architecture (1 Viewer)

[pri]

hey guys and gals
if any ppl out there are doing architecture at any uni could u post some info about ur opinion of the course (in that uni) and the workload. I want architecture at usyd, but I want to make sure this is the right decision...

any info is much appreciated!!

 

[johnson]

i did first year architecture this year, at uts
..i'm transferring to cofa next year to do fine arts or digital arts. architecture is extremely creatively restrictive, so don't do it if you want lots of creative freedom.

uts is good because it's only 2 days a week first year, and 1 day/1 night a week second and third years. gives you time to do your assignments and have a social life as well as get a part time job. usyd, however, is 4.5 days a week. but it has excellent resources; uts has shit all.

the workload is heaps hard, and hectic, and be prepared to have a huge workload for the entire 5 years of the course and also when you get a job.
if you got mroe specific q's feel free to email me. irapegoats@hotmail.com

 

[sei]

although I can't really comment on it, don't forget to consider UNSW as well. I only know a few students from the B.Arch there, but they seem very happy with it. Presumably, a UNSW Architecture degree would hold more weight than a UTS one.

 

[johnson]

not necessarily..
uts might not have the resources, but it has quite good design tutors, and has extremely strong industry links.

honestly i think the whole "which uni is a better uni" is quite overrated. it really only matters if you want to start a career overseas, and the prospective employers are as naive and ignorant as those students who disregard certain uni's because "they heard it's shit".

 

[jlh]

uh actually UTS has a better arch program than UNSW and USYD! well so i've been told!! and its much more recognised because of UTS's ties to the industry, the program is much more practical and updated!

 

[johnson]

haha jlh
that is all true, but unfortunately the truly gay thing is that we have jackshit when it comes to resources. not even drawing tables for frig's sake..

what i like about usyd is that they have an art studio- the tin sheds gallery, where you can do funky art electives

 

[pri]

Originally posted by johnson
architecture is extremely creatively restrictive, so don't do it if you want lots of creative freedom.

do they tell u what to do and all? or is it just lack of opportunity to design?

 

[johnson]

no no
heaps of opportunity to design
and yeah they give you a brief and it's up to you to do what you want with it
the problem is like money, safety, client's wants etc. a lot of factors which restrict creative freedom

 

[pri]

ooh I c, and is the course difficult, as in is it very hard to get a D average?

 

[johnson]

i can only tell you about uts,
but yes it's extremely hard to get a d average. uts offers a range of subjects, there's always the core design subject (which is so hard to do well in, and you have to prepare yourself for really harsh design crits where they knock you down, pick you up and knock you down again and again. but this happens everywhere in the world so i'm told..)

then you have the technology strand, where you learn about construction, structures, sustainable architecture, climatic design. it's only easy to do well in these if you've got a head for science

and the theory/history strand where you learn about the history of architecture from the pyramids to the modernism era. you also learn a bit of criticism and generally if you turn up to the lectures, listen, and like to read things..you'll easily get a D.

 

[woogie]

a few months later.....


ok Im in an arch degree at usyd now, and thinkin of transferrin to UTS. if n e one could tell me about the resources at UTS and y they are so craap please tell me, i mean i never considered sydneys resources to be thaaat fantabulous since they are either under construction or unusable...and our design studios suck! i mean crappy drawing tables and really noisy room thats impossible to design in. the lecturers need to go back to lecturer school too!

any comments about uts or unsw? how do they teach design practise, is it precedent, brief---> design? do u actually get model making lessons? are the tutors over conceptual? Is the computing well taught? and what progs?

 

[johnson]

woogie, which year are u in?

i'm in second year at uts at the mo. and if you think usyd resources are crap, at least you have resources to bitch about. we don't even have design studios, our 'design studios' are our kitchen benches, bedroom floors, etc.

and yes, isn't most design taught as precedent, brief--> design? there doesn't seem to be any other way really. we get model making classes for one semester in year 1, but that's it. the tutors are all different and come from heaps diff backgrounds, so its hard to generalise them. and as with modelmaking, we are only taught computing in first year for 1 semester, vectorworks. i have nfi how to use archicad or autocad...

 

[pri]

hey this is woogie, or rather my account (i accidently posted under my sisters)

Im in first year arch,

I just thought about transferrin to UTS coz I thought there were more opps for work ex. I dont really want to make a mistake of switching unis and then hating that uni more. Im just not impressed by the rather disorganised course at sydney, and want to kno if UTS has interesting lecturers/well structured course.

What I really want to kno is, is there any reason not to go to uts? or does any one kno how usyd is regarded by employers? from the impression i get , UTS and UNSW are more well received, but I just want to really kno why. and how on earth does UTS fit the degree in 2 days a week? I kno at usyd we waste soooooooo much time doing jack all, but what about the tech/history lectures, i thought they would be maajor time crunchers. are the lecturers for technology/science and history interesting/helpful?

at usyd they either dont turn up, dont care or are fucking boring. We very occasionally get an architect give a talk, but thats happened twice.

