Create Better Architecture Concepts – A Case Study of Winning Competition Entries
24,107
Published 2021-04-19
Watch the full book review and further breakdown of winning projects: • Winning Architecture Competition Subm...
Buy a copy of the book for yourself: yearbook.archi/?wpam_id=3
Timestamps:
0:21 Keep it simple.
3:24 Use diagrams and illustrations
4:43 Ideas and reasoning before visualisation
6:03 Tell a story
8:08 Put in more effort
9:50 Bonus tip
10:11 About the book
Further Ideas:
1. Keep your architecture concepts simple.
You can have a complex architectural project, but don’t overcomplicate your architecture concept. If you cannot explain your architectural ideas and concept so that your audience can understand it, it’s pointless. You architecture concept needs clarity and simplicity from which your architectural design decisions can branch off of. A word my teacher told me in my second year of architecture school was ‘parsimonious’. This words means ‘RESTRAINED’, ‘SPARING’ OR ‘FRUGAL’. If you architecture concept is parsimonious, it has restraint to the complexity of it. You are being sparing with your ideas and not letting it get too complicated. Keep your architecture concepts simple.
2. Use diagrams and illustrations to demonstrate your architecture concepts in words.
Even really simple drawings. By illustrating your architectural ideas and concepts into quick sketches, diagrams and drawings, it allows you to further simplify the complexity of your concept. Drawing diagrams and sketches enables you to articulate your own thoughts and architectural ideas from words to drawings (the aim of an architect) and makes it easier for your audience to understand it. Even the sketchiest of sketches should be used as diagrams or drawings to convey your architecture concept. Parsimonious articulation of your ideas is the key for a strong architecture concept.
3. Set the foundations of your concept first before visualising them in final form.
Your ideas and reasoning behind your projects come first. The architectural concept phase is a phase that once you finish and move on, you cannot reverse. Especially in the real world, once you finish the concept, the further you bury into documenting that concept, the harder it is to return to those original ideas and change them and the more costly to the client doing so would be. All architectural projects require a strong foundational concept before progressing. Spend the time to develop an architecture concept that works.
4. Tell a story through your articulation of your architecture concept.
Share a story of how you got your project to where it is. Get those you’re trying to convince (the teacher, client) to become emotionally invested in your architectural ideas. By telling a story through your architecture concept, you can bring the client/teacher along a journey and get them on the same page as you. A lot of students go straight to explaining their ideas in functional terms. Consider telling a narrative through your architecture to explain your concept.
5. Put in more effort to your architectural concepts.
This one seems silly. Put in more effort. However, that is the key theme I found across all the successful projects with strong architecture concepts. More effort produces better results. What I’ve noticed over my last 4 years studying architecture is that it is difficult to put effort into something you are not passionate about or invested in. To get invested in your architecture projects – your concepts – you need to make it yours. Take advice from others, look at inspiration from pinterest or Instagram. But, at the end of the day, your architecture concepts need to run on what fires you up. Your passion will result in more effort and time invested in your projects, and that shows. The best bit is that your passion rubs off on others. Teachers in architecture school aren’t looking for talent or skill, they’re looking for passion and effort. The students who have put in the work and have pushed themselves are the ones who get the best grades.
Want to create impressive concepts for your projects?
Check out the 60 minute Concept Course on my website!
successfularchistudent.com/courses/concept/
All Comments (21)
-
Hello! If you liked this video, I have just published "The Concept Course" on my site! In this 60 minute course, you'll further learn how to develop a successful architecture concept. ✓ You'll learn what an architectural concept is and why it's important ✓ You'll learn a 5 step process to create your own incredible concepts ✓ Through reviewing successful conceptual projects from 2019 and 2020 global competitions, you'll discover the formula to create your own successful concepts ✓ You'll be able to impress your teachers with next-level ideas If you want to get better at architecture, I encourage you to check it out! successfularchistudent.com/courses/concept/
-
This person deserves alot and I mean ALOT of subscribers and likes
-
I am not an architecture student, but these concepts still apply well when trying to build a structure inside the game. Thanks for sharing the thought!
-
Another great video! I'm literally going to take the advice of creating my project into a 'story' - literally: pictures, diagrams, narrative & all. The journey is key! Love the references back to your own work, so interesting
-
That is so interesting, I always hated like 90% of what is won in competition, it was just too simple, never going out into the unknown and futuristic, not even innovative at all.
-
So helpfull!! Love the clarity of this video, thank you so much:)
-
Thanks for sharing the video! Quite informative. However, there is a caveat to that. In school there are some professors who will fawn over beautiful graphics, despite the fact that a project does not work functionally or experientially. And you have those professors who will tank a project because of bad linework, even though the project works conceptually, functionally and experientially.
-
Excellent video, great tips to follow
-
Keep it simple is one of top goals
-
Thank you for this man!
-
I love your videos, very very helpful.
-
Thanks alot bro, i find your videos veryy Helpful, may god bless you 🙏
-
You make things sound so easy, thanks and God Bless 😇
-
Bro i liked the video even before watching it cuz as an arch student i knew this video would be gold when seeing that u r gonna abt that competition book Great video!
-
thank you brother I learned so much from this video
-
Thank for your advice 💞
-
This video is very helpful, am working on a project on child learning and I need a case study. Can you help me with one? Thanks
-
This is so helpful I have a jury in few days Will definitely follow these 5 tips
-
Simple means to be able to simplify section by section of any design that can be complex as one entire building, for example like la Sagrada familia'!
-
Its my second year studying archi, I'm sti struggling trying to come up with a good concept. I've been doing things backwards, deisgn then concept
