To most of you young people, architects are, thanks to books like The Fountainhead, a breed of highly intellectual humans with gigantic egos and strange ways.
After five years or more of Architecture School, we have been trained to observe spaces, spot errors and constantly be in touch with our surroundings. This just makes us a tad bit annoying at social gatherings, romantic dinners and similar situations because we are quite finicky.
So for those of you completely smitten by an architect/architecture student or probably already seeing one, this post is for you!
#1. We like people. We LOVE the intelligent ones.
If you are loud and constantly lecturing us about how to take care of our skin and eat a lot of fruit, chances are we aren't interested. Its okay to talk about Noddy and Britney Spear's wardrobe malfunctions and try to convince us Santa is real once in a while but if you do it on a regular basis you are probably being mutilated, shot or decapitated in our heads as we listen. We may also just yawn a lot. So take the hint and STOP TALKING!!
#2. We like it when you appreciate what we do.
Tell us if you think our renders look nice or if our sketches are interesting. It also doesn't hurt to read up a little on what we do and how we do it! An architect would definitely love it if they got intelligent criticism from someone outside the field and definitely from someone they like, a lot.
#3. Stationery, Stationery STATIONERYYYY!!!!!
We can never have too much paper or too many pencils. Buying us stationery every now and then is a gesture that goes a long way. Some of us probably have our very on collection of expensive fountain pens and colored post-it pads. Christmas would be an ideal time to replenish our stash of tracing paper and printer ink.
#4. We love it when you give us hand-made gifts.
We spend our whole lives thinking out of the box, making our own scale models - cutting and sawing fiber board or balsa wood and using bottle caps and sponge to make domes and tree tops so we really appreciate a nice DIY gift on a special occasion. So handmade cards, useful little knick-knacks and trinkets are on top of the list for those looking for Valentines gift ideas. Witty references to the architectural world when you personalize our presents can win our hearts *snaps fingers* just like that!
#5. Make us Coffee/tea/a meal.
We spend a lot of days working late into the night. A nice hot cup of coffee or tea at 3 am with a smiley face would earn you those brownie points. Some times we are so engrossed in our work or trying to use every minute left to whip up something substantial for a submission we forget to EAT! It's true! We honestly don't realize we just missed lunch or dinner! So just get us that meal and show us you care!
#6. Be stylish. Stay classy.
Taking us out for a romantic birthday dinner? Going with us for a building's inauguration? Take the trouble to dress well and look smashing for the event. Nothing like a classy +1 by our side to boost our ego. Don't get too carried away though. Your architect boo will be the least bit impressed if you arrive looking like Marie Antoinette going to a ball or like Robinson Crusoe.
#7. Give us a hand. Give us our space.
If you see us struggling with a scale model and need an extra hand, just sit down and HELP! It's not very complicated to paint a piece of cardboard or cut out windows. Any little thing you can do to help make our work easier goes a long way. That includes you running to the plotters while we put together a presentation. We will be ever so grateful.
Most creative people tend to be moody. We have our high and lows. We maybe sad and we honestly don't know why. Sometimes maybe a meeting didn't go too well or some professor shot our ideas down. Don't volunteer advice. We know we can do better and we are already brainstorming the next course of action. If we tell you what went wrong its simply because we are analyzing and re-evaluating the incident. Be a good Listener and give us our space when we need it. We will come back to you, eventually!
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