How To Get The Most From Architecture School 

Every architecture student needs to see this video!! Design is so collaborative and I know from personal observation that some students don’t see the importance of this. Thank you for this dialogue, Kevin and Andrew!!

"Architecture education is about learning to protect good ideas from bullshits" This sinks harddd.

At first 2 years at uni I really sucked, I feel defeated all the time, feeling I’m not good enough. I questioned my decision of choosing architecture and loose myself for a long time. Now I’m starting to care less about what people think about me, I’m just trying to get better and better at my skills every day. These two years even though could be seen as a failure from the outside, but I know I grow so much as a person. I’ll come back to this when I finish my degree💪

I like the advice about putting your cards down onto the table, instead of holding them to yourself - I think that extends well beyond a school setting, too 👍

I've personally found that my work performs better the more I talk to other people about their work - something happens subconsciously as something clicks to help me move forward. Over here in the UK, it's frustrating how closed off people are with their work over Zoom calls, over half the class are not even uploading their work to a Miro board. Agree with a lot of the points in the video - feel like people need to stop treating the studio as a stepping stone in the process of being an architect and start enjoying the process of becoming an architect.

Every student should watch this

This is timeless and profound, just shared it on Facebook 🙌🏻

Some of my best architectural years were in studio's. The 80's at RMIT with Peter Corrigan listening intently to your presentation was both terrifying and the most mentally stimulating discourse I have ever had.

This Channel is grossly under viewed! Keep it up fellas!

Agree with everything here, and I've taught a lot of studios. I'd add one other thing: You need to work. A successful studio needs constant meaningful work to take place, not just 'busy' work where you're burying time into things that are peripheral to the 'main thing'. Work can be research, it can be drawing, it can be modelling, etc - but it has to happen consistently and it has to add value to the process.

A big yes to everything you´ve said. I always say most of these concepts (if not all) to my students. To develop critical thinking is a process, as much as it is to learn how to design. Interacting and being involved in other people projects and feedback from tutors is extremely important. As a teacher/tutor, I always encourage the students to be active and participate while others are presenting their works, to give opinions and be involved. Presentations don´t have to be as private as a confession in front of a priest. Furthermore, sometimes you learn better from a peer than from a tutor. So many times I see students that are more concerned to figure out what supposedly the tutor wants than to evolve their own ideas. Of course, there are so many teachers that love to be flattered, but this is not the case, I think it´s important to support the students to make their own process of learning. Another thing that I have to say is that all your videos are great (I´ve said that so many times) but the most important for me and my classes is "WHAT WHY HOW" which is perfect in so many levels. As I teach History, I just add WHEN to the equation

Great video - out of all your content I think this one is at the top of the list of good lessons. The two additional camera angles toward the end got me by surprise.

Great perspectives which I'm sure will help a lot of students. Interesting to succinctly explore the difference in studio culture over the years.

The pub across the road from my uni approves of your message 😁👍 And thanks for the advice! My perspective has grown a lot since watching your lessons, and studios are so much more fulfilling and enjoyable 🙏

My experience from a long time ago is that when you're at the centre of a crit, it's easy to slip into the fight or flight, especially if your defences are weakened by doing at least one all nighter before. But learning from other people's critique was a valuable experience

Almost a thumbs down mostly because I'm jealous you guys got to experience the good old days of design studio. I was lucky to have that kind of learning in Denmark on exchange and it has tainted my experience of Australian uni ever since. I have just changed institutions where there isn't even a space for students to work on their projects altogether without the chance of a class needing to use the space. Having a year off though has helped me see how emotionally I reacted to my tutors' advice during the undergrad and feel better prepared for the Master's. Generally working on my mental health and quitting booze probably helped as well... STAY HYDRATED.

As Brilliant as always

Really enjoyed your opinions on the online learning situation. There are some interesting advantages that you pointed out. Us students need to make tout own effort to have group discussions, unfortunately we only started figuring that out at the end of the academic year!

On the lockdown bit, personally my University was only closed for the second half of spring semester last year. We did that half of studio online, and it sucked. I (and everyone in my cohort agreed) that in person studio is better. Fortunately, our program heads fought the school to let us come to studio in person, all other classes are online. Our studio desks are in little cubicles and we have to wear masks (duh) but it's soo much better than online.

I personally feel as an introvert, lockdown situation make my study life easier! I can see everybody's weekly progress and access it in the recordings anytime. in face to face tutorials, everybody just does their own things quietly.

Studying Architecture during the Pandemic is so difficult. Most of the time I am alone in my room creating designs and it's so mentally draining. I hope in-person classes can go back already.

Loved this video, thanks guys! Staying for other crits is so useful, especially watching students that are in the year above you, as a source of inspiration. I would like to hear you guys discuss 'the main concept' I feel like in studio everyone wants you to have an amazing concept straight away, is this something that develops with the design? What do you think?

16-18 students sounds perfect, there's typically been 40+ in my studio classes and it's felt like a barrier to that collaborative studio environment.. less studio cohesion, less time with tutors, and fewer voices heard in the mix/harder for people to find their voice in a design environment. Smaller studio sizes should be mandated - if the basics aren't working then nothings working!

Unfortunately, a lot of the unis seem to be greatly cutting back on those kinds of studio environments even before covid my bachelors was very much a design at home affair coming in once a week to have the tutor tell you if you're on completely the wrong path in front of a panel of silent peers. For my masters i've changed to a university with a newer program in the hope it would have a better culture and found it to be much the same. Now i am considering finishing my studies at a 3rd uni in hope of finally finding great studio culture. The professional world has been pretty similar managed to get a job in spite of covid and while the people are nice it's a pretty dead office with people quietly sitting on computers all day with very limited collaboration. Good to hear it's not all like that.

I should have seen this in my 1st year!

Don't think the second cam works too well but otherwise fantab vid :)

fight flight and freeze, is other one :)

COVID messed all of this up

The bit about Sou Fujimoto reminded me of this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tBOoZ5Tuh2o.html which lets us peek into studio culture in the concept art world.

Andrew: "Archi speak is bullshit" Also Andrew: "your Amygdala is firing and you're in flight mode"

you guys are like Harold and Kumar, except Andrew isn't Mexican

How to get the most from architecture school? Don't go to architecture school in the U.S.