Emagn ONLINE RESOURCES

Emerging Architects and Graduates Network Online resources

online resources

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.

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.

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.

  • 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

Image: Nordwood Themes

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

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

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!

  • Access Kanopy with your public library card or university log ins. Kanopy includes 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 to the conversation by sending a letter to your local member in support of stimulating the economy through construction.  

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 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 (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 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

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.

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.

Photographer: Derick Anies

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