What do you want to be when you grow up?

 

I decided, at 17 years, that I wanted to be an architect. And why? Because it was different, and because from architecture you can branch out into many different design fields. But why is it that after making such a decision I still wonder if I’ve made the correct choice, and sometimes, why I made this choice. The basis for such speculation is quite simple. When I made the decision, I was under the rosy impression that architecture is all about designing buildings and the only negative side I heard was that u spend hours on your projects. Being a hard worker in school I thought it should all be a piece of cake... but I was wrong. Another idea that was in my head prior to beginning my course in architecture was that it involved subjects from all disciplines. This fact actually intrigued me because I felt I had studied enough science, although I really enjoyed it, and that this was a way I could enjoy designing without having to waste my knowledge in science. Architecture is definitely very different from what I had expected it to be. It’s not only about functionality and physical presence; it incorporates the study of human behaviour. Yet, it is not merely a study. It incorporates experience, knowledge, determination and individuality to be able to find the true meaning of architecture. One year into my bachelor's degree and I still can't define architecture. I see its purpose, its function and its presence...and most importantly I study it, yet the definition seems a myriad of different approaches and ideas, but none entirely my own. But, I feel the true sense comes through your development as an architecture student. I feel there is a certain path that your feelings take. At first you may be a fan of modernists and then you see meaning vernacular styles and so on. It is more like a journey, where in each stage you uncover something for yourself, or cross a hurdle, and along the way you're bound to find your individuality; some find it sooner, some a little later, but it is out there if you reach for it.

 

My first year was a rather rocky one, having experienced to extremities of design, and finding neither one fulfilling, I still continue my search... you may ask why? Is it my determination? Or can this experience be related back to my experience with mathematics at my OLevels, where the sense of achievement is not there unless you solve the problem on your own? Architecture is an individual problem to be solved, and that makes it difficult for you to decide if you have found it. Who knows, I may never practice architecture, I might end up designing products (something that always intrigued me). But, having entered the world of architecture, I cannot leave without finding myself... its like looking out to the horizon; no one really knows what's beyond it except the fact that it exists.

                                                          

                                                                                                                 

~insi~