Careers in Architecture Profession

After completing an architecture degree, an architecture graduate have developed a range of

very desirable creative, visual, practical and design-based skills to offer employers. Although
most architecture graduates will be looking to becoming registered architects to practice
professionally, there are plenty of other options to consider. Given below are range of possible
architecture careers, and how to increase your employability in these roles.

1. Architect

Starting off with the most obvious architecture career, a role as a fully qualified architect is
likely to be challenging, fascinating and inspirational – putting you at the forefront of new
technology to improve people’s lives while exercising your creativity. An architect, works
closely with clients and users to design new buildings or complete extensions or alterations to
existing ones, ensuring that they are safe, cost-effective and functional.

Architecture careers are more diverse than we might think, including:

 Building architecture – designing new buildings, or adapting existing ones.

 Landscape architecture – planning, designing and managing open spaces, including both natural
and urban areas.
 Naval architecture – the architecture of ships and marine vessels.

Typical responsibilities of architects include supervising the construction process, resolving

any planning issues, managing the environmental impact of projects, consulting other design
professionals and sticking to financial budgets.

To become an architect, typically need to complete a degree accredited by a statutory body

such as the Council of Architecture, India (COA). Having prior experience in an architectural
design or construction environment is very useful and desirable to employers, and an architect
should try to keep up to date with the latest trends in architecture and design. One should also
try and make contacts in the industry, which can be gained from work experience, university
departments or by joining a professional bodies of architecture, interior design and planning
etc.

2. Town planner

Graduates with an interest in development, development policies and planning issues, might
be interested in a career as a town planner, in which you’ll manage and develop the towns,
cities and villages. Working on behalf of everyone in the area and alongside other professionals
such as architects, you will aim to balance the conflicting needs of the local environment,
population and economy and think of innovative, sustainable solutions for developments. To
become a town planner, you’ll need strong multitasking skills, commercial awareness, attention
to detail, and be confident in listening to and negotiating with a diverse range of people.

3. Urban Planner

Urban planning is the process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban
environment, including air, water, and infrastructure networks. It guides and ensures the
orderly development of communities, and concerns itself with research and analysis, strategic
thinking, policy recommendations, implementation, and management.
As a result of a rapidly growing percentage of our population moving into urban areas, the
conditions of urbanism are constantly in a state of flux. The dynamic state of the urban
environment makes it an exciting path to take as an architect, covering everything from
economic and demographic changes, to sustainable development. It’s an essential
responsibility within our profession, but a challenging one; it requires adaptability and problem
solving on a large scale.

4. Urban Designer

Urban design is the process by which cities, towns, and villages are shaped, with the goal of
making urban areas functional, attractive, and sustainable. It unites all the built environment
professions, including urban planning, landscape architecture, architecture, civil and municipal
engineering, and focuses on the design, quality, character and appearance of places.

Urban designer’s job is to design city features based on planning. It includes everything from
public space to infrastructure, as well as transportation, landscapes, and community
accommodations. Urban design, by definition, is the “design of city features.” It is focused on
design and user experience and operates at the features and systems level.

5. Landscape Architect

Designing outdoor landscapes, including infrastructure, public areas, agriculture and forestry
is vital for constructing the webs that bind our urban and rural spaces, but also, and perhaps
more importantly, it’s essential for responding to globalization and climate change. Landscape
architects are involved in storm water management, environmental restoration, and recreational
areas among other things. If you enjoy working with and in the natural environment, this could
be the path for you.

6. Conservation Architect

Our societies’ heritage and history as presented through architecture are not only beautiful
glimpses into the past, but also crucial to understanding our culture as a discipline. The role of
the conservation architect is to provide expert advice for conserving the architectural heritage
and site. Conservation, however, is a multi-disciplinary activity and conservation architects
must work closely with professionals of other disciplines in order to address its diverse
objectives. Depending on circumstances, the conservation architect may either lead the project
team or simply participate as a team member with specific expertise.

Conservation architects also have an important advocacy role to play in promoting the
conservation of unprotected architectural heritage and sites. They need to catalyze awareness
both among administrators and beneficiaries to achieve the objectives of conservation
enunciated in this Charter.

7. Interior and spatial designer

Interior and spatial designers design or renovate internal spaces, fixtures and fittings, using
their architectural, creative design and project management skills to ensure that spaces are both
attractive and efficient (although some designers will focus exclusively on the appearance
rather than the structure of interior spaces). You might work in a variety of commercial,
domestic or leisure settings, in every case understanding the needs of your client while
obtaining materials and products and keeping to budgets.

8. Lighting Architect
Light has a profound impact on our mental and physical health, as anyone living at high
latitudes can empathize with. Delving into the architecture of lighting entails improving the
quality of our experiences, our health and well-being, and the sustainability of not only the
natural environment, but also smaller spaces such as our work environments.

9. Industrial Designer

Several architecture firms have branched into industrial design, due to their close creative ties.
However, industrial design focuses on smaller scale objects of mass production, as opposed to
large-scale buildings designed for a specific context. If the prospect of designing something
enormous, permanent, and landscape changing sounds all too intimidating, industrial design is
a great, smaller scaled alternative.

