Emerging Architects and Graduates Network Online resources

Lean In recordings

Emagn webinar recordings

Exclusive to members of the Institute, our free webinars are designed to help design students and emerging professionals learn more about the industry, develop skills and knowledge, and connect to peers within the built environment industry.

Webinars will continue to be released throughout 2021. They’ll cover a range of relevant topics for design students and emerging professionals.

If there is a topic you would love to learn more about or you are a presenter looking to share your knowledge with our student and emerging professional members, please get in touch.

In conversations with artists

8 Oct 2020

The importance of equity, diversity and inclusion within architectural practice and design processes has been well documented to ensure that our offices and design cultures reflect the communities we serve. This Lean In session covers how to work towards a more intersectional, inclusive practice.

Working with diversity

23 Sep 2020

Diverse thinking encourages viewing issues through different lenses. Ensuring a diverse workplace is an important start but to create successful organisations, workplace culture and design solutions, celebrating diverse thinking is critical.

How to practice inclusively

9 Sep 2020

I have no idea what I am doing – The Impostor Syndrome

26 Aug 2020

The session will explain why high performing people often doubt their abilities and find it hard to enjoy their successes. It will also show the links to perfectionism and self-handicapping strategies such as procrastination, avoidance and overcommitment.

Heritage – a showcase of cultural identity

25 Aug 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLz31l404Rc&feature=youtu.be Heritage provides recognition to the Cities. Talking about Cultural Heritage, the element predominant to almost all heritage sites worldwide is an Arch. Colosseum, Rome to Sydney Opera and Hagia

Why an architect?

12 Aug 2020

Is architecture is just an artful indulgence patronised by the rich, or if is there a meaningful career to be pursued by idealists wanting to serve humanity?

Architecture can communicate ideas and relationships through the language of space. What do we want to say and who do we want to talk with?

Architects Assist X SUPERCONTEXT

23 Jun 2020

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Workplace issues relating to students and graduates in the context of COVID-19

21 May 2020

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International Practice Talk: Anand Sonecha, SEALAB

20 May 2020

https://youtu.be/E8nHbUPeWdA SONA and EmAGN NSW present its first International Practice Talk with Anand Sonecha of SEALAB, an architecture practice based in Ahmedabad, India. Anand Sonecha is a graduate of IPSA,

The Young Architect’s Guide to COVID-19

19 May 2020

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There's help out there

There are a lot of people finding it difficult at the moment. We know that a lot of graduates and early career architects are in a position where they can not find employment and fear having a gap in the CV at a critical time when their career should be getting started. EmAGN has compiled some resources, tips and tricks and advice for early careers architects (and maybe others as well) who find themselves in a difficult spot at the moment.

The Institute is always working to support members and resources can be found here; (we recommend the Lean In sessions! Look out for those that are EmAGN specific). You can also check out recorded lectures, presentations and content at the Institute Youtube.

SONA has prepared a post with many excellent resources for students working and learning from home. There are a lot of great ideas here (and a few that overlap with our list) here.

Advice

We have gathered some advice from employers, as well as people who have dealt with similar trying times in the past. These prompts may be useful for working out ways to use this time productively.

Documentation skills

Employers value new staff that can jump straight onto projects. If you’re a new grab without prior experience, consider documenting a project you did at university from your technical classes.

Software skills

Similar to the above, employers are keen if you can jump straight on the tools (whether that’s Revit, ArchiCAD, Rhino, Sketchup, Autocad…) If you’re agnostic about the software you use, try and research which programs your favourite offices use and up your skills – you might still be able to get a student licence! If you’re already a dab hand, think about skills such as Python coding or Grasshopper – being able to code and manage data is a small, but important field in Architecture.

Personality

As an early career architect, employers are interested in your personality just as much as your skills. As you work up your CV and portfolio make sure you make it clear who you really are and what your strengths are; are you good at design? talking to people? EOIs? Client relationships? The quarantine time could be used in developing these skill-sets and finding complementary experience to round them out.
Most employers will be understanding of the “gap” in your CV (it’s not called “unprecedented times” for nothing). Doing some volunteering or competitions, or learning some graphic design will be a good conversation prompt when you do nab an interview, as well as developing you as a designer.
Importantly, take care of your mental health. If all you can do is just survive until we all get to the other end, don’t worry about competitions or anything of the above. You got this.

Get connected

Australian Institute of Architects Mentoring Scheme

The Australian Institute of Architects has recently launched an online mentoring scheme, Mentorloop, which will provide you with the opportunity to connect with a more senior member of the profession for career mentoring. This is available for Institute members.

Marions List

Marion’s List is a public register of Australian women in architecture and the built environment. This is a resource to access in order to expand the range of people at public talks. Add your profile to the register.

Join Your Union

Professional Architects Australia have cut union fees by half for 12 months

Design and Architecture Resources

If you are missing having architectural discussions and debates, the plethora of design and architecture talks have moved online, which means we get to appreciate those in other cities! Below are some resources that can provide an opportunity to keep your design thinking sharp and interesting

Articles & Opinion Pieces

Three Free Copies of El Croquis: Download and read copies of the magazine which have been made available for inspiration and education here.

