Jordan J. Lloyd

Arch 101

How to get through architecture school.

• Designisnotatalent,it’saskill• Havehobbies• Understandrules,thenbreakthem• Goodlearningtrumpsgoodgrades• Takerisks• Asktherightquestions

PArt 1:FundAmentAls

ThefollowingsixideasarewhatIthinkrepresenttheessenceofhowtogetaheadinarchitectureschool.Frombreakingtherulestotakingtimeoff,Ihopetochallengeyourassumptionsaboutthedesignprocess.

Atalentisanaturalaptitudetowardssomething.Askillistheabilitytodosomethingwell.Skillscanbetaught,butneedstobepractisedagainandagainuntilyoucandoitwell.

Creativity is a skill and a habit. You need to learn and practise the skill, which then becomes a habit.-EdwardDeBono,How To Have A Beautiful Mind

UnlearningDesignisverymuchaskill,asitisanapplicationofcreativity.Ofcourse,havinga‘goodeye’helps,butbytrainingyourselftothinkcreativelyandapplyingthatskilloverandoveragain,youwillbecomeagooddesigner.

Toadegree,whatyoulearnedinschoolmustbeunlearnedfirstinordertogetthemostoutofyourtrainingasadesigner.IsaydesignerbecauseIdonotmakeanassumptionthatyouwillactuallyendupbeinganarchitect.Thereareanumberofreasonsforthis,butit’smainlybecauseanarchitecturedegreeissuchanamazingfoundationforacareerin,well,justaboutanything;frompoliticstoproductdesigntofashion.

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design is not A tAlent,it’s A skill

WhatImeanbyunlearningisnotthesubjectmatteryoulearnedatschool,butthewayinwhichitistaughttoyou.Asyouwillfindout,thebestapplicationsofcreativityoccurwhenyoucanmakeconnectionsbetweenseeminglyunrelatedthings,andbeingabletomaketheseconnectionsisavaluableskilltolearnandpractise.

The 10,000 hour ruleThere’satheoryaboutbecominganexpertinaparticularskillpopularisedbytheauthorMalcolmGladwellinhisbookOutliers.Gladwellsaysthatyouneedtodosomething(beitplayaviolin,orthinkcreatively)for10,000hourstobecomeamasteratyourchosenskill.Sothat’s6hourspractiseeverydayforthenext5years.

Doingsomethingfor10,000hoursdoesn’tcutit,however.ComputerscientistCalNewportassertsyouhavetodowhathecallsdeliberate practise-putsimply,quantityisn’tenough.Youwillneedtospecificallypractisethinkingcreativelyandapplyingthoseskills,challengingyourselfandlearningtobecomecriticalaboutyourworkinaconstantfeedbackloop;theexpertsputinaboutthreeandahalfhoursofdeliberatepracticeeveryday,brokendowninto2sessions.It’s not just about putting in hours, it’s what you do with those hours. Quality trumps quantity.

Some good newsManyexperienceddesignersatthispointwillarguethatyoualsohavetopossessagreatdealoftalent.Whilstthisistrue,talentisonlywhatseperatesthevery goodfromthevery best,andeventhatcomesdowntoyouropinion.

Thecontentinthishandbookwillsetyouupwiththethinkingskillsyoucanemploytobecomeagooddesigner.Thebestthingaboutwhatiscomingyourway,isthatyourdesignprojectsarethemeansinwhichtopractiseyourskillsoverandoveragainoverthenextseveralyears.

Start practising your design thinking skills from day 1 and hone your design expertise over time - your projects are the perfect way to exploit learning your skills.

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Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.

-SteveJobs,inventor,co-founderofApple, Inc.

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Architectureschoolwilldemandmuchofyourtime,whetherornotit’stime-tabledornot-it’sverydifficulttonotworkafterawhile.Havinghobbieswillkeepyousaneandmakesureyoudon’tloseyourfriends.

