An Architect can come in many different forms, that is the beauty of architecture. There is broad and vast opportunity to become who you want to be in the industry. Shape the world you live in by understanding the world you live in!
The more architecture the better, which means paying attention to new projects, methods, materials, software, and the overall direction of the industry. Always have a sense of the direction of the industry by reading architecture magazines, books, and blogs (like this one right here!). Take your own photos of the world around you and pick out what you see. It is always important to continue training your eye and part of that training is seeing how the greats looked for the right photo or technique or material for their vision. Just look over the beautiful work that Koolhaas, Hadid, Foster, Ando, Ingles, H&M, Fujimoto, Eisseman, and many other incredible talents do. The Architecture world covers fashion, interior, sculpture, and more.
Again… you must balance the scientific with the artistic! So always keep your drawing and eye fine tuned. Go to those artistic workshops in your community or if you work from home take some time to take in art from other sources that are not architect focused. By combining and fusing ideas from other disciplines we can find new ways of solving crucial societal issues.
It is the intersection of so many talents and perspectives that have their hands in scientific method and the artistic method. Art encapsulates human emotion, and one of the most powerful is pain. Hope also provides humans with the power and vision to help their fellow humans in a time of need. Volunteer your time as a leader at your firm and encourage your counterparts to join in. Try and provide value in your community and think of ways to assist organizations that are providing shelter to those with no home or medical facilities for agencies that are in crucial need now.
Koolhaas stated that, «Architecture is a dangerous mixture of omnipotence and impotence … Incoherence and chance is what sustains the career of all architects. They are faced with arbitrary requests and parameters that they do not establish in countries that they hardly know about issues which they are vaguely aware, and they are expected to solve problems that have been shown to be unsolvable for much better trained brains.»
