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Many visiting students do not even dare to dream about studying to become an architect in the Czech Republic. Them more interesting story determined Antonina Korchikova. After a year of studying physical electronics, Antonina realized that she still did not want to study nuclear physics all her life, and took part in a competition for the Faculty of Architecture at the best technical university in the Czech Republic.
While many people spend several years preparing for architecture entrance exams, Antonina started in about four months. Tonya told the author of the GoStudy blog how she managed to do it.
“Weak or not weak?”
I came to Prague from Siberia, from the city of Irkutsk. What brought me to Europe was purely a sporting interest: I wanted to see what it was like to study here, and, of course, to test my strength. I challenged myself, like in the game “Weak or not weak?”
Initially, I was going to enroll in medicine, but upon arrival in the Czech Republic it turned out that there was a monstrous competition there and I had to take chemistry, biology and physics. I’ve never had any problems with physics, I’m quite good at biology, but we didn’t have much of a friendship with chemistry, so when I was already in Prague, I had to give up my idea and change course to purely technical specialties.
I applied to the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, the Faculty of Transport and the Faculty of Nuclear Physics at the leading technical university ČVUT, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Technologies at VUT in Brno and the West Bohemian University in Pilsen. In the end, I went almost everywhere, but settled on nuclear physics.
“It is important to realize the mistake in time and not waste valuable time”
My current specialty is physical electronics. There are no problems with studying, since I am a good mathematician, I love physics, and I have an excellent memory, which helps out in any situation.
But already in October, when I had to wake up every day at 6 am and devote almost all day and night to mathematics and physics, I asked myself the question: do I really want to do this business for the next three years? Then the realization came that I would have to connect my whole life with nuclear physics, and this served as a powerful impetus to change my specialization. I believe that it is important to realize the mistake in time and not waste valuable time on an activity that is completely unnecessary for you.
“At the intersection of art and exact science - architecture”
And then I remembered that my hobby is not only mathematics, I was once good at drawing. The solution came naturally - architecture lies at the intersection of art and mathematics.
I applied to the Faculty of Architecture at ČVUT with the thoughts: if I get in, I’ll go to study, if I don’t get in, then it’s not my destiny. You need to keep in mind that I have problems with the red spectrum - I’m partially colorblind, I don’t have an art school background, and I decided to enroll about four months before the entrance exams, while many people prepare for this for several years. But the decision was made!
Atelier of the Faculty of Architecture ČVUT
“There are tests for which it is impossible to prepare”
I started preparing for the exams. At first, the description of the admission procedure seemed to me nothing less than Dante’s nine circles of hell.
There are tests for which it is impossible to prepare - in order to score required amount points, you need to have a very broad outlook. Due to a protracted session at the Faculty of Nuclear Physics, I had to postpone preparing for admission to architecture, and as a result, I had a little less than a week left to fully study the material. I realized that I didn’t have time to prepare properly, and I really hoped for luck - what if my knowledge was enough, I can do something.
The week has flown by, and now the day of judgment has arrived. Entrance exams take place in two stages: a creative exam plus a test and an interview. The system is such that at the first stage you need to score at least 36 points in order to pass to the second stage, and if you manage to get more than 50, then you are accepted into the faculty immediately, without an interview.
“A friend convinced me to open the envelope with the results. As it turned out, not in vain"
On the first day there was a drawing. It was necessary to demonstrate your abilities in three works, for which a total of about 3–4 hours were allotted. The first test was the ability to transfer perspective onto paper. Each of us was assigned a serial number - we did not indicate our last names, since for the objectivity of the assessment the inspector should not know whose work he is assessing. They placed simple three-dimensional geometric figures in front of us and gave us the task of drawing a structure with a pencil from our own angle. Preference was given to the ability to transfer volume onto a plane through perspective rather than chiaroscuro.
Next in line was a color drawing - an abstraction on given topic. There was a sheet of paper hanging on the door detailed information about what topics there could be, how much time is allocated for drawing and what materials can be used, but I only knew about the materials, since the rules have not changed since last year, but I became acquainted with the topics directly during the exam. We got the theme of gravity. I randomly drew an abstraction with a black ball using brown, red, black and orange tones. Surprisingly, I was right!