Have a good time, all the time.-VivSavage,Spinal Tap

Balance your social life with your workProbablyoneofthehardestthingstomastergiventheamountofworkatypicaldesignstudentdoes.Thehardbitisnotalwaysaboutdoingenoughwork,it’sactuallynotbeingdisciplinedenoughtotaketimeofftohangoutwithyourfriendsandfamily.Ahobbyinyoureveningsandweekendswillgiveyouadditionalskillsyoucanapplytoyourworkinmanycases,andtheyalsoallowyoutomeetnewpeopleandexposeyourselftocareerlifeenhancingopportunities.

Have fun and spend time with friends, life isn’t just about your work. A hobby that takes your mind off work is encouraged.

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hAve hobbies

Rulesoftengiveyouagoodstructuretodevelop.Afterall,youwouldn’tbeinterestedinsportiftheydidn’thaveanyrules.Designisnodifferent,butsometimesrulesneedtobebroken.

I don’t believe in no-win scenarios.-CaptainJamesT.Kirk,U.S.S Enterprise

Why learning the rules matterRulesareameanstoallowpeopletoparticipateinacommunity;solearningtherulesoffootballforexample,allowsyoutogetthemostenjoymentoutofthegame,whetherornotyou’replayingorwatchingit.Ontheotherextreme,lawsandmoralcodesareasetofrulesthatallowsocietytolargelyco-existpeacefully.

Indesign,especiallywhenyouarestartingout,learningtherulesallowotherstounderstandwhereyouarecomingfrom.Tobeeffectiveasadesigner,youhavetounderstandtherulesandvaluesattachedtoyourprojects,ifonlyasastartingpoint.

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understAnd rules, then breAk them

Evertrieddesigningahousewithnorules?It’sincrediblydifficult.Withoutrulesyouroutcomeispurelyamatterofyourowntaste,whichdoesn’treallystanduptocriticalreview,andthereforeisfarfromthebestwayofdoingthings.

When to break the rulesRulescanhelpyoutoplan,organiseanddevelopaproject,butsometimestheyneedtobebentorbrokeninordertocommunicateyourideaseffectively.Someoftheworld’smostfamousartistslikePicassoorVanGoughwereheavilycriticisedfortheirworkintheirtime,becausetheylookedlikechildren’sdoodles.Theywerebothinfactmasterdraftsmen,beingabletodrawandpaintastonishinglyrealistically.However,paintingrealisticallydidnotconveytheirideasaboutrepresentingtheworldvividly,orfromanumberofdifferentviewpoints.Howdidtheydoit?Theybroketheformalrulesofcompositionandmediuminordertocommunicatetheirideas.

Thinking inside the boxDavidGianottenfromtheDutcharchitecturefirmOMAtalksabout‘thinkinginsidethebox’.Thinking inside the box meansanalysingeverysingleruleandconstraintaclientoraprojectgivesyou,sothatyoucanfindwaystodevelopyourprojectthatadherestotherules;butproducesspectacularandunexpectedresults.Davidaddsthatbreakingtherulesisbestreservedonlywhenthefinalresultsareextraordinary.IhaveafriendwhooncehadtodesignaMuseumofTextilesforhismajorproject.Ifhehadfollowedtheruleslikeeveryoneelse,hewouldhavedesignedaboringarchiveofartifactsmadefromtextiles.‘What if I were to not represent the past, but also the future?’, heasked.Theendresultbecameanarchivethatcontaineditsownmassivegreenhousetocreatetropicalconditions.Why?TobreedaMadagascanspiderwhosesilkwouldbeharvestedtocreatenextgenerationtextileproductsformilitaryandcivilianapplications,whichisanextraordinaryresult.

In order to bend or break the rules effectively, you must understand them first, and know when to break the rules.

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TheBatterybyBjarkeIngelsGroupisdesignedentirelybyexploitingdanishbuildingregulationsregardingtheheightsofnewdevelopmentsinthecity.

