Hello and welcome to The Leeward Newsletter. Thanks for being here and taking your time to read, we are grateful for that. If you haven’t subscribed to us yet, let us help you with that,
This (picture above) is the reason why we've launched a newsletter and an advice column. We selected Anik’s question as the first one because a) we thought it would resonate with many, b) numerous similar inquiries surfaced regarding transitioning from architecture, and c) he happened to be the first to inquire. [This doesn't imply that we won’t address other similar questions].
But, choosing this question turned into a beautiful coincidence when Anik mentioned that he had met us just last year. Isn’t this the best? Our hearts simply melted.
Connecting with you beyond the digital realm and in person is what we aspire to achieve - be it through comics, newsletters, courses, workshops, publications, or any other medium.
We hope we get to do it all our lives!
Before we answer this week’s question we want to really thank everyone who submitted their queries. It is vulnerable and courageous, the act of questioning, and we are really surprised by how many of you took that chance. So, never stop asking questions because no question is a wrong one :)
Each week we pick one question from this form (where you can submit more questions) and answer them here (where you can read the answers). This week is the last week to submit your questions as we will be pausing for a while (the form, not the column) as we have too much of a pile to finish already.
See you with more advice next week. For this week’s advice, continue reading -
Aleksandra - Poland
What should I know as a future architecture student? How will the studies look like, will it be stressful, which laptop should I buy? Honestly, I just would like to get a better understanding of what is awaiting me. I am currently completing senior year of high school and have applied to architecture school. I am not considering any different course as architecture has been a dream of mine for a very long time. I would love to learn as much as possible about the studies before the beginning of a school year in order to feel prepared. If I know what to buy, what to study (e.g. Archicad, Revit or maybe some different programs), it will be easier for me to start my journey.
Hi Aleksandra! Greetings from India! Thank you for writing and submitting your question, and for the hearts – a special thanks.
Before delving into your question, we want to inform everyone that we followed up with Aleksandra for more details regarding her inquiry. What you see now is a combination of her original submission and additional details she provided via mail (an electronic mail, not through postal mail, as much as we wish it were).
We'd like to take this opportunity to share a bit about ourselves and how we found our way into architecture. (How selfish, haha, but trust us, it'll make sense).
Anuj pursued architecture because his father and other family members were architects.
Shreya, on the other hand, chose architecture because no one in her family was an architect.
That's it. That’s our story. Can you spot the similarity? Both of us were, let's say, a bit naive and didn't thoroughly consider our options. Architecture just seemed like the logical choice at the time. And so, we dove in.
However, we still loved every bit of it and wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again (even if we no longer practice architecture).
In your case, Aleksandra, you're already ahead of the game. Not necessarily ahead of your peers or people like us, but simply because you're exploring your interests. So, hats off to you for that.
On an unrelated note, when we selected your question, we were slightly scared that we might end up writing a column that reads like a "10 tips before starting architecture school" piece. You know, where they have usual advice like "activate your creative right brain hemisphere" or whatever. Before this column turns into a rant against those articles, let's just say that a) we genuinely hope this advice column doesn't resemble them and b) if it does, feel free to personally visit our studio and roast us.
However, perhaps this fear stems from the abundance of similar content out there. We're concerned that our response might not fully address your question, and that maybe, just maybe, those other articles will. Nevertheless, we'll give it our best shot.
So, about architecture school... Will it be stressful? Before diving into discussions about studies and subjects, it's crucial for you to consider the transition from senior year to a professional college. IT WON'T BE EASY. These two are entirely different worlds. Your study environment will change, your classroom will change...
…your room will slowly turn into mess.
Your friends will change, and even your city might change! While all of it is poetic, an experience of a lifetime, and a lot of fun, it can also be difficult to adjust to. I (Anuj) remember staring at a water tank outside my hostel window when I was away from home for the first time, enrolled in a very tough master's course at a very demanding college. That water tank was my only respite. And the only thing I was concerned about was how to cope with all the work. It was then that a senior told me that first, I had to focus on myself, be kind to myself, and follow my own pace to gradually adjust to everything around me. That advice was a game-changer because once I became comfortable, I could start seeing things clearly and eventually began to enjoy everything.
