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As someone with an architecture degree working in software, I'll say that the education of an architect is such a great part of the experience. You get a lot of

As someone with an architecture degree working in software, I'll say that the education of an architect is such a great part of the experience. You get a lot of freedom to experiment and think creatively about problems, whether it's in design studio or a structures class. I recommend the education to anyone who will listen. I appreciate autodidacts and there are many things I've taught myself (software engineering being one of those things). But, I am glad this article does not disavow education. Too often, articles like these try to highlight anomalies where people are successful despite no formal higher education and I think that sends the wrong message.

gwbas1c 6y ago
> I recommend the education to anyone who will listen. I think the point is a reality check on the value of education and the burden of education debt. Education is wonderful; and I value mine. I just don't recommend it when the consequence is crippling debt.
scsilver 6y ago
As someone who loves the built environment but went into software, do you have any resources to explore architecture fundamentals? Any path to follow to grow on those fundamentals? I have a Arch 101 in from college under my belt.
- polygotdomain 6y ago
  As software engineer with two architecture degrees, oddly enough, I can't really give a basic path for fundamentals. The reasons why boil down to architecture being something that is both functional and aesthetic, purposeful and monumental, with a wide range of directions, trends, movements, and motivations. Then there's the act of actual building which is an endeavor in and of itself. My advice would be to start with a piece or several pieces of architecture and research the architect behind them. Explore more of their work along with other architects of a similar style or within the same movement (i.e. Le Corbosier and Mies Van der Rohe). Look at earlier buildings in their careers and compare them to later work and try to see what changed and why. Architecture doesn't happen in a vacuum and typically has rather reactionary elements to it, so what are those. Repeat this process with different architects or movements, and invariably you'll find a lot to explore. Lastly, Architecture is experiential, and it's tough to simply look at drawings and understand space. Two of my favorite buildings are thousands of miles and thousands of years apart; the Pantheon in Rome, and the Seattle Public Library by Rem Koolhaas. The reason why I love both buildings is that there is nothing that comes close to being in those spaces. Regardless of the the design, methodology, aesthetic, or history of either building, the space evokes something. That's a meandering non-answer, but that's my take on it.
- galfarragem 6y ago
  > Any path to follow to grow fundamentals? Architect here also.. I'm realising that we not that rare in HN.. I would say that learning architecture is a bit like learning chess. To grow fundamentals you need time to study the basic moves, general strategies and specific tactics. A good mentor helps a lot. Computer languages are a good analogy for styles. You have battle tested styles, like Java or C++, that you are sure will do the job but they don't excite anyone anymore. Then you have Haskell or Clojure or Rust.. To have an idea where the Architecture fringe stands nowadays, look at my blogs [0][1], specially the one on architectural drawings. Stuff there had won or can be a basis to win prizes. I believe that for a layman it's not an easy task to understand why most drawings there are interesting like it's not understandable for a layman what makes a piece of code/software great. It takes years to fully understand all the nuances in a field of thought. [0] https://archimodels.info https://archimodels.info [1] https://archidrawings.tumblr.com https://archidrawings.tumblr.com
  - boldslogan 6y ago
    I liked the models as it was easier to see the building than a 2d image. Do you have any links to the model plus writing accompanying the model. Preferably written by the architect? It seems famous architects always sell their models in a really expensive coffee table book.
    - galfarragem 6y ago
      These blogs are targeted on architecture students and practitioners, it's a bit like a collection of gists. "Readme" was intentionally stripped, only the raw code is there. Try archdaily.com.

gwbas1c 6y ago

> I recommend the education to anyone who will listen. I think the point is a reality check on the value of education and the burden of education debt. Education is wonderful; and I value mine. I just don't recommend it when the consequence is crippling debt.

scsilver 6y ago

As someone who loves the built environment but went into software, do you have any resources to explore architecture fundamentals? Any path to follow to grow on those fundamentals? I have a Arch 101 in from college under my belt.

polygotdomain 6y ago
As software engineer with two architecture degrees, oddly enough, I can't really give a basic path for fundamentals. The reasons why boil down to architecture being something that is both functional and aesthetic, purposeful and monumental, with a wide range of directions, trends, movements, and motivations. Then there's the act of actual building which is an endeavor in and of itself. My advice would be to start with a piece or several pieces of architecture and research the architect behind them. Explore more of their work along with other architects of a similar style or within the same movement (i.e. Le Corbosier and Mies Van der Rohe). Look at earlier buildings in their careers and compare them to later work and try to see what changed and why. Architecture doesn't happen in a vacuum and typically has rather reactionary elements to it, so what are those. Repeat this process with different architects or movements, and invariably you'll find a lot to explore. Lastly, Architecture is experiential, and it's tough to simply look at drawings and understand space. Two of my favorite buildings are thousands of miles and thousands of years apart; the Pantheon in Rome, and the Seattle Public Library by Rem Koolhaas. The reason why I love both buildings is that there is nothing that comes close to being in those spaces. Regardless of the the design, methodology, aesthetic, or history of either building, the space evokes something. That's a meandering non-answer, but that's my take on it.
galfarragem 6y ago
> Any path to follow to grow fundamentals? Architect here also.. I'm realising that we not that rare in HN.. I would say that learning architecture is a bit like learning chess. To grow fundamentals you need time to study the basic moves, general strategies and specific tactics. A good mentor helps a lot. Computer languages are a good analogy for styles. You have battle tested styles, like Java or C++, that you are sure will do the job but they don't excite anyone anymore. Then you have Haskell or Clojure or Rust.. To have an idea where the Architecture fringe stands nowadays, look at my blogs [0][1], specially the one on architectural drawings. Stuff there had won or can be a basis to win prizes. I believe that for a layman it's not an easy task to understand why most drawings there are interesting like it's not understandable for a layman what makes a piece of code/software great. It takes years to fully understand all the nuances in a field of thought. [0] https://archimodels.info https://archimodels.info [1] https://archidrawings.tumblr.com https://archidrawings.tumblr.com
- boldslogan 6y ago
  I liked the models as it was easier to see the building than a 2d image. Do you have any links to the model plus writing accompanying the model. Preferably written by the architect? It seems famous architects always sell their models in a really expensive coffee table book.
  - galfarragem 6y ago
    These blogs are targeted on architecture students and practitioners, it's a bit like a collection of gists. "Readme" was intentionally stripped, only the raw code is there. Try archdaily.com.