Week in the life of a 20-year old 3rd year Architecture Student studying at Cambridge University
Written by Mirza, Edited by Aliya @archistudentnotes
This week we have a week in the life submission from Mirza, a 20 year-old architecture student living in Cambridge and studying at Cambridge University.
Would you have tackled the week any differently?
Monday
Studio Day - Monday is pretty much dedicated to studio all day long.
We arrive in the Department at 10am and get a brief introduction about the day from the studio tutors. Then the whole day is pretty much independent work where you continue work on a studio project.
You are given a 20 mins tutorial slot with the tutors, sometimes this may be in the morning and other times in the afternoon. Lunch is typically between 12-1 and the day normally ends around 4/5pm, sometimes later if you wish to carry on with work.
Tbh it's your choice on how you want to spend the day, how much work you want to get done as long as you attend your tutorial.
Note from Aliya: Mirza is definitely right here, at my university attendance was of course mandatory but some would sessions for a variety of reasons which were mostly centered around feeling like they had not done enough work. Always go. Even if it’s just to be around other students or have a quick chat with your favourite tutor.
Tuesday
Tuesdays is a lecture day when we attend lectures in the Department.
From 11am-1pm there is a construction lecture where we learn about building construction and focus on a specific material each week such as concrete/timber/glass. We also look into detailing and how different elements come together in a building.
There is a lunch break from 1-2pm and then we have a professional skills workshop in the afternoon from 2-5pm. This is an interactive workshop where we are exposed to training of different softwares, parametric modelling, environmental and structural modelling analysis and also sessions that gave guidance on portfolio making and how to speak confidently.
Wednesday
Lecture day again focusing on technical modules. The day starts a bit early at 9am with our first lecture on structural design which is the more maths/engineering focused lecture taught by a structural engineer.
Excellent inclusion of a structural engineer teaching the structural design courses, it is a great idea to hear from a different but related profession that as Architects, will be interacting with in the future.
This finishes at 11am and then the next lecture starts on environmental design which focuses on aspects such as ventilation, heat, acoustics and solar geometry in buildings.
We finish 4 hours of back to back lectures at 1pm, and then the rest of the day is pretty much free unless you have any supervisions for the essay courses. These are typically 1 hour and scattering throughout the afternoon.
Normally I have mine from 2-3pm or 4-5pm. After that I'm free to go back to college (halls of residence) and catch up with friends.
Mid Week Plug
Enjoying this weeks ArchiWeek? Interested in sharing your own week?
Thursday
Thursday's pretty much the same as Monday.
The typical day begins at 10am when we meet up in studio with the tutors. We get a brief outline of what's expected for the day and then carry on with our projects.
Sometimes this includes group work tasks such as model making but also lectures and workshops.
Lunch is typically between 1-2pm although if working individually on a task its up to you to decide when you want to take a break.
After lunch there's normally a tutor meeting lasting 5-30mins depending on your design progress. Again, it's up to you to decide if you want to stay in the studio, or call it a day. Normally students start to leave around 5-ish.
Once done, it's exciting to see the week ending and normally when getting back I tend to finish off miscellaneous tasks left over to do.
Friday
Friday is lecture day again for the essay courses, focusing on history and theory of architecture where lecturers cover different architectural ideologies, movements and periods. We have two lectures lasting an hour each.
Depending on what specific course you chose, your timings will be different. For me I had one from 9-10am and then one from 12-1pm.
After that the day is normally over unless there is a supervision which will typically be between 2-5pm depending on which group you are in. After that you can call it a week and look forward to the weekend for exciting things to do.
Note from the Writer
At Cambridge, the Academic year is split into 3 terms.
In the first two terms, you will have lectures courses, workshops and supervisions above your studio work. However in the final term there is only studio. There are no lectures or supervisions but you may have workshops to attend during the week depending on your studio.
At Cambridge, you are given the option to choose a studio out of five according to your interests. In first year however, everyone works in the same studio which is a nice environment to be in as you can discuss and share ideas about your work to each other.
The above is a typical week in the life of a second year Architecture student. There are many social events and activities which go on throughout here week, but I have just given an outline of what happens in department, including the weekly schedule.
And that’s the week!
Thank you so much to Mirza for this weeks submission. It was great to put a week to a specific university and it would be great to hear from other students at different universities as well!
Any comments or questions, please leave them in the comment section below or message Mirza on Instagram.
If you’re interested in sharing your own ArchiWeek, your own reflection - click here!
