DESCRIPTION:
Jesse goes behind the scenes with Sophie Giles to find out what being an Architect is all about.
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What does it take to become an Architect?

Architects use creativity and a practical understanding of structures and materials to develop concepts, plans, specifications and detailed drawings for buildings and other structures. They negotiate with builders and planning authorities, administer building contracts and inspect work that has been carried out.

Sophie reveals how Architects do so much more than just design houses, and describes the steps required to become an Architect.

Transcript
Architecture is used for more things than just building a house. It's in this building, in your phone, even down at the park.

Did you know that the Sims video game was initially designed as an architecture simulator? Why have i told you this unnecessary fact? Because today we're talking to an architect and if you've ever played Lego or The Sims then maybe you have the artistic design and flair to be an architect and today we're gonna find out.

Today we've come to the University of Western Australia to talk to Sophie Giles and architecture lecture to get the lowdown on what it's like to be an architect.

Jesse what would you like to know?

Well I want to know what's involved with being an architect. I am an architect I'm a registered architect and I practice, but i'm also teach architecture associate dean in the Faculty of architecture landscape and visual arts at UWA so I have a number of roles and that but i'm not a typical architect. You're a busy person.

So can you take me through a typical day for you and also what it would be like for an architect?

For me a normal day would be teaching students, the typical architect who doesn't take would be involved in probably a number of scales of project so small scale projects, possibly drawing designing details, working on-site fielding calls from contractors on site working in large teams, large projects either likely or around the world.

So it's not just sitting down and designing houses it's a lot more involved? I think sometimes architects wish they could just sit down in one spot and design all day architects are generally covering a whole lot of different scales of project at the same time. Sitting down to draw would be a luxury.

Is that why you became an architect?

I particularly was engaged by the sort of sense of being out to make spaces that people could be in, hang out in but when I was wanting to be an architect I didn't know all of the kind of richness that actually involves now and wonderful first year students come in thinking they're going to kind of come out be able to design a house and then when they come out they can design so many things. They can design cars and can design objects they can think about whole master planning and urban planning. Is that the best thing about being an architect?

What's the hardest thing about being an architect?

The hardest part is reconciling your client expectations and also your own expectations about time and budget. Trying to produce a really quality piece of work for yourself but also for your clients.

I mean is there much work out there for architecture the moment? I think there's it's a really varying wave and particularly in this boom state it seems really connected to the amount of money that the state has. Here there's less work currently for architecture compared to European nations at the moment but there's always working in the realm of design.

And so someone wanted to become an architect what is the one piece of advice you would give?

I think it's really about kind of immersing themselves within the realm of design and so it's not just the design of buildings but very much the design of kind of environments and furniture, clothes products, yeah just immersing oneself within that in that realm.

First question, what characteristics does someone need to be and architect?

I think very much the creativity and also the kind of science base the ability to hold a number of different aspects in their head at once.

Whether their pragmatic and creative aspects of being able to put a deal with them at the same time. And if you could end up where you are today but do one thing differently, that would that be? Probably spend more time communicating with clients throughout the building process.

And from school to today what are the steps you need to take to become an architect?

You need to go to a university which teaches architecture and you need to do a three year undergraduate degree, then you move into your master of architecture then you work in an office for a number of years, then when you feel you have enough experience and scale of contracts to then take your architecture accreditation exams which actually very difficult exams but once passing that then you become a registered architect.