Why Architecture

A Career in architecture offers you a chance to change your surroundings for the better. We are living in a rapidly changing world, and so we need people with the imagination to create the buildings and cities our society needs to keep pace with progress. Therefore a career in architecture is for someone who is excited by change, then you could grasp the opportunity to build the future the way you want it through architecture.

Why architecture?
An Architect is the kind of person who is curious about their surroundings and interested in improving them. As an architect you would have the power and the responsibility to shape the environments in which people spend their daily lives. This makes architecture one of the most influential professions in today's society.

What sort of person would you need to be to become an Architect?
Architecture is much too important to leave to somebody else for it reflects the society that builds it, but it also affects the way that society develops. This means we need architects who can respond to the different needs and values of all sections of the community. However, in the past most architects were drawn from a fairly narrow sector of society. In the future it is essential we ensure that architecture represents every social and cultural background.
If you are someone with a sense of purpose, who cares about people and about the environment, then you already have the most basic qualities an architect needs. And in turn architecture has a lot to offer anyone who wishes to make a positive mark on the world.
After all, if you are not willing to put your own ideas forward, how can you be sure things will turn out the way you would like them to?

So who wants to do the same job every day of their lives?
Choosing a career in architecture certainly doesn't mean limiting your choices. The skills that architects posses are relevant to all aspects of the built environment, from constructing new buildings to conserving old ones. The range of work they are required to undertake is so varied that each architect could give you a completely different description of what they do. The one thing that is constant in architectural work is that is it concerned with people.
Want to learn transferable skills for your future?

There is no denying that architecture is a demanding profession. It deals with many of the important issues in today's society, for instance exploring new ways of living, investigating new technologies and material and ensuring that what we build is environmentally sustainable. But most of all it involves designing that people are happy to look at and to use.
This means that an architect must learn a whole range of different skills, even crossing the traditional boundaries between art and science. But this also means an architectural education is one of the broadest on offer, equipping people with talents to enter a broad range of different careers

Not only are there many different forms of architectural practice, ranging from small private firms to large public or corporate offices, but also an architectural degree can be the platform for a wide range of related careers. Some architecture graduates gain further qualifications in such specialist fields as planning, landscape or conservation, while others move onto working television, theatre or to become teachers or writers

ARCHITECT PROFILE: David Adjaye

David Adjaye  was Born in 1966 in Dar-Es-Salam, Tanzania . He is recognised as one of the leading architects of his generation in the UK and in the last year he has won important commissions in both Europe and the United States. The architectural community and the wider public have a high regard for his bespoke designs, ingenious use of materials and ability to sculpt light.

Respected for his work and experience in the field he is often asked to give high profile lectures at prestigious universities and institutions such as Harvard's GSD, Yale, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and the University of California Berkeley in the USA. Speaking engagements in Europe also include Architectural Association, Royal College of Art, Cambridge, Norsk Forum in Oslo and the London School of Economics. Currently he is a unit tutor at the Architectural Association. He has been a lecturer at the Royal College of Art where he received his MA in Architecture in 1993. That same year he was awarded the RIBA First Prize Bronze Medal.

In June 2000 David Adjaye reformed his studio as Adjaye/Associates and he has gone on to win a number of prestigious commissions with the practice head- quartered in London.  In June 2001, Adjaye won the Idea Store competition to design two new-build libraries in East London. The first of the two Idea Stores (near Canary Wharf) opened in July 2004 and won a 2005 RIBA Building Award. The 5-storey flagship library/community centre with a top floor café and dance/yoga studio opened in October 2005. His work recently led him to his nomination for one of the UK’s most prestigious awards in architecture – The Stirling Prize.

For more information on a career in architecture contact:
The Royal Institute of British Architects
www.riba.co.uk

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