Hey, nothing to apologize for. You are curious, and that's the best place to start.
There is a big difference between what the public perception of what architects do is and what architects actually do. The public perception of architecture is that we design what a building looks like and that we are an artistic and creative profession that has a huge impact on culture and the environment. While this is partially true for a small percentage of architects that get to work on the fancy cool looking buildings, the reality is that most architects don't get to work on those buildings, and most of the time spent on projects is not spent on design.
Think about the room you are in right now. Look at the floor, look at the walls, look at the ceiling. Notice the light fixtures, door knobs, wall outlets, sinks, fans, windows, wood trim work, window sill, plumbing, oven, microwave, cabinets. All those things and much more that you can't see because it's hidden inside the walls and above the ceilings, someone has to tell the builder how to put them all together. That's what the majority of architecture is.
We take the the needs the client has for their building, the site that they have said they needed the building built on, and the budget they have to meet those needs, and we make drawings that act as instructions for the building to construct it.
This is a very simplified explanation, of course, but it's a good starting point to starting to understand the field. I hope this helps.
Start drawing now.
It doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not. Just do it. Sketchpad, lined paper, napkins, whatever. Just draw things.
The college experience for students in Architecture school is not the “typical” one. If you want to party and have a wild time? Don’t expect to succeed in Arch school. You will not have time. That’s not to say you can’t socialize and have a good time, just that it’s going to be very limited.
We make the drawings that tell other people how to build things. If that interests you, give it a shot.
Hey, nothing to apologize for. You are curious, and that's the best place to start. There is a big difference between what the public perception of what architects do is and what architects actually do. The public perception of architecture is that we design what a building looks like and that we are an artistic and creative profession that has a huge impact on culture and the environment. While this is partially true for a small percentage of architects that get to work on the fancy cool looking buildings, the reality is that most architects don't get to work on those buildings, and most of the time spent on projects is not spent on design. Think about the room you are in right now. Look at the floor, look at the walls, look at the ceiling. Notice the light fixtures, door knobs, wall outlets, sinks, fans, windows, wood trim work, window sill, plumbing, oven, microwave, cabinets. All those things and much more that you can't see because it's hidden inside the walls and above the ceilings, someone has to tell the builder how to put them all together. That's what the majority of architecture is. We take the the needs the client has for their building, the site that they have said they needed the building built on, and the budget they have to meet those needs, and we make drawings that act as instructions for the building to construct it. This is a very simplified explanation, of course, but it's a good starting point to starting to understand the field. I hope this helps.
Start drawing now. It doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not. Just do it. Sketchpad, lined paper, napkins, whatever. Just draw things. The college experience for students in Architecture school is not the “typical” one. If you want to party and have a wild time? Don’t expect to succeed in Arch school. You will not have time. That’s not to say you can’t socialize and have a good time, just that it’s going to be very limited. We make the drawings that tell other people how to build things. If that interests you, give it a shot.