The last was an image of the building from such an angle that reveals two facades, its description and architectural plan. This was no problem.
They didn’t tell us the scores, and the next day at 7 am the exam took place. The first was in mathematics - considering that I am studying nuclear physics, I crack mathematical problems like nuts. Then – descriptive geometry. In principle, this is the same mathematics, only three-dimensional. And for dessert we were left with the same test in natural sciences, aimed at testing the breadth of our horizons. Fortune was on my side: the questions were relatively simple - for example, I had to indicate the temperature of water at the highest density, write in which discipline the Nobel Prize is not awarded, there was a question about the territory of the Czech Republic and about Gibraltar. The most interesting thing is that the night before the exam I couldn’t sleep, and the idea came to my mind to read about Gibraltar - an amazing coincidence! There was also a test on artistic culture– what is shown in the picture, in what style, dates of birth of artists or composers. But there were also questions closer to architecture - for example, who built the German pavilion in Barcelona.
The test came to an end and it was time for the interview. I came there with the feeling that everything was lost - but the Russians don’t give up! You could bring a portfolio with you, and because of the session, I only started drawing a month before the exam, so I only had 6 or 7 drawings. As it turned out, this was enough, because among them there were buildings, graphics, color works, and architectural elements. At the interview, they asked me why I chose to major in architecture, why I didn’t apply to them last year. By the way, the fact was that already at the end of October, at the time of submitting the application, it was necessary to provide a certificate of proficiency in the Czech language at level B2, which is impossible. I told them everything as it was and left with the feeling that my dream had come to an end.
I was sure of refusal, so when the letter arrived, I wanted to throw it away without even opening it, but my friend convinced me to open the envelope - as it turned out, not in vain. Imagine my surprise when I saw the words “You are accepted”! From July 1st I will become a student at the Faculty of Architecture.
Lectures at the Faculty of Architecture ČVUT
“Someday I would like to start my own company”
Now I plan to finish my bachelor's degree and get a job. A master's degree is more in-depth, theoretical knowledge, so I will probably complete it based on my needs at work. Perhaps I will receive a second education in the technical field - most likely it would be something related to electronics.
Someday I would like to start my own firm - there are no large architectural companies in the Czech Republic that would attract me. But first, of course, you will need to gain experience. I would also really like to visit Japan, because Japanese architects are true masters of their craft and create masterpieces that will take your breath away! If I'm very lucky, I'd even like to work with them.
“I communicate most with the Germans”
As for my life in the Czech Republic, everything suits me. Most of all I communicate with Germans, since Czechs are usually calmer people, and this does not fit in with my activity.
Among my hobbies I can highlight snowboarding. At home, in Siberia, I sometimes went hunting, but here there are very strict rules, there is little game, and it is not afraid - it’s a pity for the animals, so I had to give up such entertainment.
I travel quite often - I visit friends in Germany, I went to Austria and I really want to take a walk along the Italian seashore. I would also like to get to know Sweden - I even started studying Swedish in order to fully experience this culture. Even though I speak Czech, English, German and Chinese, I always want to completely assimilate into a new environment.
Interview for the GoStudy blog was conducted by Daria Gnilobokova
Hello everyone!
I visit this site about once a week. It's very interesting here! Passions run high, it comes to insults, etc. And most importantly - everything is in common! Some scoundrels take bribes, others (no less vile) teach the wrong way, etc.
I don’t believe that you can get into the Moscow Architectural Institute “for a good living” for a bribe.
In 2015, my daughter entered the budget the first time. This was achieved with incredible work on her part, and assistance on ours. In addition to payment, you need to bring the tutor to the apartment (which is 1-1.5 hours by car) and back, because... At least the child could sleep during this time. 3-4 hours of classes wandering around, which is sometimes useful. Exclude vacations, weekends, New Year's, etc. holidays from your time. There are also many nuances. For example, what pencils, rulers, erasers to use - only specialists can advise them. That’s why it’s so difficult for non-residents to apply - the criteria for assessing a drawing are completely different from other universities. And here the responsibility for selecting tutors falls entirely on the parents. Two years ago, on the sidelines of this forum, I talked about a book seller in the lobby of the Moscow Architectural Institute, who posed as a teacher and “prepared” for admission. And there are many such comrades.
