Let's begin with a prompt from your studio instructor:
You have 15 minutes: Design a new hospital for lung cancer patients. Go!
What would you do? Student 1 spends 15 minutes making one design. Student 2 quickly makes five different designs, picks the best one, and shows two runner-ups that have potential. Student 2 will beat Student 1 every single time. Why?
The Best Architecture Students know that quality is the result of quantity. In other words, it is better to quickly try five ideas than to slowly try one idea. Trying multiple ideas gives you the chance to compare them, pick the best from each idea, and then produce a super idea. You will know more about what works and what doesn't work for your project than someone who showed one option. Best of all, when you can show people proof of the ideas that didn't work, it makes your final project that actually works even more convincing. It's like telling someone a metal fork in a microwave is a bad idea vs. showing them your burned-down house after you actually tried it. Much more convincing.
Again, quality is a product of quantity. The more times you can (1) Imagine, (2) Create, and (3) Revise your design, the better your final design will be. It's such a simple recipe for success that you would think everyone does it. You would be right about steps 1 and 3, but most architecture students skip step 2. They imagine ideas and skip right to revising and even rejecting the idea before they ever create it. To the rest of the world, the idea never existed.
This is the biggest divide between the Best and the rest. You have to get your ideas out of your head and into the real world for others to experience. For someone to even be able to say that you have the best project, they have to be able to experience it. Sketches, scale models, renderings, and written descriptions; all of these things are ways architecture students create their ideas so that others can experience them. Now tell me something:
Do you think the best design is one that stayed in someone's head all semester and came out at the final presentation -OR- one that has been shown to people 15 times throughout the semester, each time receiving feedback and evolving into something better?
Getting your ideas in front of people is a hack. They give you fresh ideas and new perspectives. They point out obvious things that you missed because you're too into the details of your project. Even if their suggestions suck, they will help you realize that you're already on the right path and sometimes that's all you need. You get to use their knowledge, ideas, and brainpower to better your project. The best part is that you ultimately make the design decisions, so it's still your project and you get all the credit. So why don't architecture students do it more often? There are two reasons.
Reason one: Fear. A lot of designers see their ideas as part of themself, so when their idea gets criticized, they take it personally. It's vulnerable to show your thoughts to someone else and let them criticize them. But, if you want to be the best, it's absolutely necessary for rapid growth and improvement.
Reason Two: Inefficient design process. This is much easier to fix. Remember at the beginning of this article when Student 2 created five ideas in 15 minutes? To do that, you need tools that can keep up with your brain. Making a perfect scale model takes way longer than making a quick sketch. Sketch with a pen instead of a pencil and eraser, it will force you to commit and keep going. Use paper, scissors, and tape for quick concept models instead of chipboard and glue. Add color quickly with markers instead of paint or colored pencils. Use trace paper to draw over your original idea to quickly explore different options.
Remember, the best architecture students are the ones who produce the best designs. The best designs come from the most reps in the design process: (1) Imagine, (2) Create, (3) Revise (repeat) Don't skip step two. Get your ideas out quickly by using a more efficient design process and getting over the fear of your ideas being judged. If you consistently do these things, you will achieve your potential as an architecture student and designer faster than you ever thought you could.
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