Last one...

Just to let you guys know, this will probably be my last post for a while. To end posting, since my blog is all about architecture, I decided to tell you guys why I want to become one. I've had an interest in architecture for quite a long time. I remember years ago for Christmas I would ask for building design kits.


Old houses are what really intrigue me. I especially love old stone farm houses. If you have ever been to historic Virginia, those colonial houses are amazing to me. They are probably what got me interested in architecture in the first place. i don't just like the design of houses what is really interesting to me is how they are built. The fact that, without technology, people were able to design these magnificent buildings is awesome.

Architecture seems like a great field to get into. If I were to finish it out I would only be interested in farm designs. It probably wouldn't get me very far, but it'd work. I hope that any of you getting into the architecture field that are reading this, it helps you make you decision if architecture is truly right for you. I know it helped me.

Skills

For this week, I am going to talk about important qualities an architect should have. For one, they need good communication skill in speaking and writing. They need to be able to sell their work. Another quality they need is organizational skills. They need to keep records of everything details, costs, materials all that.

One of the biggest skills they will need is creativity. They need to make buildings looks nice and also be functional to work with. Visual skills are also important. Imagine if someone just started building a building and didn't try to put an end product together first. It probably wouldn't end to well or look very nice.
Technical skills are important. Technology is very important to architects. They will need to know how to use different programs like Auto Cad . A final skill they should have is critical thinking. They will need to surpass any challenges that may come through. Not having any of these skills won't necessary deny you a job, but it would definitely help you throughout your career.  

Styles Of Architecture

So, maybe your wondering why every building doesn't look the same. Well, that's because there are different styles of architecture. From modern, to colonial all the way to Victorian. It all depends are what you are looking for. This mostly applies to residential architecture. 

Nowadays, many people are choosing to design their houses to look modern. Modern homes have crisp clean edges. They look basically like rectangles placed over squares and vice verse. The interior is the same all the furniture is straight, stainless appliances, and so on. 













Victorian style homes are the types you would typically find in the country area. To me, they feel more homey as compared to other styles. They are normally two stories with the wrap around porches. They are the ones with the 'towers' in the corners. 

Colonial homes are the most popular style in the United States. They are normally symmetrical in build. With flat fronts with a door in the center and two windows on either side. 

Another Star In The World

Last week, I talked about Frank Lloyd Wright, who is a star of modern day architecture. This week I'm going to talk about Michelangelo, who was a star of the classical architecture. 

You may know him for the painting on the ceiling inside the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel was built in 1512. The ceiling is 40 m wide by 13 m long. It took him just about four years to complete. He painted it all himself. There are over 300 figures painted in the ceiling. 

Before he was a painter, he was a great architect. One of his most well known buildings is the Basilica of St. Peters's in Rome, Italy.  The building was already constructed when he took his part. The building was falling apart, the dome particularly. Since the building was already built he needed to remodel it. He couldn't add on or do anything to the exterior since there were buildings already built in its surrounding sides.

A Star In The World Of Architecture

For this week, I am going to talk about Frank Lloyd Wright. You have probably heard of him before, he has designed quite a few really nice and interesting buildings. Frank was born in 1867, in Wisconsin. Early on, he only ever used natural materials. He liked his buildings to embrace their natural surroundings. 

One of his most famous buildings in America is called Falling Water. He built a residential style house over top of a real natural flowing water fall. It was built in 1935 in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. The project back in 1935 only cost $155,000. If it was built in 2013 it would be well over 2 million to complete. 

Frank, was an architect for almost 70 years before he died. He had designed over a thousand different homes and buildings all over the world. His styles have been said to have had a global impact influencing not only America, but also Europe and Asia. 

Design Design Design...

For this week, I am going to talk about who an architect works with on the job. They work with multiple people. Such as contractors, engineers, landscape designers and of course the clients.  One person can't build a building by their self.

Contractors and engineers both aid in the building progress from the ground up. They are responsible for following the design and seeing it through. The landscape designer though doesn't go into play into the building is almost done. They plant the shrubs and flowers and anything else necessary

The clients are the most important people besides the engineers. The clients tell the architect how they want it. How many bedrooms if its a house or how many class rooms if it's a school. They also work with the landscape designers to tell them how they want the yard designed. Every thing is based on their opinions.

