I could have gone a year ago but I liked it so much – and I hope they liked me – that I decided to stay on for an extra year after my Part One placement, the second stage of my journey that I hope will one day see me become a bona fide architect.
Barring those professions where you are entrusted with removing body parts, there is no training quite like that of an architect.
After becoming interested in design while studying A-level art and geography, I decided to take an architecture degree at Portsmouth – when the sun shines in Portsmouth you could be in the Costa Del Sol. Oh and the course also has a great reputation!
By the end of the first day it was clear that pretty much every preconception I had about architecture would need revisiting. I will never forget our fantastic tutor pulled out a pomegranate, cut it open and spilled the seeds all over the desk and said “this is architecture”. Maybe it was the freedom of expression or the bravery of her madness but since then I’ve been hooked.
To legally call yourself an architect you must do a minimum of seven years training. However, the reality is that an architect qualifying today will have taken 10 years and they may have done some part time and some full time depending on their employment opportunities and ultimately their financial situation.
