The ritual Saturday morning house hunt was what first intrigued me into a career in architecture. The diversity of building design captured my imagination. Despite knowing little about architecture, work experience at Design King provided the perfect opportunity to get an insight.
Soon after arriving, I realized the process was much more complex than I had ever thought. My first task was to write up some notes on a meeting agenda and completely changed my perspective. Materials, council and clients were all involved and it was much more than just 2D drawing plans.
I was introduced to CAD and explored one of Jon’s houses through plans and 3D models on the computer. The next day we visited the house onsite, which is due to be completed next year. Although it is not yet finished, the design elements such as curved walls and the consideration given to lighting were already evident and it was obvious it is going to be a spectacular house.
Friday morning was a morning visit to the Architect John Grove’s own house in Woolahra, which was stunning. The house had inspirational design features and structure. The use of louvers and extensive ‘open plan’ living was really nice and it even had a pond with turtles that the architect had saved from road side oblivion.
I also got to use CAD to produce some plans for a table/drawer for the office, which was complicated but still fun and I was also set the task of researching Le Corbusier’s “Villa Savoye” and my last task in the office was to give a small presentation to the office on what I had learnt about this important building based as it was on his ‘Five Points of New Architecture’. It was great to have some history and hopefully my presentation has given the office something new to think about too.
Although work experience was only one week, I have been so privileged to spend it at Design King. Having an insight to a career in architecture was so interesting and I have learnt so much from the experience from going onsite and using CAD programs to drawing architectural sketches.
Watching the work of Jon, Natalie, Rachel and Lea was inspiring and they have taught me so much by answering all my questions and providing me with such valuable information about the industry. I am so thankful to have been at Design King and appreciate the time and effort they have given me throughout the week. I will pursue my interest in architecture and hopefully this is only the beginning.
By Becky Gordon
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