Project name TheBatteryBat Faste BatteriArchitects BjarkeIngelsGroup(BIG)Designed 2006

DescriptionTheBatterylinksthreedifferentneighbourhoodsinthecentreofCopenhagen,Denmark,withamixofuses-fromahoteltooffices,shoppingandleisurefacilities;connectedtogetherthroughabicyclelanethatweavesitswaythroughanewpublicparkspace.ThespectacularshapeisdeterminedbyfollowingDanishbuildingregulationrulesforheights,exploitedtoprovidemaximumcommercialreturn.

Imag

es BIG

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Maximum heights for buildings in Denmark are determined by the distance to the adjacent buildings of the site.

By flipping the distance silhouette 90°, the maximum height of a proposed development is generated entirely by the building regulations.

...cutting out chunks of the maximum volume. The red lines are ‘fill in’ the areas left, and are expressed as a series of floors.

Primary connections, views and arrival points between each side the site are also plotted...

The end result is an extraordinary piece of architecture that has been generated entirely from ‘thinking inside the box’.

By joining up the two silhouettes, the maximum volume the site can achieve is specified.

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Grades,muchlikeIQtests,areameasureofhowyoustackuptoaparticularvaluesystem.Therearemanyvaluesystems,sofocusonwhatyouwilllearn;notthegradeyouwant.

A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to.-Banksy,graffitiartist

Grades are a consequence, not the aimOneofthemostcommonquestionsIgetaskedbystudentsis‘whatdrawing/idea/design will get me the best grade?’

Forastart,that’sanincrediblycomplexquestiontoanswer.Moreimportantlythough,isthatit’snotthebestquestiontoask.Thethingabouteducation,andthereasonwhyyouspendsomuchtime,effort(andmoney)intoit,isthatyouareheretoexpandyourknowledgeandyourskillbase.Afarbetterquestiontoaskis‘what drawing/idea/designwill expand my knowledge?’Youcanbeforgivenforwantingtoachievehighgrades;afterall,youmostprobablyhavecomefromaschoolsystem

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good leArning trumPs good grAdes

thathasstigmatisedmistakesandrewardedthosewhoconformtotheacademiccurriculum.YoumayhavegotanA*inbiology,butunlessyouhappentobeaurologist,isitworthrememberinginextremedetailhowyoururinarytractfunctions?

Ifyoujumpedinatthedeependandbegintodothingstosatisfyyourownthirstforknowledge,ratherthanwaittobetoldwhattodo(orworse,dothingsbecauseitwillsatisfyyourtutors),youwilldowell.Insamecases,agoodgradeisaconsequenceofsomethingyoudoforyourself.Inothercases,youmaynotgetthegradeyouwerehopingfor,butattheveryleastyousatisfiedyourowncuriosity.

There are different value systemsGradesaresimplyarepresentationofdoingwellinaparticularvaluesystem,andtherearemanyvaluesystems.Ifweweretotalkaboutintelligence,havingananalyticalmindforexamplemakesyouintelligent,butsodoesasyntheticmind(beingabletocombineseeminglyunrelatedthings),bothoftheseareusefulinarchitecture.

Likewise,letusconsideratypicalofficeblock.Fromanarchitecturalvaluesystem,wemayjudgeitasboringornon-descript,butfromaneconomicorprofitvaluesystem,itmaybeconsideredexceptional.Theresulttoshootforofcourse,isboth.

Whatgradeyougetattheendofyourdegreeislargelydeterminedbytwothings:Firstly,itisdeterminedbycompetencyincertainareassetoutbyyourcountry’sarchitecturalgoverningbody.Secondly,itisassignedbyyourtutorswhohaveaverygoodideaatwellyouaredoing.

Look out for #1Expandingyourknowledgeandhavingagoodattitudetowardslearningforyourselfwillgetveryfarindeed.Yourtutorswillnoticewhenyougooutofyourwaytoexpandyourknowledge,butthisissecondarytowhatyouwillbegettingoutofit.

