My journey to a BSc in Architecture wasn’t as straight as you might have imagined.
On the infamous A-level results day - 13th August (ritually a Thursday every. single. year.) The day that ends the two years of suffering… for some.
I did not get my first choice which in hindsight wasn’t as bad as I had made it out to be.
Long story short, instead of the course I had chosen, they (who will not be named) offered me an alternative from Architecture, Architectural Technology because my grades matched the requirements of that course and not the course I was initially offered a place for.
At first it was a blow to my ego (obviously… I’d be lying if I said it didn’t). After all, I wanted the best grades I could possibly get and that was a clear indication, my grades weren’t good enough. It had kinda felt like someone had slammed a door shut to the place I was about to go in. It kinda felt like heart break…just a little bit.
What was I supposed to do now?
Just take the alternative because I wanted to be at this prestigious university or take on my second choice which had offered me a hug instead of a door slam to my face regardless of my grades?
What was scary was that I almost made the mistake of doing the course that I had no clue about. So what is Architectural Technology? I still to this day haven’t got a clear picture but all I could remember was that it had exams in the course and I was so done with exams. I had to make a decision. Fast. So google was my first line of call. And what I quickly came to realise was that there was loads of other Architectural degree’s out there. Interior Architecture being one of them. As much as it would be easy to say they are the same, they are not.
So what is Interior Architecture? And what is Architectural Technology, you may ask?
You don’t learn the same things. Here me out it’ll make more sense as I explain myself. You see with Architecture to complete Part 1, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and has a specification and standard that caters for the curriculum architecture students need to follow throughout the country. The same is true for Interior Architecture and Architectural Technology. They have different governing (I don’t think that is the right word but we’ll go with it anyway) boards that specify that they will learn a different curriculum that is more tailored to a specific part of architecture . So there you have it. And the same applies to Interior Design as well. They are parts (vital and interesting on there own, not any less than architecture is so don’t underestimate its role in the professional environment) of architecture.
So why was I hesitant about deciding on doing something other than Architecture?
I did not want to be specific just yet. I wanted to get to know Architecture in its whole form so that I didn’t have a pre-destined route for what part of architecture I liked. But to be entirely honest, I wanted to be an Architect and taking a degree other than one which RIBA and ARB accredited would have made my journey unnecessarily more expensive - for me.
So if you have your heart set out on an architectural degree (that is accredited by the RIBA and ARB) and didn’t have the opportunity like I did, I wouldn’t negate any of these other courses. What matters is if it feels right for you, regardless of what anyone says. And by getting an architectural degree doesn’t equate to being an architect if that isn’t what interests you. So if you don’t want to be an architect and these other courses are of interest go for them. Just be wary of the accreditation, that is the tick of assurance that will allow you to get to a career that interests you, whether architecture or otherwise. We - interior architects, architectural technologists and architects tend to work alongside each other so don’t think that it doesn’t allow you to get work because it will.
However, if you end up taking courses other than Architecture and find it’s not right for you at the end of your three years, you can still become an architect. It will mean having to contact the board and filling an application form and individual fee to ensure that you can continue to Part 2 (If you haven’t done Part 1 etc). I’m not going to make some guarantees because I don’t work for either of the boards but it is very much assessed on an individual basis
But remember where there’s a will, there is a way.
I’m not going to pretend like I know everything but there are some great official sources from the accreditation boards themselves which I’ll link below for more info.
https://www.architecture.com/join-riba/individual-chartered-membership
(further down this page it gets a bit more specific)
How to find schools and institutions in the UK that are prescribed by the ARB:
http://www.arb.org.uk/student-information/schools-institutions-architecture/
http://www.arb.org.uk/student-information/practical-training-requirements/
Hopefully some of these links are helpful, but may be tailored more so for those who get the gist of the process of becoming a qualified architect in the UK.
If you have any other useful tips, advise or opinions about this discussion, would appreciate if you comment down below! Would be lovely to hear what I could have missed from this discussion that might help others too.