Architecture Courses

Architecture courses are ideal if you are you someone who wants to work in the rewarding, creative field of Architecture. The role of the architect is to design and co­ordinate building projects, from an extension to a house, to a complete housing estate or office block, based on a budget and brief that has been supplied by the client.

What You’ll Be Working On

Architects are those who decide the physical appearance of a project, advise on materials to use and the feasibility of client’s demands. Plans are designed, approved by both sides, at which stage contracts are drawn up and planning permission is sought.

The architect will usually assist the client in selecting a building contractor, and it is the contractor who co-ordinates all the workers on the site to construct the building. The architect continues to advise the client, supplies additional design information if needed and checks the work from time to time to make sure that it is being built per the plans until the whole job is complete. There are many skills involved in architectural work, including technological know-how, visual awareness, design ability, and the ability to interpret the client’s ideas for the building and translate them into something tangible.

Architects work for themselves quite often, sometimes they work on contract, so they must also be able to manage their business affairs and if necessary juggle several jobs at the same time. Because their work can usually be seen from the outside, it is the highest-profile in the public’s mind – when a building looks well, the architect is applauded, but when it looks awful, the architect will probably find that it’s the only piece of work he’s done that everyone knows and talks about!

Architectural Technology

Architectural technicians use computer software like Computer-Aided Design -CADto prepare drawings. They make models or do research work. There are five IT courses available, all with high entry points, which reflects the popularity of these courses and good employment opportunities. None of these courses, however, is a short cut to architecture. DIT will recognise a fully qualified technician and allow them to be exempt from one year of their Architects degree.

Learning the Skills

Only the five undergraduate qualifications in architecture are currently legally recognised in the Republic of Ireland by the RIAI. Once you’ve completed a degree, you must obtain at least two years of approved postgraduate professional training, then complete an examination in professional practice specified by the RIAI.

Accuracy and neatness in your presentation are extremely important in architecture, as are drawing skills, but these are increasingly easier to obtain with the aid of computers. An interest in visual arts would be an advantage both in college and working life but is not essential. College is the time to experiment without budget restraints, as you may not get the time or opportunity to do so once working.

Skills & Attributes

The skills and attributes you will develop while studying architecture include:

• Visual awareness.
• Good drawing and visualisation skills.
• Able to work as part of a team.
• Able to discuss, share and effectively convey your ideas.
• Interest in people and sociology.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Business management skills.
• Good personal organization.
• CAD (computer-aided design) skills essential.

What Can I Do With It?

Graduates of architecture will need to seek some years work within a practise to gain experience before opening upon their own.

Many architects still advise that time spent abroad, assimilating other countries’ culture and architecture, can be a very good thing to bring with you when you come to work in Ireland. There is also the opportunity for architects in practices to carry out private work in their own time.

There are several different architecture courses available in many different universities across Ireland. Find an architecture course near you at courses.ie