ShmoopTube

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smell architect a la shmoop Elizabeth lives here right [woman on front door of a large house next to a sky scraper]

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next door to her is a 55 storey skyscraper

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okay so the urban design planner assigned to her Street and a little

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haywire well but let's take a look for a second Elizabeth and her next-door

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neighbor well they couldn't be more different really Elizabeth just one [wide view of house and sky scraper]

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person while the skyscraper houses over 200 companies and thousands of employees

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Elizabeth lives at her place everyone in the skyscraper merely works at theirs [people working in offices]

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well Elizabeth doesn't really have to worry about low-flying aircraft in the

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skyscraper does and yet they have one thing very much in common both of their

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structures were designed by who's that poker players neurosurgeons lawyers

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architects yeah that well yeah granted they were [architects at sunset]

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designed by two very different types of architects the architect who designs a

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single-family dwelling and the one who designs a high-rise building have about

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as much in common as a neurosurgeon and a pediatrician but yeah whether we're

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talking a single-story residential abode a towering skyscraper a large industrial [pictures of different structures]

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complex a football stadium or some over-the-top artsy concert hall well it

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originated in the mind of an architect which if we're talking about the guy who

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designed this monstrosity is probably a scary place well then you can break each [hammer breaks screen]

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of these things down even further there are two major elements to Architecture

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functionality and artistry well you may have heard about the whole left brain

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right thing yeah well where the left side of your brain controls all your [brain in space]

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cognitive thought language logic all that good stuff the right side handles

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all the emotions and creative thought well for most careers you really just

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need to excel at one of those if you're a doctor your brains left hemisphere had

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better be firing on all cylinders and if you're a pianist well it's the right

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hemisphere that should be you know hitting all the high notes but an

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architect well they need to use their entire brain when it comes to designing [architect using both sides of brain]

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a building there's a staggering amount of math needed

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aside from merely having all the dimensions of the walls ceilings and

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floors determined within fractions of an inch [modern building]

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you'll also have to know enough about physics to decide whether this structure

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of yours is gonna sway too much in the wind or buckle in earth

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but at the same time architecture is art visit the Duomo in st. Mark's Square in

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Italy or the Taj Mahal in India and try telling yourself that these are just

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places people can go to you know hang out from the rain entering one of these

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magnificent structures can be aw inspiring and even life-changing and it

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doesn't need to be some wonder of the ancient world to blow you away either

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the Sydney Opera House finished construction in 1973 the Lotus Temple in [Sydney Opera House]

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New Delhi was finished in 1986 even this place has a you know certain charm to it

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because yeah even a modest privately owned home can be a work of art like [modern home]

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look what a difference crown molding can make check out what a difference it can

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make having an open-concept kitchen as

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opposed to one that's you know small and closed off like backroom and McDonald's [comparison of a large and small kitchen]

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well this might be an unusual place to put bookshelves but it must work for

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somebody know whenever there are creative choices to be made art can be [man contemplating tiny house toy]

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created long story short you've got to be a particular type of person to excel

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as an architect you have to have a lot going on upstairs you know in both

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bedrooms okay so why let's move on what's involved ie how do you become one

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of these architect people well assuming you've got both the creativity and brain

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power required you'll need to put in a lot of time in order to get where you

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want to be you'll need to start by getting your Bachelor of architecture [diploma framed on wall]

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degree usually a five-year program less than you'd need to become a neurosurgeon

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but more than you'd need to run a Waffle House and keep in mind if you're set on

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designing big important commercial buildings rather than just sticking to [modern city scape]

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residential you can plan on at least another three to four years of school

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you'll have to spend time learning the craft learning how to convey depth

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learning how to you know sharpen a pencil how to draw in both physical and

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virtual mediums and yeah you'll need to master CAD or computer-aided drafting [virtual mediums for architecture]

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software so that you won't actually need that pencil very much all right and then

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you'll need to master newer design software where you can practically see

