From the Eyes of an Architecture Student: Has being in Architecture School Brought on Odd Habits?

Hi everyone!

I’m back again this week to write about this week’s topic: Odd Habits (acquired from Architecture School?).

So, “odd habits,” what does she mean? you must be thinking.

Well, I say “odd habits” in reference to habits that you may call bad or just downright strange, or maybe they’re just neutrally necessary habits. They’re really just small, amusing things that I realize I notice on a daily basis, or I “step back” to see the big picture and realize they’re things I pretty much only see within my studio setting, or even just the art and architecture building (aka AAB) in general.

1. Whenever there’s (free) food present at an event, we tend to bud in, or even just walk near the region to see if we can snag some, even if we did not RSVP etc… #brokedesignstudents #spendentirewalletonprojects
2. We really wish free printing (of all sizes and media honestly) was a thing. Like, c’mon, we pay for all our supplies and materials for ourselves (yes, even desk lamps and mini heaters as necessary), yet, whenever we need to print something, either the nearest printer(s) are down or printing to them ends up being a rip-off because we’ve worked SO hard to produce the best images in their best resolution quality and then the printer is just jacked-up and has stripes of pink (yes, randomly) per page… just 🙁 is my reaction, along with the feeling that my wallet has an unfix-able hole in it
3. There’s only one media center store in this whole facility… and unfortunately, not the most accessible in all of its destinations. So we’ll often find ourselves in awkward situations where we either have to carry large materials (along with food sometimes if we’re extra lazy and refuse to make an extra trip down to the store) long distance, and if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to safely transport that material all the way back to our desks without running into anyone we know or getting any scuffs or marks and fingerprints on the materials we just emptied our wallets over.
4. We get used to overpriced everything, really. Materials are claimed as “discounted” but honestly, it’s just a dollar or two cheaper. The food there isn’t unaffordable, but it’s also not a good deal… they have both unhealthy and healthy selections to cater to both preferences, but prices are still (mostly) more expensive than what you could find on a regular basis at U-Go’s or Mujo’s at the Dude. The main reason why people still constantly buy food there is mostly out of convenience, willingness to pay that extra two dollars to keep from having to do a twenty minute run to the Dude.
5. Seeing people fall asleep in class(es) or Studio in general is no shocker. Honestly, everyone here has different lifestyles. Some people pretty much don’t sleep and somehow still look alive. Others barely scrape by with three hours. Others are even as lucky to get five hours of sleep daily on average, and then we all pass out on the weekends (figure of speech).
6. We don’t got time for #basic scissors. We’ve become accustomed to the perfection and definitive cut via Olfa knives. Need to cut some paper? Olfa. Need to chop some wood strips? Olfa. Struggling to open that bag of gummy worms? Olfa. We will do this anywhere and everywhere. (Yes, I have a collection of Olfa’s.)
7. We become natural hoarders and scavengers. We agree with the statement, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” even if we don’t explicitly say so. We regularly check-out the dumps for extra materials, and proudly take them back to our desks to incorporate them into our projects, or even preserve for other future projects. I tend to find myself reluctant to dispose of past material scraps “just in case” I’ll need it again. I think we’ve all experienced that moment in the past when we’ve discarded scraps and then realized a while later that we needed that material again, but not too much of it, and end up totally regretting the fact that we ever discarded anything. Legit, all of us have these boxes under our desks filled with materials of all shapes, sizes, and textures.
8. Everyone here dresses stylishly. Maybe not STAMPS level, but there’s definitely the “designer look” going around. Whether it’s all-black apparel ensembles, or high-waisted, perfect-fitting pants, I’m not sure what it is but everyone here has no problem expressing their uniqueness through both their work and appearances.
9. The lingo we use to describe our work, I often find also is the same manner in which we see the world and talk with others even to those who are not also in design school. It’s a mindset I guess. Or maybe it’s just still something we all need to learn as designers, to be able to effectively communicate between disciplines using the appropriate language.
10. The professors often expect much more from us, but also are very understanding and diplomatic with deadlines if we all unite and discuss things with them beforehand, After all, this whole school is dependent on shared spaces, and that often is reflected to classes’ professors being aware of each others’ topics and assignment deadlines.

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Honestly, the list could go on, but I must get back to grappling with my current project now.

Anyhow, I hope ya’ll found these as amusing as I did! Or maybe you might even learned a thing or two about the harsh reality of design students and their (likely) odd lifestyles. Let me know what you think 🙂

Ciao for now 🙂