It’s far more important to focus on what knowledge or insight you will gain, rather than get a good grade. Use your initiative.

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Risktakingisanessentialpartofthedesignprocess.Withouttakingrisks,progressisnevermade,atbestitwillleadtoawholenewwayofdoingthings;atworst,afailedriskisjustonemorelifeexperience.

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.-JimRohn,entrepreneur

Embrace failureFromanearlyagewearetaughttobelievethatfailureshouldbestigmatisedandshouldbeavoidedatallcosts.Failureisanaturalpartoflearning,andit’sreallynottheendoftheworld!Evenifyouthinkyouhavefailed,youhavemerelyfoundawaytonotdoaparticularthing(andevenafailureinonecontextleadstoasuccessinanother).

Forsomereasonmanypeoplethinkthattakingriskswillamounttofailureandthereforebuildinarisk aversionmentality.Ariskthathasbeensuccessfullypulledoffwillleadtogreatthings,andthedownsideisyoufail.Bigdeal.Pickyourselfbackupagainandkeepgoing.It’sbetter

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tAke risks

totryandfail,thannottryatall-nowthat’sarealfailure,asavoidingrisksatallcostsmeansyouwillneverprogress.

Takerisksallthetimeandfailoften.Analysethereasonwhysomethingdidn’tworkoutforyouandmoveonquickly.Ifsomethingisnotworkingout,donotbeafraidtowalkaway.Sayingnoisaverydifficultthingtodo,butifyourgutinstinctistellingyoutonotpersevere,chancesaretheremaybeamuchbetterwayofdoingthings.

Overtimeyouwillknowwhatworksandwhatdoesn’tworkforyou,andbesuretocapitaliseonyoursuccesses.

More good newsTheonemagicalthingaboutbeinginarchitectureschoolisthatyouarefreetotakehugeriskswithlittleconsequence.Takingariskforexample,withanewkindofstructureforyourdesignmaynotendupgettingyouatopgrade,butatleastitdidn’tgetbuilt,falldownandkillanybody.

Bettertotakerisksandpushyourcreativitytothelimit,andtheneditoutwhatwouldorwhatwouldn’tworklater,thandesignconservativelyfromtheverystart.Exploittheopportunityofarelativelyconsequence-freeenvironmentinwhichtoundertakeasmanydesignexperiments(bothsuccessfulandfailed)aspossible.

One last thingAnexperimentthat’sgonehorriblywrongissimplyonemoreexperiencetonotchuptoyourdevelopinglifeexperience,andthereforeisneverwasted.Itisimportanthowever,tomakesurethereissomesortofrecordofyourfailedexperiment.Foryou,it’sagoodreminderofwhysomethingdidn’twork,butmoreimportantly,atsomepointthatriskyoutookthatdidn’tpayoff,maywellleadyoutoasuccessinanotherendeavour(moreonthislater).

Undertake as many risks as possible whilst you are in the safe environment of your school, move on quickly from your failures and be sure to capitalise on your successes. What’s the worst that could happen?

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Designisnotanexactscience,andthe‘right’answerusuallydoesn’texist.Thetrickistoaskquestionsthatrevealacourseofactionforyourdesignprocesstoproducethebestoutcome.

Technology is the answer, but what was the question?-CedricPrice,architect

There is no such thing as a wrong answerDesignisaprettygreyareawhenitcomestoabsolutes.Weknowthat3x3=9,whichnoonecanrefute,butacurvedroofcomparedtoaflatroofisnottherightanswer;itjustmaybethemostappropriateanswertoaparticularcontext.

Oneofthemostfundamentalskillstolearnasadesigner-arguablythemostimportant-istheabilitytoasktheright questions.Therearemanyreasonsthisisimportant,buttwoofthemostfundamentalideasarisingoutofthisstatementare:a.Whatpeoplesaytheywaywantsometimesisnotwhattheyneed.Andb.Whenyouhavesettledontheright

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Ask the right questions

questionstoask,thewholedesignprocessandfinaloutcomearisesoutofansweringthosequestions.

