Architecture graduates going places
by Charlotte Knottenbelt
rom the pyramids of ancient Egypt to the sky scrapers of the 20th century, one thing architecture has always offered its practitioners is the chance to make a lasting impression. Graduates from UniSA's Louis Laybourne Smith School of Architecture and Design are no exception, and are making their presence felt from outback Australia to the biggest cities in the world.
Whether you talk to recent graduates like Justin Cucchiarelli (who graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2002) or longer-established architects such as Jason Marriott (from the class of '94), it's clear that they love their work.
"I like the mix between the creative and the practical," says Justin, who was offered a job at Pruszinski Architects on the strength of his display in the final year exhibition at UniSA. "I like the challenge, I like the design and I like the process."
It's
a sentiment echoed by Marriott, who is now in China working on the Beijing
Athletes Village in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games a high point in
a career which has taken him to some amazing places.
"I was originally attracted to architecture because it encompasses engineering, science, management, law and art," he says. "And it's also a profession with a social agenda, in that it gives back to society by influencing the built environment in a very public sense."
Jason began his career working briefly for an Adelaide architectural firm, before heading to the Northern Territory, where he worked on a diverse range of projects, from a desert wildlife park in Alice Springs to a country club in Katherine and university and defence projects in Darwin. He says his time in the Territory was invaluable.
"At the time the opportunities offered there were fantastic there was a lot of architectural work available, and it gave me the chance to run projects myself rather than doing more menial work in a city practice."
In 1997 he moved to Sydney, where he worked on a series of high profile projects including East Circular Quay and the National Gallery of Australia.
Jason is now drawing on this broad experience base in his work as the project/design architect for the Beijing Athletes Village, a massive project in the order of 410,000 sqm of built area over two sites totaling 28 hectares. During the games it will house more than 17,000 athletes and officials, and afterwards will be converted into luxury apartments.
He says the differences between working as an architect in Australia and China are vast.
"In Australia we follow a very linear process of schematic design, then design development followed by construction documentation and detailed design. In China it's very non-lineal, with detailed designs often required very early in the design process.
"The whole design process in China is also very fast and what you would do in two weeks in Australia you may have only two or three days to do in China, which makes prioritizing work critical."
Jason's top tips for those starting out in architecture include sticking to your guns, and getting as varied experiences in the workplace as possible.
"The most important thing if you want to succeed in architecture is to believe in yourself and not be discouraged by others.
At times people both within and outside the profession can be very negative, so it's important to stick to your guns and focus on where you're going. This means being self-critical regarding you abilities and getting the skills you need to succeed in the area you choose, whether that's design, management or using architecture as a basis to get into an allied profession."
"Architects need a wide knowledge base that goes beyond design to include understanding of contractual and legal issues, construction, project delivery and things like time and cost management."