Why Architecture?

Why Architecture?

It's a question that is asked all too often to me. 

When I was young and told people I wanted to be an architect.

Now, while I am majoring in architecture.

In a variety of different ways when filling out college applications some three years ago.

So, why architecture indeed. Why should I pursue a profession that lacks job security and is completely depended on the housing market and the growth of economy and population? Why not engineering? Or some form of medicine? 

It's because for us that truly love architecture, us who have a drive to design and innovate, the money is not our goal, neither is the fame, the bragging rights or anything along those lines. 

It's because it's born in us.

If we're lucky we find out at a young age that we have this knack and gift for wanting to design. To take our thoughts of what should be and putting it to paper, to then hopefully seeing one day that going from paper to reality. 

It's a true beauty to think that an idea in our heads can exist as a reality not only for us, but for everyone, in a very permanent way, a building. 

For me I fell in love with architecture at the age of either nine or ten, I cannot recall exactly. However, I do remember the exact place the this love affair began. It was while I was on vacation with my family in Florida, after spending a spell at Walt Disney World we had the tradition of heading out to my paternal grandparents home located along the Gulf Coast of Florida. They lived near the City of Sarasota. In this city is a home located right along the water's edge that once belonged to the head of Ringling Brother's Circus: John Ringling. The house was the Ca' d'Zan.

I was young and in love....with architecture.

It was only a day visit but I could not get this place out of my head. We drove back to my grandparent's that evening and in my head gears began to fire up that have yet to stop turing. These were the gears of creative thinking and the dream of architecture. Earlier that trip I bought a Mickey Mouse sketchbook, that book soon was filled with floor plans before I truly knew what a floor plan was. I had a copy from the Ca' d'Zan of the floor plans there I studied them over, and over and over again, and again until I began to understand how a house worked. Of course, being a kid I only wanted to draw large mansion type houses, not unlike this beautiful home. 

As time slowly went on it became known amongst my elementary school and junior high classmates that I wanted to be an architect. I kept a book about architecture with me at all times, and at times annoyed people by talking about it too much. 

When I was in 8th grade I remember my dad informing me that Google had this software available for free that was a 3D software. This was my chance at 14 to slowly start getting more serious about architecture, or in the least go from drawing on graph paper to using a computer. I installed it on my desktop and quickly took off with it. All my models in the start were quiet crude, but as high school came along I began to slowly get more and more into doing detailed models. Finally! I was able to show the world what was cooking in my mind, from houses, to towers to entire cities, this software allowed me to open the door from my mind to the entire world. 

Here are some of the models that I have produced using Google Sketchup. Keep in mind I was in high school when all of these were done.

Some say Sketchup is a toy and does not allow for good work. I say they just do not know it's full capabilities.

As high school went on I had to get quiet serious with my future. Time came to start to apply to colleges. To think what am I going to do in life? I guess it's a question that we all have to ask at some point in our lives, where time of pretend has to end and reality must begin. Luckily, for me the pretend of my childhood could grow to be my reality. I knew for about 8 years by that point that I wanted to be an architect. I had been reading the books, studying the greats and practicing my own craft that whole time. However, the question was: where to go? For me the question was easy. I wanted to attend the Illinois Institute of Technology. I knew it for Mies, Chicago, being the best in the area and one of the best overall and the school my grandfather attended in the past. My fear was, that I was not smart enough, academically, to get into the university. I figured that I did not have what it took to get in just on my passion and talent. I applied in December of 2010. I would worry constantly thinking; "what if I don't get in anywhere?" and "I can't get into IIT, that guy said they want to see a 27 on the ACT, I don't have a 27." Needless to say I was worried, this was the moment in my life to see if I could be given the chance to start turning my dream into my actual life! Not many people really have that chance in life. 

Well, January came and went, and still nothing. Then there was one day in February, a rainy, grey, overall bad day. I arrived home and before I could put my keys in the front door my mom opened it and stood there with this think envelope the the red letters spelling out: "WELCOME." That is one of the happiest moments in my life. At that moment I knew that here is the start of my chance to grow from a kid who fell in love with a house while on vacation and turn that passion into a career and a whole life.

That passion for architecture never truly burned out in me, and it still has not. I know it never will.

So, now I guess I'm here, at IIT. It is an unbelievable challenge. I remember the first day of studio. Since then so many have fallen. We all thought that we were good enough and willing enough to endear the challenge that is studio and architecture school. Many have fallen, but now at this point in my life those of us that are still here is an amazing collection of talent. 

It use to be is your project good or bad. Now the question is: how good is your project?

At least that's how it feels. I mean to say that producing good work is the bare minimum expected of us. 

I complain about it more than I should, but I have to remind myself that I once was a kid sitting at the kitchen table crying while practicing my spelling words wishing I could be doing architecture and now here I am, with having assignments that literally are to design and create. 

I truly love every minute of it. 

So I guess, why architecture?

Because it is who I am. 

It's what I am meant to do. There's simply nothing else out there.

I love it. I don't care if I am never remembered for it. It's what I know I am to do, and I wake up everyday to be apart of it.