Design is not the same as problem solvingAnotherstatementI’msuremanydesignerswon’tagreewith,butmypersonalopinionissimplythatsolvingproblemshappentobeaconsequenceofthebestdesigns,nottheaim.

Forexample:

• Post-it®noteshappenedcompletelybyaccident.Themanufacturer3Mdidn’tsetouttosolvetheproblemofpeopletryingtowritenotesthattheycouldstickanywheretemporarily.Whatactuallyhappenedisachemistworkingat3Mdevelopedalow-tackadhesivethatdidn’thaveanypracticaluse,untilacolleagueusedtheadhesivetomakeabookmark.

• Inaveryfamousexample,Apple,Inc.didn’tsetouttodesignadigitalmusicplayerthatwasbetterthaneveryoneelses-theyintendedtocompletelyrevolutionisehowconsumersbuyandenjoymusic.TheiPodwasjustaproductofthisagenda,aswasiTunes,Podcasts,andawholeplethoraofthingsthatmakeupApple’srevenueecosystem.

Whenyousetouttosolveproblems,youareproblemsolving.Designreallycomesalivewhenitproposesnewwaysofdoingthingsbasedonourbehaviour,andincreasingly,that’scomingfromre-combiningwhathascomebeforeusinanewcontext.

Train yourself to ask questionsAskingtherightquestionsisafundamentalpartofyourdesignskills.It’snotjustaboutaskingtherightquestions,butinadditionwhentoasktherightquestions.ThinkbacktomyexampleoftheMuseumofTextiles.Thequestionwasn’t ‘how do I design a textiles museum’,itwas,‘What if I were to not represent the past, but also the future?’

By asking the right questions, you are engaging in a critical dialogue that will lead to a new (and better) way to doing things.

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Whatdoesitsay?Whatdoesitmean?Iswhatitsaysandwhatitmeansthesamething?Dowewantthat?Whydoweneedtosaythathere?Ifyoustoppedreadinghere,what’sthemessage?What’sthetakeawayafter8seconds?Howdoesthismakeyoufeel?What’sdownbelow?Howelsecanwesaythis?What’smemorableaboutthis?What’sthatfor?Whoneedstoknowthat?Whoneedstoseethat?Howdoesthatchangebehavior?What’sthepayoff?Whatdoessomeoneknownowthattheydidn’tknowbefore?Howdoesthatwork?Whyisthatworthaclick?Isthatworthscrolling?What’sthesimplerversionofthis?Areweassumingtoomuch?Whythatorder?Whywouldthismakethemchoosethat?Whatdoesamorepolishedversionofthislooklike?Whywouldsomeoneleaveatthispoint?What’smissing?Whyarewesayingthistwice?Isitworthpullingattentionawayfromthat?Doesthatmakeitclearer?What’stheobviousnextstep?Howwouldsomeoneknowthat?Woulditmatterifsomeonemissedthat?Doesthatmakeiteasierorharder?Wouldthisbebetterasasentenceorapicture?Where’stheverb?Whyisthatthere?Whatmattershere?Whatwouldhappenifwegotridofthat?Whyisn’tthatclear?Whyisthisbetter?Howcanwemakethismoreobvious?Whathappenswhenthisexpands?Ifwegotridofthis,doesthatstillwork?Isitobviouswhathappensnext?Whatjusthappened?Where’stheidea?Whatproblemisthatsolving?Howdoesthischangesomeone’smind?Whatmakesthisamusthave?-JasonFried,Questions I ask when reviewing a design