Real tutors (and these are, as a rule, teachers of the Moscow Architectural Institute) are interested in your child’s admission and devote a lot of their time, effort and knowledge to this activity. They usually spend evenings on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays with our children. And they deservedly get paid for it. Isn't this right? Therefore, let's leave behind envious reproaches against them. For their work, TEACHERS - a low bow from us!
I’ll be honest, while taking the exams I thought about playing it safe and finding someone to bribe. Have not found!!! They looked like an idiot playing with fire. I believe that these are not worth doing at all, because... You can ruin everything for your child and end up becoming more familiar with the criminal code yourself. I think that due to the constant “roll-ups”, writings to the competent authorities, etc. The scale of corruption at Moscow Architectural Institute is much lower than in other institutions.
Based on the above, I dare to point out the following components of success in admission:
1. Your child’s hard work and attitude;
2. Preparation for at least 2 years with teachers of the Moscow Architectural Institute (who teach the subject of drawing and drafting at the Moscow Architectural Institute);
3. High performance Unified State Exam;
4. A little luck and luck;
5. Stress resistance;
Now my daughter is a 3rd year student and an excellent student. I am delighted with the chosen university. By the way, the kids around are the same. Everyone is thirsty for knowledge.
As a summary: do not believe that they do it for money. This is being spread by losers, or those who want you to believe that everything has been bought and not even come close to this building on Rozhdestvenka.
As for the “slight destruction” in the building. Of course this is bad. The management doesn’t get their hands on everything; there isn’t enough money for everything. And they are creative people, forgivably. Yes, there is a problem. But what's the atmosphere like there?
Miracle staircase, etc.!
Here's a short essay!
And don't be mean!
Hi all!
Top tips for 1st year architecture students: Tea vs coffee, the power of sleep and when to ignore your teacher.
Drink tea not coffee. Coffee is good for a sudden burst of energy to keep you going during late nights working on AutoCAD, but be careful! The caffeine in coffee enters your bloodstream faster, giving you great energy at first, but if it continues, it will cause your body to burn out. A mug of strong tea has the same amount of caffeine, but it will be used more gradually, keeping you focused but calm for longer. Tea is also an antioxidant and relieves stress.
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Draw a lot and draw by hand. Drawing is not just a way of communicating with other people, it is a way of thinking. From Le Corbusier's intricate sketches to Zaha Hadid's enormous paintings, drawing is essential to the practice, culture and progress of architecture.
When creating a model, use a sharp cutter. Cutter - The blade isn't the cheap kind you buy from office supply stores and gets dull quickly, but don't be tempted to cut your costs by using dull cutters. If you slip and cut yourself with a dull blade, you'll end up with a dirty, painful wound that will take a long time to heal. However, if you cut yourself with a sharp blade, the wound will be cleaner and heal faster. You can save money by purchasing cutters in bulk.
Do Your Browsing Right. This seems understandable, but many freshmen hang hasty drawings on unsafe walls. Even a rough sketch on torn paper in oil deserves better than this. Invest in a huge box of pencils and line up your drawings with each other.
Your teachers are an invaluable source of wisdom and ideas - use. Don't just wait until your weekly class to mess around; actively ask for advice, opinions and criticism. Knock on doors, send emails, chase them in corridors, guard them outside offices. Do whatever is necessary.
The knowledge of your teachers is not a death sentence. They may have intelligence, experience and deadly criticism, but this does not give them a monopoly on the truth. Sometimes the best teacher should be the one who tells you to design a blue house so that you become even more determined and design a red one. Listen carefully and understand their point of view, but take what your teachers say with a pinch of salt.
Treat the power of sleep with caution. By the end of the faculty, your friends will have experimented with each "sleeping cycle." Some will say that a 20-minute nap is more refreshing than a 40-minute nap. Others will prefer a 4-hour nap alone. You'll see students sleeping under their desks in the classroom or moving around with 80 hours without sleep. There may be times when you have to work late, but the truth is that you will never produce much work when exhausted - it is much better to stay focused and productive during the work day than to let your laziness steal your sleep and productivity. Stick to a regular daily schedule. Make a promise to yourself to make a plan in the evening and stick to it.
