r/architecturestudent

Hey i want to learn Revit and rendering on photoshop like a pro I know very basic things on photoshop. So I want the best tips on how to learn Revit from 0 and how to render on photoshop. If any of you would like to share their experiences that would be greatly appreciated!

is it weird to make an internship at the age of 26 after a bachelor in architecture and before a master in architecture after realizing iam missing the practical part and the relation to the craft itself? like do you guys think its useful to make an intern maybe for 3-4 months before my archi masters maybe at the carpenter? or would you rather recommend working in a bureau? i feel like i can still do that besides or after my archi studies and i‘ll still work long enough in a bureau and never get this practical experience myself .. what do you guys think?;) thankful, for every opinion and own experience maybe😅☺️

As the title indicates, what elements of this degree work do you wish you’d known? I want to hear the good and the bad. If you’d known these things would you have ventured on to another path? If so…what were your other options? And, now that you know more about it…what is making you stay (or leave it for that matter)?

I honestly don’t even know if this is a rant or me asking for advice or just me losing it a little.

I’m in architecture school and lately I feel like I’m drowning. I used to genuinely love architecture, or at least what I thought architecture was. I liked design, buildings, space, ideas, all of it. But now I feel like I’m constantly overwhelmed and falling behind no matter what I do.

I ended up dropping some classes because the pressure got so bad and I just couldn’t keep up anymore. And ever since then I’ve just felt… embarrassed? guilty? disappointed in myself? all of the above probably.

The worst part is watching everyone else around me seemingly manage it. People pulling all-nighters, presenting good projects, improving, somehow surviving studio culture while I feel like I’m barely holding things together. I know social comparison is bad and everyone struggles in their own way, but it genuinely feels like everyone else knows what they’re doing and I’m the only one secretly panicking and falling apart.

I overthink EVERYTHING too. Every design move, every jury comment, every critique, every presentation. I’ll spend so much time inside my own head second-guessing myself that I end up feeling paralyzed. Then I see other people confidently explaining their concepts and I start thinking maybe I’m just not built for this.

And the thing is… I actually care. A lot. I WANT to be good at architecture. I care about design. I care about cities, buildings, spaces, ideas. That’s what makes this hurt more honestly. Because if I didn’t care, maybe it wouldn’t feel this crushing.

Lately it’s also started messing with me mentally in a way I didn’t expect. I feel stressed almost constantly, anxious even when I’m not working, mentally exhausted all the time. I’ve started having really bad thoughts about myself, doubting myself nonstop, feeling hopeless sometimes, feeling like I’m failing at something everyone else can somehow handle. It’s like architecture school followed me into my head and now I can’t switch it off.

Some days I genuinely sit there wondering if architecture just isn’t for me and if I only liked the romanticized version of it before actually living the reality of studio deadlines, juries, revisions, pressure, sleep deprivation, and constantly feeling like your work (and somehow your worth) is being judged.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m being dramatic. Maybe I’m burnt out. Maybe I’m not cut out for this. I genuinely can’t tell anymore.

Has anyone else gone through this in architecture school? Did you fall behind, drop classes, or start questioning everything? Did it get better or was that your sign to walk away?

I just want honest advice from people who’ve actually been through it because right now I feel really lost.

I desperately need to add more to my portfolio because it’s bare right now.

What do you recommend I add?

My freshman and sophomore year “projects” were a joke, I do not even want to include them. However there goes two years of work for my portfolio to waste.

I was thinking of looking into joining a competition to start a new project for my portfolio. But what else can I add? I have about two solid projects currently but that does not seem to be enough.

My college did not teach us how to build a portfolio or what to include!! Feeling lost on where to start / go.

*If this is important at all*
*I would like to work for a design-build firm. A larger company or a smaller company, doesn’t matter to me. I am very interested in mixed use design and affordable housing/multi family housing.*

Lately, everything has been burning me out. Already in 5th year this coming school year and I feel like I am not good enough to keep up.

Not to be a braggart, but I've been awarded every year for my performance, consistently in drafting (sometimes in presentation). I've been known to help other students in terms of using cad and sketchup softwares. Not for an ego boost, I just think If I could, Why not?

So much so that the professors in the dept. Sponsored me for a summer school for revit official certification because the thought they don't have any more to teach me in sketchup and autocad.

