In second year students move on to buildings larger than houses architectural draughting is a busy PLC course in Pearse College, Dublin, says Elaine Larkin
Architecture is a career that rules out many students because of its high entry points. But students interested in this area should also think about working with architects, as opposed to being one. One of the ways of doing this is to enrol on the architectural draughting PLC course in Dublin's Pearse College.
This course is designed to provide training and work-experience in draughting and associated skills which will enable students to take up employment in architectural, civil and mechanical engineering, in the building services and interior design practices or to progress to study at third level.
The course deals with a lot of people who were ideally aiming for a course in DIT Bolton Street, but didn't have enough points to get in. According to Kevin Joyce, course co-ordinator, it is two one-year courses, really. People can leave after first year and the course links into an IT after one year, but he says, to be of any use, people would want to do the two years.
"It's a link scheme with the FETAC award and it links into all the institutes of technology," explains Joyce, adding while most of them will want to get into the architecture technology course, the Pearse College course links into the construction technology award.
"There's a route there, it's not a clear-cut route. There is certainly a route into the other ITs and into Bolton Street, but to do the construction technology and not the architectural technology," explains Joyce.
"A lot of them want to get into the architecture but the methods of getting into Bolton Street into architectural technology involve an aptitude test and then an interview. On the basis of an interview, if they've got a reasonable Leaving Cert before they come to us, doing a full-time course here will benefit them in their portfolio, their knowledge; they will be far better grounded going into that course after a year here than they would be straight from Leaving Cert," says Joyce.
Some 40 people are taken on each year and 20 usually last through to second year.
These are mainly originate from south Dublin - Clondalkin, Rathmines, Terenure - wherever is in commuting distance.
Leaving Cert subjects it helps to have done are "construction technology or construction studies, technical graphics or engineering and art". But, assures Joyce, people have done the course having done none of those subjects in school and have been fine. The most important ingredient in a student's success is "a passion for drawing or buildings in general".
There is quite a mixture of practice and theory in the course and students spend quite a lot of time drawing and sketching. "Realistically, drawing equipment in the future will involve the computer and the mouse. They spend time on a computer, building up their knowledge, to get it into their head first of all and then how they represent it would probably end up on a computer down the road."
The course isn't purely drawing; there is a mixture of maths and material science. The official subject line up is drawing, computer aided design (CAD - 2D), engineering graphics, technical graphics, building services , construction draughting, reinforced concrete detailing, heating and ventilating, architectural drawing and presentation, mathematics and structures, business studies and communications. "We break it up with other things - you couldn't take 27 hours a week of drawing, drawing, drawing," says Joyce.
Basically from dealing with houses in first year, in second year students move on to buildings larger than houses. In May of second year, students go on work placement and a lot get permanent positions, although this is by no means a guarantee.
And the difference between an architect and a graduate of this course? "The architect would be the person who designs things. The architectural technician would be the person who puts the meat on the design," says Joyce.