Once you've adjusted, you then can think about studies—how will they look?
We don't want to sugarcoat it; sometimes, yes, it can be stressful.
Also, we believe it's how we manage and work that determines whether it's stressful or not. Yes, the entire college might stay up all night before a jury to finish their sheets or whatever, but if you've worked consistently throughout the semester, managing your time, you won't have to resort to what our comics depict, or what sadly reflects the architecture culture.
But also, you can't blame anyone.
It's not that people don't like to sleep; it's just that design doesn't come to you between 9-10 AM or an hour before bed. Ideas can come anytime, anywhere, and that's one of the reasons for constant wakefulness. That said, sleep and time are truly your best friends. If you don’t want to end up with digestive issues post age 30, sleep on time! Yes, sometimes those all-nighters will be unavoidable, and some of them will also become great memories you’ll have with your friends—I remember this one time when my roommate asked me to wake her up in the middle of the night to complete her sheets, and when I did, she refused to wake up. So we made her a very strong green tea. The caffeine kept her up all night and the entire next day. We all laughed so hard and we still do. So yes, a few instances are fine, but making it a lifestyle choice is, in our opinion, a bad idea. For that, try to finish your work during studio hours because mentally, you function faster in a studio than at home, unless you have a really good setup at home. Try to set a limit on studio hours because soon, you'll realize they don’t have one, and you'll have to be the one to say, "THAT'S IT, I AM GOING HOME."
To manage your tasks, however clichéd, lists are a good friend (now apps like Notion and Trello can also help with efficiency), although a good sketchbook will never go out of style. Use tools that work for you.
Software. Great stuff. You should learn them as and when you feel comfortable and excited to learn. Yes, they are a great aid in making you efficient, your work more professional, and your ideas clearer. But know that they are and always will be an aid and will not replace the human mind. Think of them as the modern-day oven that helps a baker make 1000 more croissants, but having that oven does not mean that the baker does not have to focus on their baking skills. You are the baker; use your ovens wisely. Also, people make it out to be that software is the only thing that will take you ahead. It is not true. It is all about what will help you think better and work faster. The software is part of your many skill sets which, in combination with other skills, will make you holistically better as an architect. As far as what software you should learn, I think our answer is more tilted towards learning what interests you and what you will enjoy working with. If you are choosing Revit because that is what everyone is saying but you do not enjoy it at all, then you’ll be missing out on a lot in the quality of your work. And do not take hand work lightly. It is one of the best gifts to an architect; you should cherish it.
If you are reading this and can share what software you found interesting in your first year in architecture, please leave them in the comments.
Apart from this, our one piece of advice to everyone entering or pursuing architecture would be to not make this course your entire life. Yes, it requires immense passion and love, but there are other important aspects of life to consider - your partner, friends (outside of architecture), family, pets, fitness, hobbies, or even a sport you played in the year 1000 B.C. Try to consciously make time for at least one, if not all, of the above. Your life will be much better for it.
Also, engaging in these activities (aside from keeping you alive) will actually help you practice architecture better. They keep you creative and energized. Trust us, creativity and taking risks in student life are inversely proportional to the year you are in. Having conducted over 200+ workshops, we can confirm that first-year students often have the most fearless and original ideas and apart from them, students who are truly free.
And to truly be free, you must learn from everything. Learning doesn't just happen behind four walls; it occurs outside, as they say. While college will provide you with opportunities to travel, participate in workshops, and attend seminars, you can also take self-initiatives to engage in these activities. Not only will this help you broaden your architectural knowledge, but it will also allow you to discover allied passions such as photography, furniture making, painting, interest in structures, or writing... etc. These are gifts for life from your architecture education.
All these pursuits will shape you into a holistic designer, which is what we are before we are architects.
