<p>I am a non-architecture non-studio arts undergraduate (my actual degree lies in Accounting and psychology) and am busy compiling a portfolio for application to graduate school. I have posted it online, and would love to hear some opinions from some of you out there regarding content, length, etc. I have several other projects I could include, but the current length is as is simply because one of the schools I am applying to has a 15 page restriction. </p>
<p>Like I said before, I have other drawings and projects I could include, if the length seems too short.</p>
<p>I am applying to the University of Minnesota, the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin, Columbia University, Pratt Institute, and SCI-Arc. </p>
<p>My undergraduate GPA is a 3.85, and my GRE score was 1410 (800 Quant, 610 Verb). I have also done some independent research into environmental psychology in relation to architecture, and plan on including this in the application process.</p>
<p>Any advice and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Also, if anyone could accurately gauge my chances of getting into any of the schools, that would be appreciated to.</p>
<p>I like your work. I would suggest a couple of other things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Check out a school's web site. Some may want different stuff of more drawings from observation.</p></li>
<li><p>You should have a bit more color pieces</p></li>
<li><p>Have at least one piece that uses time in motion. Such as the steps in cleaning a violin or flipping a coin.</p></li>
<li><p>One or two drawings of outside surroundings such as buildings, plants etc.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I feel that the 'enter' pages (forwards and backwards) are superfluous. If they are meant to be art, they will be taken more seriously without the text, and if they are just gratuitous graphic, I'd take them out. </p>
<p>I don't know about the others, but you seem a bit too down-to-earth for SCI-Arc.</p>
<p>Could you elaborate a little on the time in motion example? Sounds very interesting, and may be something I mightbe able to expand on. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>My daughter had a piece like this. She had 6 drawings on one page showing the steps needed to clean a clarinet. It would show what a hand is doing. Thus the hand would be on one position, and the next step would show the hand in another position etc. If I had a picture of my daughter's drawing, I would show it to you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice - incidentally, I had thought of something kind of similar to that, except in a slightly different medium. As I am an avid woodworker, I was thinking about doing a process along similar lines - cutting a dovetail, for example, or shaping a leg, or something like that. Great advice-thanks.</p>
<p>I agree with larationalist. I dislike the enter and exit pages. I would recommend that you take those out.</p>
<p>The grain mill drawing isn't as good as the other drawing and should be eliminated. The olive wood table is awfully 'crafty' and diminishes the power of the instruments and the drafting table. I would take that out as well.</p>
<p>I am also not crazy about the guggenheim drawing and the creation drawing. They don't match the power of the olivera house drawing and thus detract from that.</p>
<p>I love the drafting table but you should present it on two pages instead of three.</p>
<p>I dislike the self portraits. They are overly self-concious and 'tight'. Do you have any that are done in a loose drawing style--or mixed media?</p>
<p>You have extraordinary talent and it is well displayed by the drafting table, the instruments and the manuel drawing. Every architecture school will be interested. Don't shoot yourelf in the foot by presenting mediocre works. Take those great works and develop a supporting page for them.</p>
<p>Do you have add'l CAD work you could display? CAD drawings of the instrument projects perhaps?</p>
<p>As all of your pieces are straightforward, another aspect that you might include is some form of conceptual art--a piece where the idea dominates skill, material, function and presentation.</p>
<p>SCIARC and Columbia in particular will appreciate a sophisticated ability founded on pure concept. Not only that, your ability to produce conceptual architecture will be what distinguishes you as an architecture student--along with your fantastic rendering and model making skills. If your recommendations can speak to that ability--all the better.</p>
<p>Here are some 'architectural concepts' that Stephen Holl (celebrated Columbia faculty member) is working on, according to a new book published by The Princeton Press;</p>
<p>
[quote]
Parallax traces Holl's ideas on topics as diverse as the ""chemistry of matter"" and the ""pressure of light,"" and shows how they emerge in his architectural work: ""strange attractors"" at Cranbrook, ""porosity"" in his new dormitory at MIT, ""tripleness"" in the new Bellevue Art Museum in Washington. The result is a book that provides a personal tour of the work of one of the world's most esteemed architects.
