02-02-2019, 09:24 AM
I’m not sure about the most misunderstood thing, but here are a few.
You need to be good at Mathematics to study architecture. You don’t. You need to be numerate, but you don’t need many equations. Certainly no calculus or advanced algebra. This will vary from country to country, but the nature of the job doesn’t specifically require high levels of numeracy.
That architects are all stylish and wealthy. If only this were true! A lot of us do tend to own rather more black clothes than is typical though…
You can become one without formal training. Nope.
That you can switch from engineering to architecture. Bonus follow-up question, that you can practise as both. The first part is not impossible, but extremely difficult. Architecture and engineering are related, but it’s a bit like the difference between general surgeons and anaesthetists. A surgeon can’t do a lot of serious surgery without an anaesthetist, and an anaesthetist certainly couldn’t practise surgery, but the two roles are mutually dependent. They require completely different ways of thinking and different approaches to problem-solving. Bonus question - theoretically yes, practically almost certainly not. As the saying goes, you can’t serve two masters.
That you have to be a good artist to be an architect. You do need to be able to draw as a means of exploring and refining ideas, but you don’t need to be able to draw beautifully. It will help, but it won’t on its own make you a fabulous architect. Software is not an effective substitute for drawing.
The job involves spending most of your time designing glamorous buildings. Most aren’t glamorous, and most of our time is spent in meetings, writing e-mails, filling in forms, and making sure that we get all the documentation right. Design might comprise 20–30% of our time if we are lucky. We probably spend as much time arguing (it’s sometimes called ‘having a lively or passionate debate’) with people!
You need to be good at Mathematics to study architecture. You don’t. You need to be numerate, but you don’t need many equations. Certainly no calculus or advanced algebra. This will vary from country to country, but the nature of the job doesn’t specifically require high levels of numeracy.
That architects are all stylish and wealthy. If only this were true! A lot of us do tend to own rather more black clothes than is typical though…
You can become one without formal training. Nope.
That you can switch from engineering to architecture. Bonus follow-up question, that you can practise as both. The first part is not impossible, but extremely difficult. Architecture and engineering are related, but it’s a bit like the difference between general surgeons and anaesthetists. A surgeon can’t do a lot of serious surgery without an anaesthetist, and an anaesthetist certainly couldn’t practise surgery, but the two roles are mutually dependent. They require completely different ways of thinking and different approaches to problem-solving. Bonus question - theoretically yes, practically almost certainly not. As the saying goes, you can’t serve two masters.
That you have to be a good artist to be an architect. You do need to be able to draw as a means of exploring and refining ideas, but you don’t need to be able to draw beautifully. It will help, but it won’t on its own make you a fabulous architect. Software is not an effective substitute for drawing.
The job involves spending most of your time designing glamorous buildings. Most aren’t glamorous, and most of our time is spent in meetings, writing e-mails, filling in forms, and making sure that we get all the documentation right. Design might comprise 20–30% of our time if we are lucky. We probably spend as much time arguing (it’s sometimes called ‘having a lively or passionate debate’) with people!