<p>hi everyone! i am a junior thinking and planning my portfolio for applying to school with a major in architecture. </p>
<p>if i designed and built a boat (an actual kayak or row boat) annd used it in my portfolio (as they are asking to show your aptitude in design, 3d visual skills as well as creativity) would that make my portfolio stand out a lot? i have the oppurtunity to make my own boat in the winter at school and i would like to knoe if that may make my portfolio stand out a little more....</p>
<p>yes or no? what do you think is the best way to divide your portfolio between different mediums?</p>
<p>If you actually BUILT the boat (as opposed to just made theoretical drawings for it), and it floats and all, I would say go ahead and include it because really, who builds boats? ;) What they are generally looking for is that you are creative in some way, and that you have ideas...the more technical things like whether you are good at drafting and whether your ideas are architectural ideas are what you're going to school to learn. My portfolio was mostly drawings and paintings and things that I'd done in art class over the years, photocopied nicely and stuck in a binderish thing.</p>
<p>I worked in the admissions office at my school and although they don't require a portfolio some kids send them anyway. A lot of them will send along drawings of their 'dream house' or some other house that they designed, and honestly they are all really really terrible. Unless you are absolutely sure you know what you're doing, stay away from this because it actually might end up being detrimental - it's harder to unteach something than it is to teach it in the first place.</p>
<p>I'll tell you who builds boats: USC second year architecture students build boats, and race them, every year!</p>
<p>I say put it in as long as you've actually designed it and crafted it. What I mean is, if it is copied from every other kayak you've ever seen, don't bother. If you took time to make it nice (or outlandish, that's can be fun, too), then it shows what you're about. </p>
<p>I've seen a lot of those 'dream house's, and the worst ones, in my opinion, are the ones that take no chances, that are just an excercise in drafting and/or 3D modeling, and end up being McMansions. Remember in all your portfolio pieces that while craft is a nice thing, it's not the point of the thing.</p>
<p>haha im not drafting or making a dream house. i dont really feel like showcasing my "architectural" talent when i hae never been instructed, and so obviously it wont impress them. its funny how obvious that seems and yet people do it.</p>
<p>as for the boat thing, here is a link to the site at my school. </p>
<p><a href="http://bsn.net/rkmp/boatbuilding/index.htm%5B/url%5D">http://bsn.net/rkmp/boatbuilding/index.htm</a></p>
<p>its fun. the boats are made of lots of different woods: cherry, oak, cedar, and mahogeny.</p>
<p>and yes they float and you can use them. they are real traditional boats. the teacher is a furniture maker so he has experience. </p>
<p>thus far, for my portfolio, im going to cornell summer college for architecture and im going to make models and have sketches there. im sewing a dress and painting my own pattern/design for it, plus i have photos, paintings, digital art and sketches. sketches of architecture from around my home area and...thats it.</p>
<p>do you think the boat and the other things together sounds good? or at least, a little more interesting and not as cliched? </p>
<p>thanks for the input you already gave as well!</p>
<p>Actually the worst dream houses I saw were the ones that had 5-foot-wide hallways in one area, 2-foot-wide hallways in another, 6'x20' bedrooms, bathrooms that you wouldn't actually be able to fit fixtures in or move around, staircases that are 8 feet too long, etc. After seeing those, if I'd come across something that looked like it was from a generic suburban development I'd be mighty impressed. If you're going to try to design a whole house at least start by measuring your own doorways or something, sheesh.</p>
<p>Having a variety of stuff for your portfolio would definitely make it more interesting, I would think. I'm not exactly an expert on that because only one of my schools required a portfolio and mine wasn't terribly impressive, but I don't see a reason why it wouldn't be true. Especially the stuff like boat building and patternmaking/sewing shows that you can design in 3D and think about the same thing in both 2D and 3D formats, which is good. Really, architecture takes a lot of different design skills so the more you have, the better off you are. Just don't send off a 100-page portfolio or they'll be tempted not to look through all of it...pick the absolute best things.</p>
<p>well the portfolios that i need to submit for have a max of 20 pages/works</p>
<p>i think ill submit 18 or 17, a good number</p>
<p>yea i thought that maybe going a little different from the others for like 2 works is a nice idea. from what i have heard in some schools, like the ones i will be looking at, the portfolio can mean admitted or denied. </p>
<p>thanks for the help!</p>