Sample Architecture Personal Statement
The building that changed everything for me was the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir in Wembley. This exquisite Hindu temple had a transformative effect on both my faith and my career ambitions. The interior of this majestic building emitted a sense of worldly peace and a great spirituality, with the layout, the aesthetics and the acoustics all combining to make the perfect place to prey and contemplate. If visiting the temple brought me closer to my religion, it also made me realise the way that architectural forms can have such a powerful effect on our emotions and wellbeing. It truly brought home to me the perspective that “an architect is a drawer of dreams.”
Since a young age I have had an eye and a hand for shapes, forms and motifs. Producing my own art and enjoying creations produced by others has been a hugely important part of my life since at least primary school, and I am thankful that my secondary school has been such an artistically nurturing environment in which I have been given both a thorough grounding in technical drawing and design skills and the encouragement to follow where my creative visions have guided me. Nevertheless, ever since that moment at the temple I have increasingly been drawn to buildings as an outlet for expression. Surveying the world around me it is evident that the collections of shops, office blocks, places of entertainment and houses are all an articulation of what it is to be human, and that crafting them so they are both beautiful and functional is a highly laudable goal.
My zeal to become an architect regularly prompts me to view my other school subjects from the perspective of how they can prepare me for this goal, something which has in turn focused my mind on the skills that an architect requires beyond the drawing board. Business Studies has struck me as being particularly important in light of the fact that architectural projects usually need to be completed with a finite amount of resources and according to the demands of different stakeholders. It also seems to me that the ability to communicate, persuade and listen to the perspectives of others is also an essential characteristic for an architect. Critical Thinking and Politics have both provided me with abundant opportunities to be able to clearly express my ideas and analyse a complex issue from a range of perspectives. I enjoyed drawing on all of these subjects recently when I was chosen to give a presentation with two of my classmates at GCHQ on the subject of environmentally sustainable architecture.
The need for an architect to have skills such as these was also reinforced to me recently by a work placement I arranged at an architectural and design services firm, where I saw the ways in which architects handled briefs from clients and sought to create solutions that responded to their needs. From a technical standpoint I also really enjoyed the chance to discover the technical and logical processes that go into building design through being involved in building a scale model of a building, and I particularly enjoyed the challenge of learning to use CAD/CAM software as I did so. I was able to pick up the software quite quickly as a result of the volunteer work I do for the Hindu Cultural Association, where I help to design and produce the Association’s posters, newsletters and other documents.
My volunteer work with the Association also extends to helping to lead debates on matters of faith, which has improved my presentational skills. I also volunteer at both a local SEN primary school, where I enjoy using my creativity to make fun lessons and activities, and at an old people’s home.
Joseph Campbell’s advice to “follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” is something that I fully intend to follow. And with my bliss being architectural wonder such as the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir, I see it leading me to a career as a RIBA Chartered Architect.
We hope this sample Architecture personal statement has proven useful.