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Whatdoesitsay?Whatdoesitmean?Iswhatitsaysandwhatitmeansthesamething?Dowewantthat?Whydoweneedtosaythathere?Ifyoustoppedreadinghere,what’sthemessage?What’sthetakeawayafter8seconds?Howdoesthismakeyoufeel?What’sdownbelow?Howelsecanwesaythis?What’smemorableaboutthis?What’sthatfor?Whoneedstoknowthat?Whoneedstoseethat?Howdoesthatchangebehavior?What’sthepayoff?Whatdoessomeoneknownowthattheydidn’tknowbefore?Howdoesthatwork?Whyisthatworthaclick?Isthatworthscrolling?What’sthesimplerversionofthis?Areweassumingtoomuch?Whythatorder?Whywouldthismakethemchoosethat?Whatdoesamorepolishedversionofthislooklike?Whywouldsomeoneleaveatthispoint?What’smissing?Whyarewesayingthistwice?Isitworthpullingattentionawayfromthat?Doesthatmakeitclearer?What’stheobviousnextstep?Howwouldsomeoneknowthat?Woulditmatterifsomeonemissedthat?Doesthatmakeiteasierorharder?Wouldthisbebetterasasentenceorapicture?Where’stheverb?Whyisthatthere?Whatmattershere?Whatwouldhappenifwegotridofthat?Whyisn’tthatclear?Whyisthisbetter?Howcanwemakethismoreobvious?Whathappenswhenthisexpands?Ifwegotridofthis,doesthatstillwork?Isitobviouswhathappensnext?Whatjusthappened?Where’stheidea?Whatproblemisthatsolving?Howdoesthischangesomeone’smind?Whatmakesthisamusthave?-JasonFried,Questions I ask when reviewing a design

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Design is not a talent, it’s a skill• Creativethinkingisaskill,designisanapplicationofcreativity;• Skillsneedtobepractisedoverandoveragaintoachievemastery;• Alignyourprojectworkwithpractisingyourskillindesign

Have hobbies• Hobbiesinyourfreetimegivesyoustructurefromyourprojects;• Maintaingoodrelationshipswithpeoplethroughyourhobbies;• Makesuretobalanceyoursocialtimewithyourwork

Understand rules, then break them• Rules,likehobbiesgiveyouasolidfoundationfordesignwork;• Byunderstandingrules,you’llknowwhentobendorbreakthemif

theresultsofdoingthisareextraordinary;• Think inside the box toproducespectacularresults

Good learning trumps good grades• Gradesareaconsequenceofwhatyoudo,nottheaim;• Dothethingyouwilllearnthemostfrom;• Gradesareanindicationofconformingtoaparticularvaluesystem,

nothingmore

Take risks• Risktakingisanaturalpartofthedesignprocess;• Architectureschoolprovidesasafeenvironmenttotakerisks;• Moveonquicklyfromfailure,capitaliseonyoursuccesses

Ask the right questions• Designisagreyareawithnowronganswers,justbetteranswers;• It’sfarmoreimportanttophrasetherightquestion;• Theanswertoyourquestionswillleadyoutonewandunexpected

places

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Fundamentals Summary

What is the biggest change in science over the last fifteen years? It’s a movement from the search of universals to the understanding of variability.

-MalcolmGladwell,author (the same can be said for architecture too)

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ThisdocumentisafreechapterfrommyupcominghandbookforstudentscalledArch101: How to get through architecture school.Ifyouhaveanycommentsorareinterestedinpublishingthefinishedversionofthishandbook,pleasecontactmeatthewebaddressbelow.

Topics covered

• Fundamentals• Perception• Ideas• Learning• Process• Becomingunstuck• Productivity• Time• Softwareliteracy• Communicatingideas• Wallpresentations• Verbalpresentations• Writing• Feedback• Managingtutorials• BeyondSchool• Resources

©2011JordanJ.Lloyd.Allmaterialquotedmaterialcopyrighttheirrespectfulownersandfullreferencingwillbeavailableinthefinalhandbook.

Forupdates,visit jordanjlloyd.me

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