So what to do this summer… before I head back to uni in September for my final year! This is the first summer since leaving secondary school that I have no plans in the form of work, holiday or leisure. I have part-time casual work at the pub down the road but nothing serious. I have tried to get an architectural job for the summer but sadly not hear from any practices. Looking back I should have tried to contact practices a lot earlier to beat the competition.
So I don’t end up being a bum all summer I have given myself some ‘summer resolutions’ to keep me busy, learn new skills and also to have something to look back on. This will be a summer of self-learning and reflection so I am refreshed for the last year of my masters.
1. Enter a competition – I have found a couple that will be interesting to do over the summer and in particular I am looking at the RIBA’s ‘Housing in the Private Rental Market’ which is open to all. Seems quite interesting and will roll smoothly with the design concepts I built up with my Lijnbaan project for IARD.
2. Photography Skills – We have a nice camera at home (Canon 550D) and I have always wanted to learn more about photography and just generally how to use an SLR! So this summer I plan on making some mini projects which will hopefully introduce me to the settings and technics.
3. New Software – This one I have been meaning to do for awhile. I have always wanted to learn Revit and with Management, Practice and Law being heavily based on BIM in year 1 of the course I have the theory and knowledge. 3DS Max seems to be very popular at Brookes and the graphics and the opportunities the programme provides give even an amateur like be an added skill in the form of representation.
4. Read – I read quite a lot anyway but like summer when I was travelling I want to devote some of my reading time to further my knowledge in architecture. I particular enjoyed the reading during the first semester on people and anthropology so want to branch out further.
5. Blog – The main aim of the blog is of course to share my ideas, concepts and design but it is also to improve my written work. Writing is a pet-hate of mine; a task which I normally try and avoid! Writing blogs over the summer will give me the opportunity to write about things of interest to me and ties in well with the reading which will no doubt become a collaboration.
I will of course update of my progress over the summer with my blog and in turn, will give me boost to achieving my resolutions and keep me in check!