Industry
Fact-checked

At AboutMechanics, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

How do I Become a Contemporary Architect?

Klaus Strasser
Klaus Strasser

Contemporary architecture is a term used to summarize the designing of a great diversity of modern buildings and structures. To become a contemporary architect, you need to complete your education in architecture and have a passion for design within a context that is both exciting and dynamic. A contemporary architect is like an explorer of various forms, developing new ideas while also thinking about how they fit within a greater aesthetic space.

To become a contemporary architect, you will have to be accepted to an architecture program at an accredited institution. When looking for such a school, it is important that it have both a good faculty and a history of post-graduate achievement. This will increase your chances of securing a job after you have finished your studies. Architecture studios look for graduates from established schools to fill out positions within their firms.

A contemporary architect designs and plans modern buildings and structures.
A contemporary architect designs and plans modern buildings and structures.

If the architecture school you select also offers internship programs, this is a tremendous opportunity to practice your talent in a professional setting. It will help you learn on the job, while putting you in contact with your architectural peers. This can provide motivation and helps in the generation of new ideas. It is also possible to look for an internship before you graduate, as this will increase your chances of vocational success.

The style of contemporary architecture is quite varied.
The style of contemporary architecture is quite varied.

The prerequisite talents to become a contemporary architect are some drawing skills, a knack for planning, an interest in sciences, and a great imagination that is able to adapt to particular challenges. It is critical to have a familiarity with computers and various computer programs such as computer designed aid and drafting (CADD), as digital design work is the common tool for most contemporary architecture. A knowledge of the tradition and history of architecture will also put you on the right path in terms of developing new ideas and understanding your projects within a greater framework.

Drawing skills and a knack for planning are necessary to become a contemporary architect.
Drawing skills and a knack for planning are necessary to become a contemporary architect.

The scope of contemporary architecture includes a wide range of different type of edifices and objects. This means that within contemporary architecture you may work on such projects as landscape architecture, church architecture, project architecture, or residential architecture. Each type of architecture provides its own unique challenges, but also its own opportunities for exploration.

Architects are expected to have a familiarity with Computer Aided Design & Drafting, or CADD, software, as well as an understanding of traditional building design.
Architects are expected to have a familiarity with Computer Aided Design & Drafting, or CADD, software, as well as an understanding of traditional building design.

The intriguing point about contemporary architecture is that it is radical and open in its aims and approach. While you can integrate influences from the traditional style, you can simultaneously let your imagination expand the design of different structures. To become a contemporary architect requires that you balance this knowledge of traditional and modern architectural forms with your imagination in order to produce innovative projects.

Discuss this Article

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • A contemporary architect designs and plans modern buildings and structures.
      By: goodluz
      A contemporary architect designs and plans modern buildings and structures.
    • The style of contemporary architecture is quite varied.
      By: Alexander Svensson
      The style of contemporary architecture is quite varied.
    • Drawing skills and a knack for planning are necessary to become a contemporary architect.
      By: Rido
      Drawing skills and a knack for planning are necessary to become a contemporary architect.
    • Architects are expected to have a familiarity with Computer Aided Design & Drafting, or CADD, software, as well as an understanding of traditional building design.
      By: peshkova
      Architects are expected to have a familiarity with Computer Aided Design & Drafting, or CADD, software, as well as an understanding of traditional building design.