Reflection, Experience, Knowledge
Join our intern Calvin, as he reflects and walks through his experience during his first year in Princeton’s architecture program.
After finishing my first year of college, there were many aspects of the experience that were different from the expectations I had a year ago. At Princeton, nobody can declare their major until the spring of their second year. Knowing this, I was expecting the opportunities offered in the architecture program to first-year students to be limited. However, the schedule is much more flexible than I anticipated, and I was still able to take three architecture courses this year: one theory course in the fall and two studios in the spring. Second-year students have even more opportunities; I am currently enrolled in one urban studies and two architecture courses for the upcoming semester.
Being an independent person who doesn’t like to ask for help, I was not expecting to be involved as much in the studio culture. However, I often found myself talking with classmates, both about our projects and unrelated topics. Each student has their own desk, which I believe contributes to the collaborative environment. On Sunday afternoons when I would often be by myself, I would take breaks and look at the work that my classmates had on their desks. Taking two studios this past semester taught me even more time management and planning skills than I already had. At the start of every week, I would create a schedule for what tasks I have to do each day, which helped me stay on pace to manage all my assignments and spread out similar work such as long readings. Planning my time well allowed me to keep up with my coursework, participate in club athletics, and work a few nights a week in the dining hall.
Both my studio classes involved interesting assignments that helped me think about architecture in different ways. The first, entitled “Geometry and Architectural Representation,” focused on abstract modeling and design. Over the course of the semester, I created a three-dimensional shape and built it as a model, drew sections and obliques of it, inverted it, and finally sheared and built a new split model. The second studio, “Introduction to Architectural Design,” focused on more concrete buildings that can be inhabited. For most of the semester, we were focused on designing a building for the train and bus station on campus. The professors slightly modified the site to include a slope and removed a side road to create elevation challenges.
Despite all the surprises, many aspects went the way I expected. My studio classes were challenging and time consuming, although very enjoyable. They were different from the worksheets, readings, or papers for other classes and working on them never really felt like doing schoolwork. Overall, I enjoyed my first year and am very excited to further my education in architecture.
