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superdupersang

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hi everyone

i would like to study architecture, after i

finish my current bsc neuroscience

i am in the middle of constructing a portfolio for said architecture course.

and want to make it reflect modern culture

and what better place to gain ideas than our own supertrash,

where all the smart people are.

(except those that cannot / do not use google)

i will reply to all suggestion an put photos up of the ongoing / finshed end product.

sang.

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Where are you looking to study architecture at, any particular school? You are going for a Masters degree I assume? As far as the portfolio, pick projects or things you have done that reflect a wide variety of interests and abilities. Not just strictly drawings of buildings, sketches, computer renderings etc... A good thing to include is creative writing, photography, artwork, web stuff if you do it, graphic design, etc...

I'm finishing up a five year Bachelors of Architecture, to skip the need for Masters school, but I know a lot of Masters students. Architecture is definitely a rewarding path to study. It's a lot of work, but trust me you will enjoy it.

I second bicurious' suggestion, please post pics. I'd be more than willing to share my oppinion with you.

[everything is insanity and I have a headache]

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im in london at the moment

so over here it is the bartlett at UCL and the AA, architecture association

in the uk, architecture can only be started from the beginning, ie from a bachelors

in the us, i could skip straight to an MArch 1 (i think)

a 2 1/2 year masters

i bought a new camera in the summer (pana fz20)

been busy with that

was thinking how to display my photos

my idea at the moment is th print them alll passport photo size and then stick the togther to create a bigger pic.

only problem is havent deceided whaty the big picture should be.

most portfolios contain a self portrait so was thinking of that

but a little narcissistic perhaps?

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The AA is a good school, or at least according to several of my professors who are alumni. The idea for the pictures combined as a self portrait sounds interesting. You should post a picture of it when you finish. I'd be interested to see how it turns out.

What is it with the Harvard GSD link? This is like the fifth time this week it has crossed my way. Nice link though.

[everything is insanity and I have a headache]

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  • 8 months later...

While I'm busy annihilating supertalk while most of you Americans are still sleeping, I thought I'd ask.

I have a healthy interest in good architecture and hope to someday build my own house (or at least take a good part in creating it), but I know fuck all about architecture in general. I like to thumb through the modern architecture books at the bookstore and get magazines, which I did this afternoon in fact, that has led me to asking. They unfortunately don't sell Dwell magazine where I live so I have had a hard time finding new stuff to look at, does anyone have any good internet links for this kind of stuff?

Surely there's some people in architecture on a site like this?

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Interior is thoroughly welcome too. What I am most curious about are the actual costs for places so I can start cataloguing ideas. Getting really interested as I recently saw Barclay and Crousse's Casa Equis and saw in a book that it cost only $75,000 to build, which is either fantastic or just a fantastic typo in the book.

My parents are moving back to Australia for retirement very soon and plan to live between there and the US for both summers every year, so I'm starting early at trying to talk them into doing at least one if not two modern houses as I feel modern living is well-suited to older people's lifestyles and I'd rather not see my parents living in a boring condo or something. Really liking the low-maintenance/green living/custom convenience/minimalist approach as my parents are cool people who could really appreciate all of that and I'd worry less about them if they were living like that.

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  • 2 months later...

after careful consideration i think architecture is about principles.

if your main prinicaple is design focused, fashion focused, image focused this will show in the final product.

but if your main prinicple is function, ie it will be used by a human therefore, if your prinicaple is about the human then this will show through.

thats why i admire frank lloyd wright, even though i may not like his designs i can appreciate where he was coming from and that central to his designs were that buildings are to be used as homes, workplaces etc and his desigs reflect this.

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architecture is about principles ?

so when people dwell in something you design or the city requests you help on a project - they are going to think EVER - this architect REALLY had some great principles ..?

if they're being a critique maybe otherwise doubtful ..

If you're an individual you will have your own flow whether Wright has a huge respect or following or whatever no one gives a fuck if you like him - you dont know him at all ..

His stuff WORKED though ...

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think of a building you use everyday.

your house or school, office etc

now in your opinion is it pretty, efficient, well lit, good use of space, appropriate to the surroundings etc etc?

whether yes or no, those things werent a mistake or by accident.

they were designed that way.

now if the building is comforatable and efficient, then that was becasue the architect wanted it so.

and i said i dont particularly like mr writs stuff, but what i do like is that he put a lot of thought into how it was gogin to be used.

example, open plan living/ dining/ cooking area? he made that.

before that, everything was compartmentalised.

but he broke down the barriers (walls) btw them.

and voila: open plan living area

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Wright made some beautiful things, but now that we're 80 years down the line and his cantilevered projects in Oak Park are falling to bits and requiring millions in renovations, I kind of question whether he was just a little too hyped up?

