When most people think of an architect, they just think of someone who designs homes and other types of structures. As this may be true, architecture is so much more than just a pretty aesthetic presentation. It encompasses, yet far surpasses simple elements of design as it factors in human behavior, economics, geography and many other crucial challenges. All of these elements combine to create a functional form.
I like to think of architecture as a problem solving tool. When a client approaches you and presents you with a site to design on, they are ultimately presenting you with a set of challenges that you as an architect need to overcome. The site for instance requires a certain amount of occupancy, needs to meet a specific budget, has to work with the surrounding environment, and has to be completed by a set date. These, along with many other criteria are all things that the architect needs to think about simultaneously.
The many years of schooling and practical experience ultimately trains the architect’s brain to be able to process all of this data and dissect it into much smaller and easily digestible fragments. Without this ability, it will be sheer chaos as there are way too many factors to keep track of. As the experience of the architect grows, so does his ability to be manage all of these factors in a somewhat auto-pilot fashion. He no longer is waiting for one thing to complete in order to move onto the next, and can start multitasking different projects into his daily workflow.
This ability to dissect a problem into smaller fragments allows the architect to come up with a plan of action. If at any point the architect chooses to abandon their career for something else, these skills are essential and can easily carry over. The ability to systematically break down large scale problems into smaller fragments is an extremely valuable skill desirable in any industry. So next time there is a large problem you need to overcome, make sure you have an architect as a friend.