Most importantly, to benefit from this or any other course, never stop questioning. Questions are a human being’s best tool, even more so when you are an architect. There was a video that circulated a while back featuring a very famous self-taught builder and artist, Didi Contractor, who was invited to an architecture school in India. She wasn’t an architect but left a wonderful legacy of vernacular architecture to learn from. During her lecture at the college, she asked students to pose any questions they had - none of them did. She prompted them again, but still, nothing. Then, what she said is something that will stay with us forever. She encouraged them to question everything, the doors, the walls, literally everything! Because if you don’t question, how will you be curious? And if you are not curious, what kind of architect will you be? Sometimes, our education systems succeed in making us industry-ready or whatever the term may be, but they fail to nurture and cultivate basic traits that already exist, like questioning and critical thinking (or maybe it was our college, and we are just projecting). TLDR; don’t stop questioning, yourself, your peers, teachers, us, everything and everyone.
One last piece of advice (which might sound contradictory to the congratulatory message in the beginning), you can never be fully prepared. This is life, my child. And you can never be fully prepared for it (just felt like this is something a parent or an old person would say).
So, don’t overprepare; make checklists, but don’t worry if things go a little out of plan, enjoy what is coming to you, enjoy the process. The point is that if you are already asking all of these questions, you don’t have to worry about the answers. Rather, the questions themselves are significant. It means you are thinking. And you care. You will find answers along your way; do not worry.
We sincerely hope that this journey, from joining to graduation and beyond, is life-changing and truly enjoyable for you. We can't wait to see you on the other side, and maybe someday, even in person.
All the best Aleksandra! :)
💕
You may not need this, but still, stuff you can buy:
In our colleges, during orientation, our seniors gave us a list of things we needed to buy. It was overwhelming and expensive. But we bought everything, only to realize we didn’t need them all in the first year. They had pranked us.
A good drafting table for your home. This includes a good setup. A good workstation will always get you in the mood (to work ;) )
Laptop: Buy what is within your budget, with a good graphics card capable of running all your software and something that lasts you at least more than 3 years. If you have the budget and are interested in exploring iPads and sketching tablets like Wacom, you can consider buying those too. You can start with the basic ones and move up the ladder.
[Apple and Wacom, sponsor us :D]
A set of sketchbooks: One for observations/ideas/thoughts, one for lists, one for notes, one for feelings... you know what, just buy 100; you can never have enough sketchbooks. Don’t let anyone tell you they all have to be Moleskine.
[Moleskine, sponsor us :D]
A good set of stationery: Don’t splurge, but also don’t buy very low-quality ones. Set squares and T-scales fall down more often than you think, and it's very unsatisfactory! Buy lots of mechanical pencils just to irritate your professor (just kidding). Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to buy everything STAEDTLER.
[Staedtler, you should definitely sponsor us because all our pencils are from your company!]
Comfortable clothing so you don’t waste time dressing up. (THIS IS A JOKE!). Don’t let architecture take away colors from your wardrobe. Though, I (Anuj) would recommend buying emergency same colour T-shirts for your jury days ( I have over 10 black t-shirts).
You know, this is unconventional, but I (Shreya) would highly recommend a book (fictional/non-fictional) related or unrelated to architecture that can help you transition into the field. It's like a comfort blanket. I read a comic book 'Asterios Polyp' by American cartoonist David Mazzucchelli and later in school 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand. Even though I have to re-read them, it really helped me get into the world of architecture.
and a good pillow! :)
What else guys? Help Aleksandra know what things she can buy before entering college?
You can now support our work by buying our books from our travels in Kolkata, India, Dhaka, Bangladesh (twice in a row) and Mokpo, South Korea. Send us an email at info@leewardists.com or DM us on instagram or message us here to buy them! We ship worldwide.
What are some things should Aleksandra buy before she enters architecture?
Feel free to approach architecture graduates who are planning to sell/ give off their stationary & materials (eg: drafting & art equipments, sheets, architecture books)!