I am certainly no architect, but I believe everyone in 101 intro courses end up having to write something on Wotton's 'Commoditie, Firmeness, and Delight' is because that shit is truth..

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agreed. his designs are beautiful and conceptually interesting, but they have not physically held up over the years. his "beth shalom" synagogue in the philly area, for example, has been plagued with the astronomical cost of maintenance for a leaky roof and such. but his Imperial Hotel in Tokyo survived an earthquake. win some, lose some.

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Ando's shit blows my mind... someday I'm gonna take the weekend to go out into Osaka's outlying areas just to go on an Ando tour...

I like Herzog and de Meuron as well, the Prada store in Aoyama is beautiful, especially at dusk, not sure about the wares inside... I was disappointed during this year's world cup when they didn't talk too much about the Herzog and de Meuron stadium in Munich, because the stadium was nice, imo....

Lately I am into low-cost housing projects, Barclay and Crousse did some in Peru that are pretty neat....

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I second Ando. And Calatrava for his mad engineering skills that give unseen forms to his architecture.

I feel you on the portfolio, in fact we're probably in the same boat. I lived in UK between 10 yrs old to 18, and am in Uni in USA right now, applying to Arch School making the decision between UK and USA. The most common advice I've heard from people regarding the application portfolio is to include works that display a consideration of 'space', not just the lights, effects etc in a building, but the area occupied by the body...

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from wiki:

Ando has led a storied life, working as a truck driver and boxer prior to settling on the profession of architecture, despite never having taken formal training in the field.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadao_Ando

that is just wow.

plus hes building tom ford's house.

that must be some seriously good gig.

his use of complex + abstract 3d shapes, reminds me of zaha hadid.

and herzog and de meuron's tate modern.

basically a massive electricity generator, a relic of the 19th centruy in the middle of london central.

and now transformed into a museum of modern art. but the outside of the building has been left relatively untouched.

P1100306.jpg

aeriallondon.gif

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  • 4 weeks later...

ok.

so far on this thread there is one person finishing his B.Arch... I am a practicing architect, five years out of school, and i have to say that, superTrash, although you sound very sincere, you will soon realize that "real world" architecture has almost nothing to do with your principles (unfortunately). It's a very common misconception amongst students and is fueled by an acdemic environment that stress a much more romantic/fettishized view of the profession than actually exists (even at the highest levels! look how libeskined was strongarmed out of the WTC project...). Anyway, i'm just saying, be careful, it's easy to get carried away with perfection...at the end of the day they don't teach "getting a project built" in school.

As far as potential graduate schools i would lean towards UCLA, the GSD, Princeton, and Syracuse in the US (i feel they have the strongest programs right now, but professors move EVERY year, so be careful, and make sure the faculty matches your interests). Foreign schools = AA (their new material theory concentration sounds very interesting), ETH in Zurich, TU Delft in Holland, and Der Stadl in Frankfurt. all amazing programs.

if anyone wants to talk about architecture specifically, i'm game, although in my mind the last hundred years of progression are framed very specifically by theoretical arguements posed by Corb, and then OMA (Rem Koolhaas) on Corb's foundation. If you want to see the best two buildings in America, go to cambridge and look at the Carpenter Center (Corb's only american work), then fly cross country to Seatle to see the Seatle Public Library (OMA/Rem Koolhass' master work, the Tres Grand Bibliotec comes to fruition). but that's just my take. in my mind, they drive the bus, and everyone else reacts. I encourage any architect to go to Notre Dame de Ronchamp and La Tourette and be blown away...

although i love Herzog & DeMeuron, too, especially the De Young in San Fran and early work in Basel...

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  • 2 months later...

I have a fascination with low-cost residential projects because my parents are set to reire soon and I want them in senior-friendly houses and they are a good match for the modern-living aspect of it all as well. Barclay and Crousse's Casa de Equis made for $80,000 still interests me, things of that nature.

I buy lots of the Taschen compilation books for like $15 and beast over them... there's a huge complete works of Ando that I need to get my hands on once I have cash I can piss away, it's a beautiful book....

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there was a great article in the nytimes last week about architects designing small sustainable modern houses in conjunction with contractors that clients can purchase as a product. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/realestate/greathomes/16tiny.html?_r=1&oref=slogin people are buying land in rural areas with an eye towards protecting the land itself, and there is a big market for low cost second homes of this type. it's a great idea, because, as an architect, i find it hard to explain to people what they are actually buying from me, cause in the end they are only buying experience and intellectual property, but if houses could be offered as products it would change the profession (in my opinion for the better, but this is contentious for sure amongst architects).

as far as great houses, my favorite of the last ten years or so is Villa Bordeaux by OMA:

bordeaux.jpg

bordeaux2.jpg

that concrete volume with the punched holes is hung off that huge grey steel beam on the roof with a tension rod going to a sub grade concrete block. complex and really simple at the same time.

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