In this season of graduations and new beginnings, I want to offer my two cents’ worth to the youth who want to embark on architecture as a career. I hope some will be encouraged to undertake the challenge and reap the harvest; perhaps others will find that their passion lies elsewhere.
PASSION
Architecture must be your passion. One thing great about being passionate with your work is that you could easily give your best doing what you like. As they say, choose a job that you enjoy and you will never work for the rest of your life. You must consider architecture, construction and design, enjoyable and fulfilling, not merely a glamorous or available option. In addition, it comes with a built-in opportunity to serve. There is nothing better than enjoying your work, earning from it, and being able to help others in the process.
SERVICE
Architecture is service. Architects do not design or build out of whim. Unlike musicians or painters who can practice their craft solely for their own enjoyment, this gift is meant to be a service for others. Unfortunately, this simple fact is often overlooked. Now that materialism abounds, a lot of actions can be motivated by the wrong reasons. Media and advertising have dictated how our lifestyle should be. Life has become more complicated. Some people live beyond their means. I have heard of people who own several luxury cars but borrow the money to send their children to school. Some spend on grand tours and cruises then pressure themselves later at work to be able to pay their debts. Some own huge houses yet work themselves to death, robbing their families of quality time, just to be able to pay the monthly amortization and maintenance. Still others would splurge on expensive cell phones or other gadgets they do not really need.
Such a lifestyle has a direct effect on our attitude and our practice. It brings our focus on ourselves and not on others. Our actions can become self serving. One might be driven by a lust for pride, fame, and money. The name of the game becomes accumulating more at the quickest possible time because, sadly, society often measures success by what one has materially, not by what you are as a person.
RESPONSIBILITY
Architecture is a great responsibility. It coincides with the power to decide and affect lives. This responsibility extends beyond those who commissioned and paid for the job. The ultimate responsibility is to the greater majority, including those in the next generation. If we limit our responsibility and loyalty only to our clients, then we are no better than hired guns.
You may be asked to design a project that will have adverse implications on the surrounding community or gravely affect the environment. It is one’s responsibility to steer the clients toward a win-win situation. You may be asked to specify sub-standard materials which may affect safety just to fit a budget and increase the developer’s profit. Even if you are directly under their payroll, you must remain strong and do what is right.
There are many other skills and qualifications you would need to become an architect. Many of these can be learned. But there are others that require a deeper conviction, a stronger base. Those are the most significant but often untold qualifications to becoming a good architect.
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