Although I have not yet interviewed or spoken to professional architects thus far in my project, I do believe I have already learned a bit more about the usefulness a degree in architecture can have in discovering career options, and about who I am as a learner in design-related courses. I find it important to understand what professions would be available to me with a professional degree in architecture as I enter college. What Christopher Carr–my Design Communication I professor–told my class last Thursday was that most people with professional degrees in architecture do not end up becoming working/practicing architects. The education they are given, specifically with the way they are taught to think and analyze/approach problems, provides a much wider array of job choices. This was very comforting to hear, as I am not certain that I would like to pursue a career as a practicing architect, even if I pursue an MArch degree. My course has also taught me how much design school allows for self-expression, even when given strict assignment guidelines. This was not something I necessarily realized going into this course. The purpose of design is to understand how to make appealing graphics/objects/images/etc., to find what patterns can be used to inform what “good design” or “bad design” is, and to, additionally, break these rules and cross boundaries, as I have learned Zaha Hadid often did. The mistakes and “bad designs” I have made in my assignments thus far have already begun to inform me about what “good design” is. I already have a greater understanding of what works and what does not.
My next steps will be to understand in greater depth what careers are available to architecture students, and perhaps what new careers may be emerging. It is important that I not only learn about architecture in its present state, but to additionally understand where the field is headed. This is why it will be so essential that I talk to and interview architects this week. I strive to learn how architecture can be used as a healing mechanism rather than a tool to destroy the planet.
Isabella, some great context here. I would also say that there is another critical aspect of design that often gets overlooked when we tend to think about design as a manifestation of some particular product and how it appeals to us visually. I think it can be more helpful to think of design as a human response to the human condition. And it is not simply a technical solution to a problem though it may involve a range of technical expertises. Good design is meaningful; it impacts us in the same way that art and literature can and at the same time can improve our condition. The flip side is that design is also responsible for most of the human-created problems in the world. So a bit of a riddle here.