Subscribe to the magazine. Regular reading of architecture magazines is an invaluable source of inspiration. Good magazine should encourage you to think deeply about architecture and its relationship to the outside world, and should be easy to read and beautifully designed. From a teacher's perspective, the difference between students who regularly read articles or short essays in architectural journals and those who don't is huge. Luckily, many architecture magazines have great deals for students at the moment, if you can find them.
University grading system is strange and architectural marks are cruel. Students who have been at the top of their class their whole lives upon arriving at the architecture department find themselves struggling to achieve average grades. Take heart. Your final grade matters much less. The ranks of world-famous architects are littered with designers who failed at university, dropped out, or didn't study architecture at all.
Eat delicious food. With so many deadlines, it can be tempting to buy ready-made and take-home meals and not take the time to cook. This is a false economy. A good diet gives you more energy throughout the day, keeps you healthy, and prepares you for a life of wearing tight black turtlenecks. If you are not the next Bompass & Parr learn how to cook some simple dishes in large quantities, which can be preserved for several days - soups, sauces, pastas and baked goods.
Explore. Travel with an open heart. Understand cultures and traditions that are different from your own. This doesn't necessarily mean hitchhiking around the world. Wherever you are there will be many unfamiliar communities and landscapes within easy reach. Get to know the country you're better off in—even if you grew up there.
And if you are already graduating, it will be very useful.
The original post is posted on Margarita’s personal page "In contact with", where we encourage everyone to directly ask questions about admission and study from Greg Lynn himself.
History: what you have to go through
Probably, the period from which my life began to change can be called the time when I was a final year student at the Academy of Architecture.
Lying on the floor, I scrolled through the arch:speech news feed and came across an article. At that time, I had already entered the master’s program at the same architectural academy where I studied, but I already wanted something more.
Among the list, I noticed the University of Applied Arts Vienna. While still a 3rd year student, I read about him in magazines and admired their approach to design and thinking. And then the first seed crept into my head: what if I try to enroll in a master’s program there?
Now it’s difficult to remember what a colossal amount of effort and labor was invested in the implementation of this idea, and therefore I will describe everything from the perspective of a student.
It took me two years to achieve my dream. Two hard, intense, diligent and energetic years. The first thing I started with was learning the language. It will never be superfluous.
I created schedules for myself, according to which I tracked how often I was able to study, whether I met deadlines, etc. I started watching films and TV series on English language, purchased English-language books, started listening to English-language radio, used applications to communicate with native speakers, attended language clubs, prepared for and took trial language exams... But this is all already clear: thousands of articles on the Internet will tell you about all kinds of ways to touch the language. The important thing is that I seriously focused on this. The most difficult thing at this stage was the lack of opportunity to invest in this. How easy everything would be if you could just sign up for courses with a teacher... But alas and ah, as they say. I had to move in all the most free ways. And believe me, such people exist.
I told my parents about my idea, but they didn’t take it seriously. But I didn’t tell anyone else about my plans. Superstition or premonition did not allow this to be spread.
Five months passed like this. I managed to pass a trial language exam, achieved certain progress in speech and perception, and almost completed the first semester of my master's degree at the Academy of Architecture. It's time to submit documents and the first interview. At that time, I had my only working tool at hand - my old laptop, which at that time had suffered more than one system failure and sent more than one of my portfolios to nowhere. For a month, every day after work, I had to glue up models, draw sketches and try to restore bit by bit everything that remained from previous projects.
I won’t describe the whole series of events for a long time, but I failed my first interview. At that time, my English was still too weak, and even having prepared for all the expected questions, I did not expect one question. I was asked to describe one of my works in a portfolio. Having safely fallen into a puddle on this issue, a week later I received a letter of refusal.
Another six months passed. During these six months, spring came and summer almost flew by, taking with it warmth, unrealized rest and personal life. Oddly enough, emotional and mental experiences in this regard occurred in the final couple of weeks before the upcoming submission of documents.
Here I cannot help but mention that my parents and friends helped me get on my feet at that moment, to whom I am still grateful and whom I will always appreciate.