I kno the debate for UTS is that it has 'bad' resources, but i mean i think if u have computer labs and a tool workshop ur set coz at usyd not many use the studio as the drafting tables are old and pasteboard covered.

 

[pri]

what i like about usyd is that they have an art studio- the tin sheds gallery, where you can do funky art electives

actually the tin sheds are now defunct...but i kno uts people can do our art electives if they wish

 

[pri]

oh sorry for the multitude of questions, im in a confused faze

and thanks to Johnson and friends (no pun intended!) for answering any queries!

 

[johnson]

hmmmmm
that's interesting what you say about usyd, i've always thought that you guys were better off but now i'm not so sure. our teachers are VERY dedicated, and probably 95% of them work as architects or are in the industry in some form or way. we don't get very much design time, only 3 hours a week- that is probably our biggest problem. a lot of learning is independent learning, like going out and researching stuff yourself..but i guess that's expected anyway.

i guess uts graduates are better received because they have so much work experience. i'm in year 2 now, and most of my peers have jobs in architectural offices already. this is 'cos we go to uni only 1.5 days a week- i have 12 hours of uni on wednesday, 9am-9pm, and on monday nights we have design from 5-9.

i'd have to say that structures is taught really badly at uts, but constructions is good as is theory. we really only learn history in year 1, after that it's all theory. anotehr good thing about uts is you get the chance to do electives with students from other design disciplines like interior design, fashion, industrial, etc.

i think that's probably the biggest plus about uts, all the lecturers and tutors are architects themselves and are therefore extremely passionate about teaching us. we don't have a tool studio by the way, all we have are computer labs...and what happened to the tin sheds gallery, that was so cool!

 

[pri]

wow that is helpful thanks a lot man!

from what I can see u guys just get more crammed days like the killer wednesdays, which works really coz at usyd we only really use one hour of our 6 hour design studio class as the tutor wasstes a lotta time talking, and students generally talk to their peers.

Structures is in my opinion is the best taught at usyd, only because the lecturer actually gives useful notes and we teach ourselves from books what we dont kno..or ask friends.

How did people at uts manage to get jobs at arch firms without much knowledge/experience? was it just admin stuff?

 

[johnson]

really, you guys generally only use such little of your time as actual studio time?? that sucks! beacuse we only have a few hours a week, we really get stuck into it and it's almost 3 hours straight of design crit..it's quite good.

do you guys have any professional practice subjects? which teaches you things like office management and architecture + the law and documentation and stuff like that? we started doing that this year, it's quite useful because they say that design is only about 5% of the architectural business..the rest is all contracts and documentation and construction.

and yes of course we aren't architects straight off..! generally people just start to do office shit and general CAD work (for those with tafe experience) and some times if u are really talented, they will let you do some design work/model making

 

[pri]

yeh studio time really is wasted, partly coz its still first year so half of us are not really sure what we are doing. And the tutor often doesnt kno either coz we also have architects for tutors, but many of them are either quite young ( a whole lot graduated in 2002) or the architects are tooo busy to really care. while i like the brutal honestly (which is on occasion very cutting when uve put hours of thought and work into a design) it helps us detach from our work.

We havent got office practise/doco lessons yet, and I dont think its covered till 3rd/4th year. Law and prof practise is def not covered till 4th year. Their aim is not really for us to work yet , which is a bastard, but emphasis is more on buildin up knowledge and design experience in the first 3 years. Which works i gues but does not get employment. And even if u wanted employment, the hours are just not viable for it. currently i get wednesdays off only, and being first year not many offices have jobs around my timetable.

Havin sed that its not alll awful, for construction on monday we took a walk around pyrmont/broadway/lindfield to examine different construction types in diff buildings. I thought that was fun, bludgy but fun.

Im more concerned about my emplyability at the end of 3 years, coz peeps in my degree who get jobs during uni are usually ones with contacts like family/friends who are architects givin em jobs.

its funny u say design is only 5% coz they never mentioned that and design is all we do . at sydney the first degree is the bachelor of design. then b arch

 

[johnson]

pri, do you know a design tutor called hannah tribe? i've had her last semester and this semester, she's great, and she told us that she teaches some USYD and UNSW kids too.

when i was applying for uni and all that, i actually got into usyd, and i decided to change and go to uts because i thought that i wanted to work straight away. looking back, i think that i regret that, because my life is totally not a student life at all..because i have so much time on my hands, i took up a job where i work 5-6 days a week (at a nursing home ) and its the same for everyone in my class- we don't feel like uni students as we are at uni only 1.5 days a week.

but, if getting a foot in the industry early is your priority, then uts is good 'cos we learn professional practice in years 2, 3 and 5, which is great in helping us have a basic understanding of an architectural firm and all that jazz.

when i say that design is 5%, i didn't mean in school, i meant in the industry..at school, design is 110% of our course, but in reality, what we've been told from our [non-design] teachers and also students who work in firms, is that design is a small part of architecture, albeit an integral part