Being an architect

Fashion: Noun: A popular trend, esp. in styles of dress, ornament, or behavior. “I hate everything that is driven by fashion. From the beginning I was hating in the 60s the American way of styling, especially cars. They changed their styling things every two years and designed new ones which is nothing to do with good design” . Dieter Rams Dieter Rams is considered to be one of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century. He is believed to have inspired the designs of iconic Apple products like iPod.  His observation is strikingly relevant in the field of architecture. "DESIGN TODAY HAS BECOME MUNDANE AND BANAL; FRIVOLOUS AND EFFETE. IT IS PLAYING ON CHEAP EMOTIONS, LIKE BEING THE TALLEST, THE LARGEST, OR THE MOST STUPID! BRIGHT COLORS, REFLECTIVE METALS AND USING A SURFEIT OF MATERIALS GET CRASS ATTENTION." [Now, a word of caution: the rest of the post may not be popular among or pleasing to all readers. The observations a...

Architects are associated with sketching long before the profession has evolved. One automatically expects an architect to sketch and explain his point. Architectural career choices are still majorly influenced by the candidate’s proficiency in sketching . Is the skill heavily overrated? Or does it deserve the hype? The problem starts when one confuses sketching with ‘art’. Definitely, creativity (and thus similar tastes) has its own part in shaping an architect’s career. But what one forgets in the debate is the potential of a ‘ skill’ as basic as sketching which can help the professional in a long way throughout his career. It is a skill which can be learnt and mastered. A very powerful ‘tool’ - sometimes the most powerful - which if used with care, can simplify many a process. It’s also a skill which is very enjoyable. "STRIPPING INFORMATION INTO THE VERY BASICS HAS HUGE ADVANTAGES."

Research shows that 95 percent of people do not use 90 percent of the features on their video-recorders – because they are too complicated. What can you tell about a family where the clock on the video recorder is not flashing? They have a teenager in the house. In one country small businessmen have to cope with 16,000 laws in order to carry on their business. In another country the tax laws run to 40,000 pages. In another country the farmers rioted because they could not understand the new laws they were supposed to obey. It is said that Ken Olsen, the founder of DEC, once complained that at home he had a microwave oven that was so complex that he could not use it. An old woman spent a week in a shopping mall in Holland. She could not find her way out. She bought food during the day and slept on a bench at night. Instructions for machines, computers, etc., are always written by those who know the system and are not much help ...

Accept it. Student architects are always confused about choosing the right career path. It gets all the more complicated with myriad options (and specializations) available today. Though the scene has changed a lot, I think the speech by Charles Correa more than a decade ago ( Convocation Address at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, 1996 ) still is very relevant. I want to share his thoughts as a continuation of my post  'architecture as a profession' . His observations are sharp, as usual, and I am sure that any architect at any stage of his career will get useful (if not motivating) insights from the speech. Extracts from his talk are given below.     “How much we grow depends on the issues we have the good fortune to address. This brings to mind a story told to me by Arvind Talati, a young Indian architect who followed Doshi at Corbusier's office in Paris. After working for two years or so, when Talati decided to return to ln...