Gritting my teeth and pulling myself together, I finished the work and submitted the documents again. Passed the interview. And she began to wait.
But this was no longer the nervous and anxious anticipation that I experienced last time. This time it was more confident and firm. “If it doesn’t work, I’ll try again!” I told myself.
And I received an invitation.
My joy knew no bounds! I ran around the room screaming and couldn’t believe my luck! I got in... They accepted me... They want to work with me...
This was a turning point for me.
Instructions: how to collect documents and behave
Here I will tell you what the Institute of Architecture in Vienna is, what you can expect upon admission, and give some tips.
The Institute of Architecture is part of the University of Applied Arts (you will also often see the German version of Universität für Angewandte Kunst Wien). This— link to the University of Applied Arts website. This- specifically for the architectural department. It should immediately be borne in mind that the Institute of Architecture is educational institution for those who already have higher education. It provides a master's program lasting 3 years (6 semesters).
The Institute of Applied Arts has three main architectural studios: Studio Kazuyo Sejima, Studio Greg Lynn and Studio Hani Rashid. To learn more about the direction and features of each studio, visit the website IOA. Here, each studio presents itself in detail, providing information about its characteristics, values, lead architect, team and work.
In order to understand that you need to study the information more closely and get acquainted with the work of students - this is the most detailed answer to your question “what do students do at Angewandte”.
When you have decided which studio direction is closest to you, the time comes to submit an application. Here you will find information about the requirements for submitting documents. A huge advantage (at least for me) was the lack of language exam requirements. Also, no one here is interested in the results of your Unified State Exam and other grades. The main interest here is your talent, your way of thinking and your direction of work. Basic documents you must provide:
- Portfolio
- Motivation letter (CV)
- Statement
All requirements for these documents, as well as submission deadlines, can be found at link.
From myself I can say the main thing: be honest. Your portfolio should present you the way you want. Don’t be afraid to design it in a non-standard way, don’t be afraid of unexpected and incredible solutions - this can become your advantage or highlight. Don't limit yourself only architectural projects: attach photos of models, drawings, photographs - anything that speaks about your attitude to architecture.
Concerning motivation letter- the same advice. The structure of a letter is its design. Its foundation is you. Be open in what you write; tell your story, everything you overcame to get to this point. Show how much you want it. The people who will read this letter do not know you at all - give them a chance to get to know you and be inspired by you.
Once you have sent the documents, all you can do is wait. A little patience and you will receive an answer. If you are invited to an interview, everything is great! If not, don't be upset. You may need to improve your skills or reveal more of yourself in your papers. Failure is not the end and no one deprives you of a second chance. My story confirms this.
For those who received positive feedback and an invitation to an interview, congratulations - you've made it more than halfway! Now you need to prepare for the conversation. Interviews are conducted both at the institute itself and via Skype. Don't worry, there is no need to come to Vienna.
It is important to emphasize: I am a student at Studio Lynn, and therefore below I describe everything about how this happens in our studio with our teachers. But I’m sure that in other studios everything happens similarly.
First, I want to make you happy: you shouldn’t be afraid of interviews. This is NOT a long conversation with many difficult and testing questions. This is a short conversation of about 15 minutes with our architect-tutors who just want to get to know you and learn more about you (which they will tell you about at the beginning of the conversation). Remember, the people on the other end want to help you! Be relaxed, positive and frank. All that awaits you is a few questions about you, what you like, what directions you prefer, your idols, etc. Mostly there will be questions about the portfolio. At the end, you will be asked to select any project from your portfolio and talk about it. Our tutors are very positive, friendly and very interesting to communicate with!
Once you complete the interview, you are required to wait again. If you pass the selection, you are invited to training. Here you have a choice: you can start your studies within the next three semesters. That means you have another year and a half if you want to prepare. I chose the option to start studying a year after the invitation in order to improve my English and prepare financially. You will only have to provide the basic documents within the next month: a diploma (with translation into English or German) and a foreign passport. passport. Of course, you will be informed of all the details.
This is approximately the entire process that awaits you. I wish you good luck, and if you have any questions or recommendations on how to supplement the text, I look forward to your messages in