Technology Rules The World

Last week, I talked about the tools an architect uses. For this week, I'm going to talk about the most important thing they use. It is called Auto Cad a form a Auto desk, which is design software. Everything is moving into technology even architecture.

Auto Cad comes in many different versions so you can use it in multiple professions. It is very common in an engineering profession though. Its common because it makes a 3-D image of the design you create on it.

 Auto Cad helps aid in the design process by making it easier to come together. In such ways, instead of erasing and undoing you can just hit the undo button. You can also use multiple materials so you can see it in different styles.

Tools Tools Tools

For this week, I am going to talk about the tools an architect uses daily.  I know just being in class I have over 20 things in my bag. So I'm not going to drag out and explain all the tools. The main tools used on the daily are a lead holder, straightedge and eraser/ eraser shield. 

A lead holder is basically a lead pencil that has thicker more defined lead in it. An architect won't just have one lead holder. That'd be stupid. They need certain lead to draw different lines. It all depends on how thick they want the lines to be. They normally will have at least three different ones. That way they can just pick up the next pencil instead of taking the time to switch the leads out. 

A straight edge is a parallel bar connected to a drawing board. It is used to line your paper up straight. It is also used to draw horizontal straight lines. You can place a triangle on it so you can get straight vertical lines as well. It's very useful to the architect when drawing plans. 







An eraser is common sense I think on what it does, but an eraser shield on the other hand is a very nifty tool. Say you want to erase something but there are other lines in your way. An eraser shield is this little object that has different holes in it to get little details erased with out ruining the whole drawing. 

Career Options

This week, I will tell you about careers options you can specialize in. Basically there's a different type of architect for different projects. There are residential, commercial, industrial and landscape architects. I'm only going to focus on explaining what two of them do. 

The first one I'll explain about are residential architects. Residential architects are responsible for designing houses for private residences. They work directly with home owners. They might not always be designing the house from the ground up though. Sometimes they could be doing a house remodeling.   They have more creative freedom with their projects. They even may be self-employed. 





The next one I want to explain about are commercial architects. They are responsible for the design of buildings such has hospitals, schools and malls. They don't get as much freedom in their designs are residential architects do. Their buildings are designed for a purpose rather than comfort. They normally work in groups and each do certain parts of the building. 

I'm not going to go into details about the others but ill sum them up. Industrial architects design technical projects, like bridges. Landscape architects design just what their name says. Landscape. Some architects will be able to do all different types of designing. It all depends on what they want to do with their career. 

Let's Talk Money

This week I'll discuss how much money an architect makes and the job growth. An architect makes an annual income of about 73,xxx. Sounds like a nice paycheck to me. But you have to remember that's with being in the business for many years. An entry level architect will only be making around 40,xxx a year. Then again, it all depends on your location and experience levels.

Another thing I would like to discuss this week, is the job outlook. The average job growth is around 14% for most jobs. The predicted growth rate for architect is 24%. This means that it is growing faster than average. Say we hit another recession though, people won't be needing anything built, and it may go right back down.





There are currently around 110,xxx architects employed and we're just coming out of a recession. Basically the better you are the greater chance of getting and keeping a job as an architect will be. Also, the better the paycheck will be :)

So You Want To Be An Architect...

If you want to become an architect be prepared, it requires a lot of schooling. You will need a Bachelors of Architecture degree. Which is a five year program instead of the traditional four years of most degrees. Here, is a link to the top architecture schools in the US. 

When you finish school you will be expected to do an internship which serves as a training period. Usually lasting three years. When then training period is over, you may then go for your license exam. Architect Registration Examination is the test you will be sitting for.

After getting your license you are officially a licensed architect. Before you get licensed you may become certified. A certification could make it easier to become licensed. After receiving your license, you are not done there. To keep a license will require continuous education.

What Is An Architect?

Before I start explaining how to become an Architect, I will first mention who they are.
Architects are responsible for designing the plans to build buildings. They can design anything from a house to a large hospital, and anything in between.

An Architect starts with an idea and then draws it on paper. By projecting the idea onto paper they have then created floor plans of the building. The floor plan then as to be approved. Someone, such as the owner of the house being built, will approve it. It is not as simple as it seems, it may takes months to get correct. They also have to be aware of anything hazardous to the way it could be built.

After the floor plans are approved the Architect doesn't stop there. They keep visiting the job site to make sure the building is build correctly. When its done being built they can relax. Many Architects are involved with more than one building at a time. Architecture can be a very time consuming career.