<p>Thanks for the advice. Do you have any suggestions as to how this type of theory might be applied in every day mediums? I.E. Drawing, modeling, etc. I am not that familiar with architectural theory, and thus my experience here is limited. I like to think I might have the intellectual capacity to comprehend this, but am simply unfamiliar with how it is traditionally expressed. Do you know of any literature where I might find examples/explanations of said theory? Also, I was wondering about one possible inclusion in my portfolio. This summer I had a design internship doing restaurant layouts for a restaurant design and equipment supply company. The company did little to no interior or exterior work, but mainly layout, bar design, and furniture selection. I have included an example of some of my "typical" layout work here - <a href="http://personal.stthomas.edu/mjhara/sequence.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://personal.stthomas.edu/mjhara/sequence.jpg</a> - and was wondering if this should be incorporated. I have heard from others that it should not, but would like to hear your opinions. Additionally, I did some specific bar design, including orthographic projections and elevations. Should something like that be included as well?</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your advice and suggestions.</p>
<p>drafting is generally not the best thing to include, and at least two of those layouts are clunky. If you had renderings or photographs of finished work, I think it would be more welcome, but students who come in thinking they can draft don't have a great reputation, esp. with conceptual schools like SCI-Arc. People with drafting experience but not design experience get stuck designing in plan only, and think they know much more than they do (a generalization, I know, but sooo frequently true), and you don't want to give them that impression.</p>
<p>I find that one of the best introductions to artistic theory is to read Kandisky's writings on point, line, & plane, then spend some quality time looking at his work. This is one of the clearest translations of theory to work that you'll find, and might help get you in the right frame of mind to explore more advanced theory.</p>
<p>Noooooo...don't include samples of your work from other offices --until you are applying for a job.</p>
<p>It might be too late for you to create a conceptual piece...but what if you were to create an instrument with a conceptual idea behind it. For example, what would a new instrument (one that you invent) look like if it reflected the "pressures of sound" (taking off from Mr Holl....)--keeping in mind that the instrument wouldn't have to work exactly--it is a visual piece. </p>
<p>Jot down your intellectual impressions to the 'pressures of sound'. Then, generate a few sketches of what that new instrument would look like, and voila! A conceptual project. The title of your piece would be: The Pressures of Sound. If you can generate a model to go with it--all the better. That is a very sexy conceptual piece.</p>
<p>Your sketches at the front and back of your portfolio--the entry and exit sketches--are in fact 'conceptual'. However, they are overly obvious ideas. They are not going to get a whistle from the reviewers. </p>
<p>Holl's ideas about the 'pressures of light', the 'porosity' of space and (my personal favorite) the 'strange attractors'--are leading edge conceptual ideas and--in and of themselves--a kind of invention (a pretentious invention to be sure but an invention all the same). This is the kind of creativity you will find in the top architecture schools. </p>
<p>When you practice developing conceptual ideas you will find that it expands your creative ability like nothing else. As absurd as it seems, (Heey, why would I design an instrument that doesn't work??) --this practice will make you a more brilliant architect.</p>
<p>The trick is to be daring, to let the real world go so that the conceptual art can find it's own path.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Oh--and if you do decide to include lesser pieces--put them at the back of the portfolio. Put your best stuff int he front--ALWAYS.</p>
<p>I've actually always been told to bookend with your two best pieces, and try to sandwich the lesser stuff in the middle, so that the viewer both starts and ends with a good impression. So I guess there's some debate on that, but definitely start well.</p>
<p>I can only say that as an employer, I tend to get the buzz in the first few pages--or not at all. If there is average work in the first few pages that is disappointing, I start to lower my expectations for the back half. But that's me.</p>
<p>It probably doesn't matter. Your work is excellent, m. They are going to see your potential full stop.</p>
<p>I have also heard both contrasting positions regarding how to organize one's portfolio - both the "bookends" approach, and the "stronger work at the front" approach. I have decided to do the bookends approach, in starting with my drafting table and ending with my guitar. Would anyone agree that these are my strongest pieces, or are there, perhaps, stronger pieces in my portfolio that would make better candidates for the front and back?</p>
<p>Once again, thank you all for the advice and feedback.</p>
<p>Put your best work up front, but honestly - having reviewed 500-plus portfolios, I don't think it matters a bit. Besides, many times what the student thinks is the best work isn't.</p>
<p>Do you mean it doesn't matter a bit in a good way, or a bad way (sometimes meaning is lost via text)? Also, for those of you out there who have viewed it, would you agree that my drafting table and guitar are my two best pieces? Or should I consider something else to start or end my portfolio with? </p>
<p>I mean the order in which you place or present your work will likely have absolutely no effect upon its evaluation especially because what you consider to be your best work may actually not be what intrigues the reviewer the most. And what you may think is filler even, may actually be of the most interest. Talent is nearly always obvious, but not always in the most obvious places. Of course, find a way to arrange it that pleases you, but do not stress about it. It is not going to make or break your application.</p>
<p>Therefore, as for determining which pieces you should submit, NPD is a great resource in that you may quickly gauge the reactions of people who look at art and design on a daily basis and are disconnected from yourself and the subject matter to offer an objective assessment.</p>
<p>If you cannot attend NPD or some other event, try to visit one or more colleges and arrange a counseling session.</p>
<p>Organization is good of course; a series of photos or illustrations or paintings can be stronger as a unit than separately, and be certain to label the work properly.</p>
