[AlexAAT]

"When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint.
When I asked why the poor had no food, they called me an anarchist"

[myarchitect]

the first question is what is architecture and what is architect?

I think most of "architects"are not architects and most "architecture" are not architecture.because most of us have not find a personal answer yet.

[Secret_F]

what is architecture and what is architect

depends on how you interpret it and who you talking to really,
it's like art, a very personal thing

[yeahyeahyeahs]

going back to the topic of having 'doubts about architecture'

I've been suffering from anxiety recently mainly because of UCAS and figuring out which uni im going to pick.

I think I'm in for the long haul for the next three years, as i have to prepare myself for a 4 hour commute to and from uni everyday and for the next 3 years.

[jrhartley]

(Original post by yeahyeahyeahs)
I think I'm in for the long haul for the next three years, as i have to prepare myself for a 4 hour commute to and from uni everyday and for the next 3 years.

i honestly believe that this isn't possible. you would kill yourself with the volume of work, you'd end up falling asleep on the train and ending up miles away, getting really anxious that you couldn't work as you were travelling so much. i'd really recommend just renting something closer. 4 hours a day commuting along with 70-80 hour weeks would suggest something like 90 odd hours of your week consumed before things like sleep.

[Jam10]

Don't say that I will have a about a 3 hour commute. The 70 – 80 hour weeks are surely only at the end of the semester and in the 3rd year. Also if on the train, reworking lecture notes sketching etc will maximise time?

[cowboydan]

You do not want to commute like that you will not survive! I considered commuting to glasgow from edinburgh and decided against it due to the effort required (1 hour each way on the train-£16 quid perday) I might even work out cheer to rent depending where your going to study.

[Jam10]

It will be London, not the cheapest!

I have presumed that it will be cheaper to commute (as also I will have discount railcard when I am a student)

[jrhartley]

(Original post by Jam10)
It will be London, not the cheapest!

I have presumed that it will be cheaper to commute (as also I will have discount railcard when I am a student)

it will cost you a fortune to commute, you will be absolutely shattered, and no, the hours aren't just like that for the last semester of third year, i'm afraid.... its pretty intense all the way through and generally in the first and second year you have more formal teaching you need to attend for also (lectures, workshop stuff, etc). but even in first year, bank on 50 hour + a week working on your project. obviously you could do some of that at home, but its not advisable.

i'd really recommend renting close to the uni as possible. you will be in studio beyond the last train a lot of the time, so how will you get back? and when you have a crit, and you want to celebrate, you'll constantly be having to find someone to stay at. its much better just to be close, you will really get run down with the commuting on a course like k100.

[jrhartley]

(Original post by Jam10)
Don't say that I will have a about a 3 hour commute. The 70 – 80 hour weeks are surely only at the end of the semester and in the 3rd year. Also if on the train, reworking lecture notes sketching etc will maximise time?

have you ever tried drawing on trains in the uk?!!!!! _____/\___/\____/ would be an attempt at drawing a horizontal line with all the uneven welds.

maybe if this was france of germany and the tracks were decently laid.... but in the uk - no, its very hard to do anything meaningful relating to architecture on a train commute. you need space, you need various meda, and you need a surface that doesn't jump around all the time as you're trying to draw on it

[yeahyeahyeahs]

what london uni are you going too Jam10?

i live in central east london and my uni is in zone 5 in the south west. Its still going to take me 2 hours to get there with a combinaton of train, tube, walk, train, bus and more walking!

Glasgow to edinburgh?! thats miles and miles away. youre better off living there.

[yeahyeahyeahs]

btw the travelcard for a student zone 1-6 is something like £1200 a year.

[Jam10]

I will be going to London Met and will be travelling in from the sticks around Cambridge.

I have timed it, on a fast train (!) it will take 15 mins to get to the station, 50 mins on train, 10 mins walk from Kings x to Met. That is the plan.

I think with discount on train it will work out cheaper than renting, but I will look into it.

[Jam10]

I will have to balance money, time to take to get to Uni and my wife to make this work!

[jrhartley]

(Original post by Jam10)
I will be going to London Met and will be travelling in from the sticks around Cambridge.