Regardless of these achievements, I still feel underserving. One of the reasons is that most of my classmates got hired as student interns by firms and have "real-world" experience ( i think). And I feel like i'm still the same person when I started.

Now that 5th year is coming, This "achiever facade" that I have is slowly melting mostly because of thesis. I'm not scared of thesis itself, but rather what I could bring to the table. I'm hoping for an impactfull topic this year.

A professional 3D visualization created for a high-end residential project in Switzerland. The focus was on achieving a perfect balance between soft morning light and realistic material textures, such as wood grain and fabric simulations.

You can view this project in high quality on Behance:https://www.behance.net/gallery/248211859/The-Serene-Suite-High-End-Residential-Rendering

Technical Details Software: 3ds Max, Corona Render

#3dsmax #interiordesign #rendering #cgi #visualization #bedroom #4k #furniture #switzerland #archviz #photorealism

https://preview.redd.it/r83xshcwby1h1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4707e099ec8b44abca894a5751fb029f595346e

https://preview.redd.it/abwjkhcwby1h1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e080433ece73dc43837517b706e66b63166deda

I’m a junior architectural designer preparing for interviews at firms that seem more technical/construction-focused, and I’m struggling a bit with how to walk through portfolio projects.

My instinct is usually to explain the reasoning behind spatial decisions, materials, circulation, lighting, etc., but I worry that comes across as too academic or conceptual.

At the same time, because I’m still junior-level, I don’t have huge stories about solving major construction/site issues. Most of my experience has been in modelling, documentation, coordination, permit drawings, and design development support.

Another thing I’m unsure about is how much of my portfolio I’m actually expected to present in an interview. How can I structure my portfolio presentation to cover the necessary information for each project? Should I just focus on the scope, my role, and general design choices?

there are so many people at my school complaining about getting no internship for this summer.

these people also only applied to big firms. i know a lot of us want our “day in the life of a gensler intern 😍” moment and want to wear our office siren pinterest board in a cute office with our wired headphones in the city, but those positions are so competitive in this cooked job market right now. like apply to other smaller companies, experience is experience.

hi all, I'm a big time architecture enthusiast stuck in an IT environment. I want to pursue my passion for architecture and I'm totally a noobie. I want a software where I could try out different floor plans and be better. could yall suggest a nice one? I know AutoCad but ig its paid. I want a free one to work out.

ps: any tips for a newbie who wishes to pursue Architecture sometime would be super helpful. tia! 🫶🏼

Hi,

I am wondering if anyone here could share a little advice or experience if they've done the same, or know anyone who has done similarly --

I got a degree in Urban Studies in 2020 which has proved utterly inapplicable to what I've spent the past 5 years doing for work, for better or worse! I work as a registrar and archivist with artists in New York City, which is at times rewarding and fun and at the higher end can be somewhat well paid. I am desperate for a change of career and would like to do something that is ultimately a bit more meaningful and relevant to my interests and undergraduate studies.

While my degree was indeed not a 5 year architecture degree, it did include 4 semesters of optional architecture design studios which ended up being pretty involved and rigorous. I have a great bit of design work for a portfolio and I'd say better than average Rhino skills for someone without a technical degree in this field. I've spoken with a former professor (an architect who I also worked for as a research assistant) who was very supportive and encouraging while I was at college and told me many times over that she thinks I ought to apply for masters programs and that she'd be happy to help me assemble an application. She was excited to learn that I was reconsidering applications and had lots of thoughtful advice re: schools to consider, cost of living realities, timeline, etc.

If I applied to programs, I'd be starting a MArch at 30 years old after about a decade of unrelated work. I'd finish at 33, spend 2-4 years working in an entry level position before licensure, become licensed around 35-37, 40 at latest.

My ideal career and work life balance would mirror that of the professors I had in undergrad; principal or partner at a small firm and the ability to teach college students.

The way I see it, I'm several years late, and would be spending more of my working life earning a low salary vs. continuing down my current path towards a career which I find ultimately, deeply unsatisfying and has little room for growth beyond lateral changes. Any advice would be very greatly appreciated with regards to my timeline, the odds of this working out, what practical disadvantages I might be overlooking with coming to the field later than most, etc. Also, I understand that MArch students skew older; how late am I to the degree, really?

Thanks so much!