authors share the whole process of designing, with unique tips to implement in your projects
• Over 30 awarded projects – complete project boards with author’s descriptions to better understand the idea behind them
• Tons of inspirations and advise on how to take your design to the next level

Here’s what others have said about the book:

“(…) again thank you for the book. We found it very inspiring. It sets the bar high and challenges you to improve…”

Wojciech Motylski @wojciech.motylski

I really like the full bleed pages of graphics and renders – very inspiring. I personally love visual books, I could stare at them forever! It was also good to get an idea of what the winning entries have in common. They showed the design ideas of projects for competitions but I could even implement some of the things i saw for general portfolio work and how to make projects stand out more for presentations.

Ruhel Ahmed @archiruh

The book is the architecture competitions yearbook for 2020, it’s the second volume of the publication. Last year, we reviewed the 2019 volume and actually gave away a few copies on this channel as well as over on Instagram. We’re going to be doing that again this year – if you want to win a copy of this book, stick around because a bit later ill explain how you can go about having a copy sent to your door for free.

Well, grab yourself some thinking juice or a snack, we’re going to dig deep into this book and extract the best bits for you to evolve your own projects into potential competition winners.

Architecture concepts are what drive your projects forward. Your concept is the key item underpinning every studio project in architecture school and plays an important role in determining whether your project is successful or not. Without

Concepts are what drive your architecture projects forward. They are the fundamental items underpinned to every studio project in architecture school and play an important role in determining if your architecture project is successful or not. Without a concept, your project has no legs. With a concept, you can get passionate for your project to take it to much higher levels.

For studio 4 I was given a brief to design something having a key focus on the design concept. There was little focus on budget, structure, sustainability, detailing. Rather, we were able to immerse ourselves in the purity of architectural creativity. I’ll be going over my studio 4 project which has been my most successful concept and project to date to explain how you can develop successful architecture concepts in architecture school. Stick around to the end of this video to hear my best advice for developing concepts and to also see some examples of incredible architectural concepts.

There is a lot that goes into an architecture concept. And I’m going to go over an exact strategy plan for you to follow to come up with your own successful concepts, But if there was one thing I’d like for you to take away from this video, it’s this – the most important thing to know is that a concept takes time to develop. It’s not something you can pump out in 20 minutes. It’s not a word you pick from the air, or a diagram you sketched, it’s an idea. It’s a multitude of ideas. It is not something that is chosen but formed and developed over time. Think of the forming of the Earth. The mountains and valleys weren’t just placed there, scientifically speaking, but moulded from external elements, volcanic eruptions, wind, water, temperature, climate, natural events that formed the rocks over millions of years.

Your architecture concept is an idea that is moulded over time from external elements. Just by working on your project and spending time on it. It needs time to stew and ferment.

This doesn’t just mean waiting patiently at your desk. Here’s the process for stewing up the perfect concept.

Step 1 – distilling the brief.

All studio projects begin with the briefing. In architecture school, you’re given a brief. A document stating what is being asked of you for this project. In real life, you’ll need to talk with the client to understand what it is they want so that you can form this brief yourself.

This is fundamentally where projects rise, and other projects fall. It’s overlooked how important understanding the brief is. I would spend a whole day underlining, highlighting and trying to debunk the brief. Understand what is being asked of you. This is where your first ideas will start to cook up. Really, the key for step 1 is to sum up the brief in your own words. Don’t underestimate the power of who, what, where why, how. List everything you can.

You want to try and distil the brief down to a couple of key words. Through a filtration process you want to filter out the unimportant and focus on the key information.

A lot of people become so overwhelmed with their projects that they start to get stuck. They stagnate and lose motivation. This is often caused by looking at the brief as this huge document, and the brief ends up becoming a wall from stopping you moving forward.

You need to distil it down to a couple of important key words. That filtration process happens by reading it over and over, understanding it by highlighting keywords, underlining important information and rewriting it in your own words. Formulate a brief of your own that is succinct and easy to digest. Find the parts that fire you up and go with that. We’re looking for 2-3 key words that will drive your project forward

Step 2 – visualising the brief diagrammatically

Once you’ve filtered the brief into 2-3 key words, you want to visualise this diagrammatically.

Take out your pencil and an abundance of sketch paper and write these key words. Begin drawing what you think these key words look like. Don’t hold back. Draw anything that comes to mind and don’t throw it out. For my studio 4 project I began by layering a3 sheets. I drew all over them, drew over other drawings and scribbled all over it. When the page was full, I’d layer another sheet on top and continue. I ended up with a 100-page folio showing my concept development through sketch designs to more detailed plans and sections. This wasn’t apart of the project, but it was something extra I handed up with my project that was just something cool to look at to see my process. Unfortunately, my professor wanted to keep my project as an example for future years so I don’t have that anymore, but I encourage you to do this.

The key part of step 2 – Draw a lot and don’t throw out any of the old work.

What this step is telling us is that a concept isn’t necessarily just 1 thing or 1 drawing. It is a multitude of different ideas that ultimately form your “concept”. It is a process.

Step 3 – stay inspired

As you’re sketching your 3 key words into diagrammatic forms, keep yourself inspired. Get on google images or Pinterest and search for projects or art or other designs that follow a similar theme. How do these key ideas look architecturally? Just like keeping all my sketch drawings, I create a folder with all my inspiring projects. I keep this inspiration folder and add to it over the course of my project. Having precedents is key.