I have timed it, on a fast train (!) it will take 15 mins to get to the station, 50 mins on train, 10 mins walk from Kings x to Met. That is the plan.

I think with discount on train it will work out cheaper than renting, but I will look into it.

I'd be surprised if there was much in it, given the price of rail tickets. you will really start to value your free time beyond wanting to just be sat on trains for 100 minutes a day.

[jrhartley]

(Original post by yeahyeahyeahs)
what london uni are you going too Jam10?

i live in central east london and my uni is in zone 5 in the south west. Its still going to take me 2 hours to get there with a combinaton of train, tube, walk, train, bus and more walking!

Glasgow to edinburgh?! thats miles and miles away. youre better off living there.

edinburgh to glasgow by a direct train take an hour - so i'm confused as to why you don't relocate to sw london during your course than stay in east london and have that hellish journey.

seriously, the course is mega stressful and super-exhausting for all of us, living 15-20 minutes walk from studio here in cardiff. i really wouldn't want to have to spend much more time travelling than that every day, you'd just be going crazy thinking: "i really don't have time to be stuck on this train for this amount of time every day"

its funny - we had a bbq in the park after our crit yesterday and all the students i spoke to said "yeah, i remember when i was applying to do architecture and everyone said it was hard work, and i thought, yeah, well, i'm a good student, i'll be fine, it can't be that hard". it really has to be experienced to be believe how much time this will take over from your life. you really don't want precious free time consumed by commuting.

[yeahyeahyeahs]

Thanks for the advice.

I don't think i've actually thought through my uni situation properly.
I have friends who commute to kingston, one including my next door neighbour who manages okay. However they aren't doing Architecture so their situation isnt going to be the same.
But I have looked into transfering to another uni near to me so I can complete my 2nd year and 3rd if this commute becomes a problem.

I got my timetable for architecture and its mainly 9am-5pm for 4 days a week.
So I'm expecting a normal day doing work in the studio/workshop would be 9-6.30pm for the first year which is what i kinda normally do at work, or am i completely wrong with my expectations?

How many hours a week did you spend on your work at uni in the first year?

[yeahyeahyeahs]

(Original post by Jam10)
I will be going to London Met and will be travelling in from the sticks around Cambridge.

I have timed it, on a fast train (!) it will take 15 mins to get to the station, 50 mins on train, 10 mins walk from Kings x to Met. That is the plan.

I think with discount on train it will work out cheaper than renting, but I will look into it.

Er... The trains from Cambridge to London are always packed during rush hour because alot of city workers are travelling to work into London.
As for kings cross, that place gives me an headache. By the end of the 1st year, you're most likely going to be stressed!

[jrhartley]

(Original post by yeahyeahyeahs)
Thanks for the advice.

I don't think i've actually thought through my uni situation properly.
I have friends who commute to kingston, one including my next door neighbour who manages okay. However they aren't doing Architecture so their situation isnt going to be the same.
But I have looked into transfering to another uni near to me so I can complete my 2nd year and 3rd if this commute becomes a problem.

I got my timetable for architecture and its mainly 9am-5pm for 4 days a week.
So I'm expecting a normal day doing work in the studio/workshop would be 9-6.30pm for the first year which is what i kinda normally do at work, or am i completely wrong with my expectations?

How many hours a week did you spend on your work at uni in the first year?

yeah, 9-18h30 or those many hours during the week is probably about right for first year. but obviously you'll be working a lot later just before crits. can't you just rent somewhere near there, or do you own your place in east london or something?

[samsonlcy]

(Original post by Jam10)
I will be going to London Met and will be travelling in from the sticks around Cambridge.

I have timed it, on a fast train (!) it will take 15 mins to get to the station, 50 mins on train, 10 mins walk from Kings x to Met. That is the plan.

I think with discount on train it will work out cheaper than renting, but I will look into it.

I dont think that is a good idea at all... also, you havnt taken into account the waiting time for any of the public transport.

When I wait for public transport, my mind will go into day dreaming mode so I will rather get up quick and get going so I cant possibly waste time...