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the finished product in all its glory in 3D before it's even built then you'll [house in 3D]

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need to learn about building codes like all of them and [building code books on table]

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then maybe you can get your license and then you can wait

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usually for quite a few years as you in turn then work your way up from the

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bottom kind of like one of those elevators you'll be designing because

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yeah this isn't the kind of thing where you can jump in on day one scribble some

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rough plans and get a construction company to well you know make your [baby on a conference table]

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vision a reality as with the film industry and the Mafia

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you'll need to put in your time well once your ship finally comes in though

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you can make some awfully nice Bank the average salary for an architect is

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around seventy three K but there are opportunities to make vastly more money

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than that if you can survive the lean years when you're trying to survive on

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ramen noodles and 35 grand or less you can make in the 60 grand range as an

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associate and then into six figures once you've mastered the craft and built

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yourself a book of clients and you can make millions after that if you end up

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being really really good well in general a firm will receive 10% of whatever the

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build cost is for providing architecture services it was just you

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well you'll keep that 10% but if you split the work with four other

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architects while you'll split the pay - leaving you just a skosh over two

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percent of the build cost but yeah if you're designing a $500,000 construction

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project and you're the sole architect well you'll pocket 50 grand roughly for

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whether that work and it's worthwhile to note that many architects also hire an

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interior design firm to handle things like lighting placement color schemes

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flooring materials and so on and their fees come out of that 50k but their hope

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is to upsell the owner into buying furniture through them as an interior [architects on construction site]

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decorator where you know they can make some serious money commissions and all

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that all right well are you joining an architectural firm or going it alone

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because yeah that makes a difference if you're building homes that are part of a

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large new development it might be you and a team of 11 other architects

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banging out the plans for 150 residences and then just moving on to the next

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project if it's custom home it'll take longer to design require more creativity

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and ingenuity and mean more money in your pocket than what you'd make for one

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of those hundred fifty cookie cutter houses or you might be designing bridges [arial of suburbia]

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or military buildings or airports or nuclear holocaust bunkers for paranoid

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Wall Street investment bankers yeah the range of projects and potential income

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is design a premier high-rise in New York

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City well you'll be getting a fat check for millions just don't expect to retire

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on what you make from designing this thing there are a couple other reasons [run-down shack]

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you might want to go the architect route aside from dollar signs the one thing [money falling down]

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you're helping to create something of value

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someone will live work and play in the building you design ever moved out of a [family hugging]

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home and felt genuinely sentimental about leaving it behind and we're

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talking just a pile of wood and drywall and get a home can burrow its way into

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your heart so in a sense you're not just building housing you're building

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memories also the artist half of you is gonna feel an incredible sense of [people on construction site]

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achievement every time you get to watch something go from blue lines on a piece

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of paper to a structure that towers over people's head most other artists can't

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say the same their work can you know hang on a wall or fit on a shelf but

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yours would need a literal wrecking ball to take it down as for the actual

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process of architecting well you'll generally start by being commissioned to

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design a specific project either by an individual or by the firm you work for

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you'll work closely with the client to make sure the plans fit their needs

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probably less closely if your name is Frank Gehry and you've already

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established yourself as a genius whose train of thought shouldn't be

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interrupted but yeah you'll have to kiss some derriere the client is boss you

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might have a vision for the most butt-kicking building in the world but

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if the client doesn't want a gazebo on top of their jewelry shop well then

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you'll have to go back to the drawing board

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then once construction begins you'll work just as closely with a construction

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team to ensure that everything is going according to plan

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and that they haven't decided to you know do something weird like put

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plumbing in a clothing closet as automation and Technology chug ahead you [closet opens]

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might find yourself losing out on some jobs like well it might only be robots

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designing boring tract housing in the coming years but for anything that

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requires creativity the human brain both the right and left side of it still

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reign supreme so good architects will be in demand for a long time to come put in

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time vote yourself passionately to the craft and you should have the blueprint

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for a promising future

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