Five lessons from my Master’s in Architecture & Urban Design that I want to carry into whatever comes next.
After years of sketches, models, site plans, late nights and more iterations than I could ever count, I’ve officially finished my Master’s in Architecture & Urban Design. Looking back, the things I want to take into my career are not really about one style, one software or one perfect building. They are about how I want to think about architecture.
THE SHORT VERSION
Context first. City before object. Public space matters. The first idea is rarely the final one. And yes, physical models are still worth making.
01. Work With What’s Already There
Architecture does not always need a blank canvas. Existing buildings, street patterns, material traces and the history of a place already contain information that can shape a design.
One of the biggest things I’m taking with me is the idea that a project should understand its context before it tries to change it. Sometimes the strongest move is not replacing what is there, but working with it, reinterpreting it or adding something that makes the existing structure more useful.
02. Think Beyond the Building
A building never exists on its own. It sits in a network of streets, public spaces, movement, infrastructure, neighbouring buildings and everyday routines.
Studying both architecture and urban design made this impossible to ignore. A beautiful building can still fail if the space around it does not work. I want to keep asking what a project does for the street, the block and the wider city, not only what it looks like as an isolated object.
03. Design the Space in Between
The space between buildings is not leftover space. It is where people walk, wait, sit, meet, cross paths and actually experience the city.
Plazas, courtyards, paths, edges and thresholds can completely change how a place feels. I want public space to remain part of the architectural idea from the beginning, not something added at the end once the building has already been decided.
04. Design Is Iteration
The first idea is rarely the final one, and I think that is one of the most important lessons architecture teaches you. Sometimes an idea gets stronger. Sometimes it disappears completely. Sometimes you return to something you rejected weeks ago and suddenly understand why it mattered.
That process can be frustrating, but it is also where the project actually develops. I do not want to become so attached to the first idea that I stop allowing the design to change.
05. Keep Making Things Physical
I love digital tools. CAD, 3D modelling and rendering are a huge part of the way I work. But physical models still show me things a screen does not.
Scale becomes more immediate. Massing becomes easier to compare. You can move around a model, change your point of view and understand relationships almost instinctively. Even a rough model can reveal whether an idea is working long before it looks polished.
FROM STUDENT TO ARCHITECT
Finishing my Master’s does not feel like reaching the point where I suddenly know everything. If anything, it feels like becoming more aware of how much there still is to learn.
What Are You Taking With You?
These are the ideas I want to carry with me into whatever comes next: respect the context, think at the scale of the city, care about the spaces in between, keep questioning the design and never stop making things with my hands.
If you study or work in architecture, what is one lesson you want to carry into your own career? Tell me in the comments. ♡
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