It’s great to have lots of sketches and keywords, but there comes a time where you need to start creating architecture. If you find that you’re starting to stagnate or get stuck in one place, move on. Constantly think about how you can push the process forward, there’s always opportunities to come back to what you’ve previously worked on.

Step 4 – consider the site

Neighbouring buildings, solar orientation, prevailing winds and so forth. All buildings should be designed with passive principles in mind. I always have a look in google maps and google earth. I’ll float around the site and take screenshots. I’ll look at the site slope and important features. I’ll add these to a folder and refer back to it.

Step 5 – revision

Each step of developing a successful concept should be revisited over the course of your project. They happen in order but are constantly referred back to and revised as your ideas progress. Don’t be afraid to return to step 1. Don’t be afraid to explore a new key word or a new theme for your project. In fact, your first idea is never going to be your final idea. Developing a concept is a process that happens over time through filtering, refinement. It’s a journey of experimentation.

Photoshop Architectural Site Plan Course – A Guide to Creating Beautiful Master Plans, Site Plans and Urban Plans in Photoshop

Get access to all 42 of the Photoshop Site Plan Course Lessons, project files, my material library, bonus eBooks and resources and more with the course on my website (link above).

Hello and welcome to the Photoshop Architectural Site Plan Course – A Guide to Creating Beautiful Master Plans, Site Plans and Urban Plans in Photoshop.

“If you have ever watched a Successful Archi Student YouTube video, you’d have noticed that Kyle is engaging, informative and entertaining.

His fast-paced, to-the-point teaching style is complemented with concise explanations, aided by comprehensive animations, images and exciting story telling.

In his first online course, you’re going to learn how to create beautiful site plans using Photoshop.”

What Will You Learn?

✔ You’ll learn how to create beautiful architectural site plans, urban plans and master plans using Photoshop.
✔ You’ll improve your overall skills and knowledge within Adobe Photoshop, Rhinoceros 3D and SketchUp.
✔ You’ll learn how to model up a site in SketchUp & Rhinoceros 3D
✔ You’ll learn how to export contours from a site model using Rhinoceros 3D
✔ You’ll gain confidence working to scale and adjusting the scale of a drawing as needed within Photoshop.
✔ You’ll gain better understanding of the vast array of tools available to you inside Photoshop.
✔ You’ll learn how to use Google Earth to act as a reference to save you time when creating site plans.
✔ You’ll gain a better understanding of colour and contrast
✔ You’ll gain a better understanding of how shadows work & how to control shadows inside of Photoshop.
✔ You’ll gain a better understanding of how highlights work & how to control highlights inside of Photoshop.
✔ You’ll become more efficient using Photoshop by learning file organisation.
✔ You’ll learn how to collage materials in Photoshop effectively and efficiently using Layer Masks
✔ You’ll learn how to improve the detail in your architectural drawings by manipulating layers to create depth.
✔ You’ll learn how to add trees to plan drawings in the most effective way possible.

Requirements?
• Access to Adobe Photoshop
• Recommended to have access to SketchUp and/or Rhinoceros 3D
• No prior software skills necessary

Target Audience?
• This course is aimed at young architects / architecture students with basic photoshop skills.

Material Includes?
✔ 42 Concise Lessons to Help You Create Beautiful Site Plans
✔ All Project Files Including: 3 PDF templates, the Site Model, the Contour Model, the Final Photoshop File
✔ ALL Materials & Textures Used Including: 3 HD PNG trees, 1 HD seamless CONCRETE texture, 1 HD seamless SOIL texture, 1 HD seamless SAND texture
✔ 40+ BONUS Material Textures
✔ 5 BONUS PNG Trees
✔ Free EBOOK “How to Ace Any Project in Architecture School” (70+ Pages) Valued at $7

Course Duration?
Approximately 60 minutes to complete.

Photoshop is a key program used by architecture students and architects. Almost every work flow for architectural visualisation includes Photoshop. As a Masters student, I can vouch to say that every single one of my studios has involved Photoshop for something, from semester 1 through to semester 7.

Learning Photoshop on your own can be difficult. Photoshop is not just used for architectural visualisation. Definitely not. Photoshop is a tool used by many different industries, hence why it’s so difficult to learn. There are thousands of tools available to you, but finding the ones you need is not an easy task. That’s why I decided to create this Photoshop Site Plan Course for architecture students and young architects, because of this steep learning curve.

You can follow along with my studio 5 project site plan, from modelling up the site through to adding the final trees. The course provides you with all of the resources I use in the training, my project files, material textures, PNG trees, site analysis studies and even a free 70 page eBook I wrote, “How to Ace Any Project in Architecture School”.

Join me as I recreate my studio 5 site plan, using principles I’ve learned over my bachelor’s degree as well as final years of high school.

Get access to all 42 of the Photoshop Site Plan Course Lessons, project files, my material library, bonus eBooks and resources and more with the course on my website
https://successfularchistudent.com/courses/photoshop-site-plan/

I recently completed my studio 6 project and received a ton of question about my “hero shot” render that I posted on my Instagram. I promised to make a video about it, so here we are. In today’s video, you’ll learn how to render in Vray for Rhino. We look at my studio 6 project and follow along with my Vray and Rhino workflow, all the way from concept massing to postproduction in photoshop.