Grades only matter in uni within the academic environment and up to getting you first job. Better grades probably open the doors to financial aid in form of grants and awards or (at least for me) the best GPAs had first pick of the design studios. Sometimes grades might be a reflection that you are not learning what you should, they should serve as a wake-up call to reflect on your chosen degree and the level of engagement required which ultimately might indicate how much you like the career path you have chosen.
Its tough to respond to this in a vacuum. I would speak to the professors to get some feedback of why you are not getting better grades. Remember you will get out of college whatever effort and passion you put into it.
“Failing doesn’t make us a failure. But not trying to do better, to be better, does make us fools.” ~ Wes Moore
Consider the new ways in which the public is visiting cultural institutions. The National Endowment for the Arts recently revealed that 73 percent of Americans who visit art museums are doing so first and foremost to meet a friend or family member, and only secondarily to visit the art.
An example of this new emphasis is the Tate Modern’s Switch House wing, completed in 2016 in London. It is 60 percent bigger than the original building, but 40 percent of the space in the Herzog & de Meuron addition is consigned not to the exhibition of art (in this building, exclusively performance art) but to cafés, theaters, and other areas for social interaction.
Here are some examples of projects in Asia that have natural ventilation as their main program to different extents and using different technologies to improve their indoor air quality:
The Rockefeller Foundation has tasked 100 cities, many of which are capital cities, to build greater resilience and a more inclusive economy. Cities are resilient when they are ‘united’. Inspired by ‘The Blazing World’ by Margaret Cavendish the Duchess of Newcastle, the 1666 novel follows a heroine who discovers a world where diversity and inventions work harmoniously together; the knowledge of which she would later transfer to save her homeland, the United Kingdom.
The thesis employs this hypothetical premise to ask ‘how can Britain be a truly united kingdom?’ and ‘what is the re-imagined role of capital cities to suggest new urban cohesive typologies’. ‘Cohesion’, the new capital city of the United Kingdom is located at the centre of the British Isles – the Isle of Man. It is the speculative driver and investigative model to cultivate accessibility, green sustainability and compassion. The narrative aims to re-unite an arguably broken Britain in the 21st century, providing for the disenfranchised generation within the UK and the increasing dislocated global communities. While the UK’s Parliament performs as the head of foreign policies, the Queen is the champion of national unity.
If you are looking for ways to improve yourself I would respond very simply: rest, travel, and get back to other interests outside of architecture.
If you are looking for ways to improve as an architect I would respond:
Work - Find a job for the summer related to architecture, nothing will teach you more about the profession that spending some time working in a firm.
Learn a new software - Create new renderings from your favorite project or redo the plans and sections with time to spare, your portfolio will thank you later.
Sketch - visit buildings, urban centers, museums or any structures near you and sketch not only the basic organization and form but details like brick courses and window trims.
Abel Chan Arce aka Polygonatic is a concept / 3D artist, motion & graphic designer from Philippines. He is combining different techniques and experiments to achieve desired and industry standard results and learn from the process.
