architecture schools in the uk claim to teach creativity

Inside House for an Art Lover
 photo by Moira

Architecture Schools in the uk claim they teach creativity

I would argue the opposite, that creative people choose to study architecture; they were creative thinkers before they set foot any near a school of architecture. The schools do very little to develop these skills to increase employability or opportunities for self-employment. The architecture schools in the uk, contrary to popular belief, unfortunately do not teach "transferable skills".

I read an article about what some young architects are doing following redundancy. One woman was working as a waitress but one male architect was pursuing a career in photography which had always been a passion of his. He enthused about the wonderful skills he had learnt while training to be an architect and that these skills enabled him to work in many different areas.

In my autobiographical book, BRICK WALL I offer my own experiences at three architecture schools in the uk (GSA, Dundee and Newcastle) - what I was and was not taught. I can assure every potential student out there - they do not teach photography.

I, myself, have run my own portrait photography business focusing on wedding photography and I didn't come out of architecture school with the skills to take good photographs. During four years at uni, I only ever took snaps of buildings and photographed the models I had made. No tutor taught me anything about photography.

In front of the House for an Art Lover
designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh
photo by Moira

So how did I become a good photographer? I completed a correspondence course with the New York Institute of Photography, I attended a course in black & white photography at the GSA, I attended seminars run by renowned wedding photographers. I then submitted a body of work which was marked by the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) and I was  finally awarded an Litentiateship in Photography. The architecture course had nothing to do with it.

The black & white photograph of the couple sitting in the Oval Room in the House for an Art Lover is one of my favourites. It  was awarded Gold in category Contemporary Wedding by the SWPP in 2008.