10. Furniture Designer

Even more so than industrial design, furniture design can be seen as architecture’s little sister.
Countless famous architects have made significant contributions to furniture design: Charles
and Ray Eames, Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen, among others. Contemporary architects such
as Zaha Hadid Architects are following suit, proving that the two can even be done
simultaneously.

11. Textile Designer

Designing textiles requires sensitivity for color, tactility, construction, patterns and forms, all
of which are developed during any student’s years at architecture school. The relationship
between "skin" and structure is in some ways even more literal than in a building, as the two
merge together. High fashion is also reminiscent of architecture in many ways, adopting the
geometric and sculptural constructions of contemporary buildings.

12. Graphic Designer

Graphic design is the way in which we take in our world and identify it. It is invaluable when
it comes to communication. It can also be so aesthetically pleasing that one can hardly resist
becoming a graphic designer. Taking a short course in graphic design to supplement a degree
in architecture can open up a range of possibilities to still work within the field, but take charge
of tasks that are more suited to your interests in communication.

13. Video Game Designer

The near-limitless boundaries that come with designing a virtual world may be one of the most
fun things a newly graduated architect could think of doing with their education. Constructing
the architecture of a video game is a way of letting your imagination roam free, but could also
add more depth to your spatial reasoning.

14. Architectural Photographer

Architecture photography is becoming increasingly popular, possibly due to the beautiful

geometry that can emerge by constraining something within a lens. Photography concerns itself
more with the aesthetic, with the object and the composition in that unique moment, within that
specific frame. It concerns itself with the fleeting atmosphere, more than with the permanent
organization of people and spaces. Yet it still consists of composition, colour, environment and
experiences.

15. Architectural technologist

Also referred to as architectural technicians, in this architecture career you’ll use your science
and engineering skills and knowledge to create tough, resilient and sustainable constructions
and refurbishments. Using both computer-aided design (CAD) and traditional drawing
techniques, you’ll prepare and present design proposals and advise clients on technical matters.
Again, work experience is extremely useful when applying for jobs in this area, and will enable
you to build your understanding of how architecture projects are handled. Such job profiles are
very common in gulf countries.

16. Building surveyor

Concerned with conserving, modifying, fixing, renovating and restoring existing buildings, a
role as a building surveyor would suit you if you enjoy problem solving and have a strong
interest in the design and construction of buildings. Building surveyors are often involved with
taking precautionary measures to keep buildings in good condition, as well as to make them
more sustainable. Again, pre-entry work experience is highly recommended, giving you insight
into how ideas are adapted in the real world.

17. Production designer

Playing role as a production designer on the set of films, television programs and theater shows
would be ideal for graduates with an interest in the entertainment industry. As a production
designer, one work closely with the producer and director and use your creative flair to develop
a complete visual outline for the production they’re working on. Some production designers
are entirely focused on theater and stage design, or there could be an overlap between media
forms. This is not an entry-level role, so you’ll need to prior work experience with the firm
which are in to set designing. You could also get involved with student theater groups and
internships.

18. Teacher/Professor

Young teachers at architecture schools are becoming more common, and if you’re looking for
more time to learn about the field before making a decision on whether or not you want to
remain in it, taking up a year or two of teaching could be an ideal way to do so. Teaching is a
two way street, especially at such a young age, which provides you with an excellent method
to learn from your students and reflect on your view of architecture. Here are some tips on how
to succeed as a young professor.

19. Architectural Writer

Becoming a writer or journalist can be a great way to utilize an architectural education; we

learn to articulate ourselves using (mostly) descriptive language and rhetoric, in order to
communicate our complex projects to teachers and critics. Turning that into writing, whether
fictional or not, is another way of constructing another world and an experience for others.
Despite the print being two-dimensional, the stories definitely aren’t.

20. Extreme Architect

With the current development of climate change, extreme weather conditions such as floods,
heat waves and hurricanes are predicted to increase. Existing extreme environments, such as
deserts, are likely to expand due to phenomena such as desertification. Being an architect who
specializes in extreme weather conditions is therefore not only an incredibly fascinating way
to tackle the subject, but also invaluable for us to adapt to the future of our planet.

21. Architectural Journalist

An Architectural Journalist is someone who not only has advanced architectural skills but also
has the ability to interpret his design methodologies and prowess. One can categorize
Architectural Journalism into diverse subparts, namely: design interpretation, perceptional
thinking, creative writing, paper writing, documentation in terms of photography, exploration,
beginning research and finally, a research paper.

The profession of Architectural Journalism is gaining much value in comparison to that of

being a conventional architect across the globe. This can be attributed to the fact that apart from
designing, explaining the same holds sheer importance as far as formulating a brand is
concerned.

22. Architectural renderer / visualizer

In the field of architecture, visualization refers to the practice of representing a new structure
in a way that can be easily digested. Thought of as the language between the client and the
designer, visualization generally takes place before the building process begins