Podcasts

Hearing Architecture is EmAGN and the Institute’s own podcast, into its second season! Episode 10 of Season 1 is fortuitously about how architect’s learn and gain experience!

Lectures and Talks

SLQ’s Asia Pacific Design Library has videos of their past lectures in association with UQ School of Architecture.
Peter Stutchbury’s AIA Gold Medal Tour 2015 via Melbourne School of Design
Bond School of Architecture’s Abedian Lectures are also online.
The classic TeD Talks are a great Binge Watch once you’ve exhausted Netflix
If 20 minute Ted Talks are too much of a commitment, jump on board the 6.40 minute Pecha Kucha. While you can’t get to the local Brisbane talks just yet, jump online:
Creative Mornings have a series of upcoming online events (we like the look of “Transforming Chaos through Collage” – right in the Architect’s wheelhouse.
They’ve also got an interesting article on Career Anxiety

Films

Kanopy State Library of Queensland (free for QLD residents) gives 10 credits a month on Kanopy, with a range of architecture monographs and design movies and documentaries, including modern-classics like “Helvetica” and “How much does your building weigh Mr. Foster”
The Metropolitan The Design Series

Contribute

Contribute to the conversation by sending a letter to your local member in support of stimulating the economy through construction.

Volunteer

There are a lot of great volunteer organisations out there, if this is something you are interested in check out Seek Volunteer and see if there is anything that aligns with your values.

Competitions

Competitions can be a great way to expand your portfolio and test your ideas.

Do your research though – check if there’s an entry fee try and make sure that there’s a chance your work may be built, or exhibited properly.

https://www.archdaily.com/search/competitions

http://competitions.archi/

Architectural Skills

This is a great time to upskill in your abilities and experience that will be directly applicable to office life and functions. When directors are looking to hire staff, the ability to immediately jump onto and contribute to projects is a giant plus. Whether you’re a beginner or already experienced in software, documentation or the practice of being an architect, there are some great resources available.

Lynda.com

Lynda (also known as LinkedIn Learning) has a vast array of video tutorials, with a primary focus on software including Revit, ArchiCad, Rhino, Adobe and Sketchup. There are also tutorials on other skills such as marketing and business.

Queensland residents can get free access to the entire trove through the State Library of Queensland – become a member for free here.

Udemy

Udemy is one of many providers who have distributed some free courses as the world grips with COVID-19, most are introductory courses and some interesting short courses.

We like the look of: A Mini Course on Time Management

Udemy has also cut the prices of some of their CAD skills courses which include Revit and ArchiCAD

Get Registered!

We know that registration for 2020 has been interrupted for many people, but this might also be a great opportunity to get a headstart on next year and jump on ALL THAT STUDY. The registration reference material, known as Acumen, is not just valuable for those who want to finally call themselves architects; there is a lot of useful information which will help you in practice.

Institute members have access to Acumen which have a large and varied range of notes under the headings Practice, Project, Resource and Environment.

If you’re thinking of getting registered, you’ve almost certainly been putting off filling out your logbook. This is as good a time as any to download the excel file and start entering those hours! Link

At the least, it’s a good opportunity to start looking into the process and trying to understand what the competencies mean.

Learn the terms

If you haven’t worked much or at all, some of the terms architects use can be daunting; there’s another, technical language of weep holes and thermal breaks that you’ll have to learn on top of the architectural language you learnt in university of typologies and genius loci. Below are a couple of interesting Instagram pages you can follow that have regular, technical content.

First Archi Job

Hosted by a young architect in Canberra, includes regular explanations of building terminology, how an architectural office works, worthwhile links to look at!

Building Science Fight Club

Simple, clear explanations of how building fit together – usually with a detail, a photo and an explanation which makes the info make more sense together. As a North American architect, the details may not always be directly applicable to our climate, but informative nonetheless.

The Donnies

If your Detail magazines are no longer accessible, this page posts regular, facade-focussed details and images of global projects.

Latest Emagn News

Q & A with Harry Mills

23 Aug 2021

Michael Croft recently had a chat with Harry Mills, a designer and PhD candidate, passionate about regenerative, and environmentally responsible design. Harry’s current project looks at resource recovery of marginalised

Q & A with Jaydn Bowe

28 Jul 2021

Tilewa Adeoye recently had a chat with Jaydn Bowe (Village Architect) to discuss his experience starting an architecture practice alone. Looking to branch out someday and in need of a first-hand account of what that’s like? Read on for excellent advice on how to go about it, and answers to questions you may already have.

Q & A with Yolandé Vorster

14 Jun 2021

Liehan Janse van Rensburg recently caught up with Yolandé Vorster of Conrad Gargett to talk about her work, her experiences, and her journey towards specialising in heritage architecture.

We all have something to learn from what heritage architects do. Knowledge and respect for heritage is not only about the past – but also about dealing with our current work as ‘future heritage’.

Read on for some great insights into what it’s like to work in this specialised field of architecture.