Architecture and interior design thread

Has anyone gone back to study architecture as a mature student? It’s something I’ve always been interested in but I’ve been working as a designer for the last 20 odd years.
Having (a lot of) downtime this year has made me think about a last chance change of plans. I may have to do a foundation course to even get started and I’d be in my 50s(!) by the time the full degree ended.

Would I even be employable at the end of it?

Of course this is only anecdotal (and probably not 1:1 applicable as I live in Switzerland), but I studied together with a couple people who finished in their 40s and 50s. Around half of them now work as architects, some wound up in adjacent fields and one is currently trying to get her own office going.

@jBola an old mate of mine works for Snøhetta in Olso, their buildings are frankly world class, the national opera house one of my favourites. I dragged @esstee or maybe it was his brother there after we finished the Styrkeprøven endurance race. I can’t remember I was too delirious after cycling for 26 hours non stop from Trondheim.

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No but I've taught it for more than 10 years. There are quite a lot of mature students up to around 30, not so many up to 40+. The mature students are mostly high achievers, but occasionally people do crash out. Life experience, maturity and perspective are all extremely valuable - often better work ethic too, but then kids, moving house and other life commitments can also get in the way. "Young architect" means anyone up to 40 (for awards etc). In terms of employability - just be aware that graduate starting salaries are not high, so if you're used to a certain standard of living you may struggle. This can be harder if you're older and expect to be renumerated properly for your time.

What kind of designer are you? If you can demonstrate 3D making/thinking and good drawing ability you won't need to do a Foundation unless you want to.
Would you want to do traditional full-time study? Would you work alongside? The trad route is 3 years full-time, then a year or two in industry, then 2 years full-time, then back out into industry and professional exams. If you have maturity and you can get some experience in the summer etc then you can skip the "year out" - it's pretty crucial for 21 year olds, but less so if you're older. There are also alternative routes like apprenticeships where you work in architectural practice alongside study. Feel free to PM me if you want.

Edit: you might be able to read this on in-cognito mode - AJ100 is data about the biggest 100 practices in the UK, so the salaries are on the high side. Year-out median £22.5k, Part 3 stage (taking final professional exams) £30k. https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/aj100-2020-salaries-are-stuck-in-the-doldrums

Interested in all your thoughts about the piece on the Memphis group in last weekends FT. Do you think there might be a move away from the 'tasteful' interiors and exteriors that one can see browsing this thread towards a more 'vulgar' aesthetic in the near future?

That’s good to hear! I assume there will always be someone at a similar age/experience level in most things.
I think the adjacent fields area is one that will probably end up applying.

Chars for that. Definitely food for thought and a great help. Will take you up on the pm offer if you don’t mind.
I’m currently doing the virtual open day at CSM which is giving me some inspiration

Looked it up, garbage journalism full of puritan disdain.

Don't disagree re the FT piece.. My question stands about a bit more vulgarity in home design...

Its interesting to see installations by the likes of Camille Walala and Supermundane and you definitely see how this aesthetic could find itself more prominent

no thanks...

https://www.archdaily.com/936995/stairway-house-nendo

Ohh might be better to post here... anyone seen any decent/interesting loft conversions? I remember seeing one somewhere not so long ago that was clad in a way that no pipes were showing and the roof didn't overhang so it looked like a monolith, but I forget where...

I think it might've been an Instagram rabbit hole stemming from your kitchen extension that led me here, but I like it

https://www.instagram.com/alsloftbuild/

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Hello Sir! Been a while since I posted on here.... hope you're well.

Who is your friend at Snohetta? I studied Interior design wt Heidi Pettersvold... their work is truly incredible 👌🏼

Hello @sniffy I’m good thanks, hope you are too. It’s been a while.

Yeah Pete French (he’s been there some time now) and his partner Hege Liven (Kubik Interiors), we all worked at RHWL last century. Visited them twice in Oslo after completing Styrkeprøven 2013 and 2014.

RHWL entered the Opera house competition it didn’t come close to the winning submission, the interiors are just gorgeous.

Snøhetta design in such a simple and honest way, which I really admire.

And that reindeer pavilion outside Trondheim, must have been fun project.

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..
Pete said that the timber interior was all cut via the biggest CNC machine money could buy.

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Yeah that’s great! It’s on the modern house atm. I like that other one too @Prole. ! Good references. Found the one I was referring too in the end, by dedraft. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEpqTjEsrLj/?igshid=1mizq5rurp7fr
Would love something unique if/when I get the loft done.

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dezeen.com/2018/11/01/snohetta-norwegian-banknotes-design-circulation/amp/

The boundaries between sea and land, etc

this is why Snøhetta, in my mind just do so well like the Under restaurant posted up thread and submerged opera house. When the fjord freezes during winter, that setting is more compelling.

I've worked in architecture (although not an architect) for 15 years, and we get Part 1s and 2s of all ages. Admittedly, Part 1s do tend to be younger, but mature students aren't unheard of.

Good to know. Currently weighing up my options.

Mork-Ulnes Architects' founders Casper and Lexie Mork-Ulnes designed this modern mountain cabin for their own family. The cabin is a regular grid of 45 wooden columns, clad with the Skigard quarter-cut tree logs that gave it its name.

The cabin is raised up on pillars to avoid disturbing the ground beneath, and local cows and sheep sometimes seek shelter underneath it. A grass top references traditional sod roofs.

https://morkulnes.com/projects/

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Thanks for this! Those second two look interesting. Love the fact the white one has no visible gutters etc.

No worries - all by fromworks.