SOP Sample for MS Architecture in US Early Career Applicants

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Creativity allows us to express ourselves without words. My journey to fall in love with this creative nature of mine and express my ideas started right from the day my father purchased me my first set of crayons and a drawing book to scribble in. Throughout my schooling I was a sincere student and excelled in all the subjects being taught, but it was one particular subject that I thoroughly enjoyed more than the rest, it was arts and crafts. Being a soft spoken child it was during the arts and crafts lecture that I could comfortably express my thoughts in the best form and actually feel content. This interest of mine developed with time and later on evolved into me realising that I wanted to pursue a career in a creative field. I always had a keen interest experimenting with various materials and colours and also in developing and understanding spaces, and that led to me taking up the course of architecture. Taking up science during high school also benefited me while pursuing architecture in understanding certain concepts, as architecture is a combination of art and technology.

Owing to my high school academics I was fortunate to be admitted to [UNIVERSITY NAME], [CITY], one of the most prestigious and oldest colleges of architecture in India. It was a dream come true to be able to pursue my degree from a college with a rich architectural history and located in the heart of the city of [CITY] surrounded by various other architectural marvels with rich histories to be explored during my every day travels. Throughout the course of 5 years I was introduced to various subjects that made me realise how vast the stream of architecture is. Architecture isn't just designing aesthetic spaces, but is an amalgamation of supporting factors like building construction, climate analysis, structural systems, understanding of cultures and human behaviours etc. which help in achieving forms and designs that not only look good but are functional too. This comprehension helped me to generate efficient and functional designs in the core subject of Architectural Design, wherein my designs were always backed by the knowledge and thorough research gained through the other subjects being taught.

I did my first internship in the winter break of 3rd year, during which I got my first practical insight in the field and that really helped me change my perspective about how I perceived my designs. This was distinctly noticed in my designs thereafter as I didn't limit my designs to what was being taught in the curriculum but rather took the efforts of exploring the various advancements that were taking place in the field and applying them to my designs.

Along with my academics, I was an active member of the Student council of the college as the Promotional and Website head for two years in a row. I willingly helped in organizing and enthusiastically participated in the extra-curricular activities that took place in the college. Being involved in these extra-curricular activities helped me improve my personality, boosted my confidence and helped me grow as an individual.

During my professional practice semester, I availed the opportunity to work for a small studio firm named [COMPANY NAME], [CITY] for a period of 5 months. This particular firm majorly specialised in constructing high rise residential projects. It was during this time that my understanding of architecture was further magnified, as I worked on projects which were at the conceptual stage and also creating working drawings for projects that were being constructed on site as well. The knowledge gained during this period of 5 months helped me understand the different stages of designing and construction on a deeper level.

During my final year, my Design Dissertation topic was "Centre for the International Film Festival of India, Goa". The main aim of the project was to create a centre specifically designed to host the festival in such a way that the festival is conducted efficiently also to create an infrastructure that marks the identity of the festival but at the same time blends in with the serene surroundings of Goa. This was achieved by studying human behavioural patterns, research about the requirements of each activity, keeping the planning as simple as possible to avoid confusion of the masses, bifurcating the different entries and exits and creating interesting pockets of informal spaces in between two formal spaces. Principles taught during the first year of architecture in a subject called Basic Design, proved to be quiet helpful. Also the practical knowledge gained during professional practice helped in creating an understanding of how to make the infrastructure structurally sound and in planning out the various systems and services that are required for the structure to function properly.

After graduating in 2020, I got employed at [COMPANY NAME], [CITY], a firm that specializes in parametric and computational design. It has been an amazing experience being a part of the firm, as it allowed me to explore a completely new segment of architecture which marks the future of the ever expanding field and create limitless designs. It has been a great opportunity to work hands on and develop my software and technical knowledge with the use of advanced modelling software's like Rhino and grasshopper, and fabrication machineries like CNC's, Water jet, Laser cutting, 3d printing and Robotic arms. The projects carried out can be termed as a product of thoughtful engineered designs achieved by carefully carrying out research about different materials and processes. This has helped me expand my vision of architecture to a point which once seemed unimaginable. During my time in this firm as an employee I've worked on a variety of projects at different stages, right from designing to getting things executed.

The numerous learning instances that I've come across throughout my journey, right from being a naïve student who wanted to explore her creative side to a practicing architect, I've learnt that architecture isn't just about building four walls and a roof. It is about creating and understanding spaces, interpreting what impact the spaces and structures shall have over the habitants and drawing conclusions from it, considering all the micro as well as macro factors, making use of the advancements in technology to achieve results that are beyond one's imagination and many other facets. It is a cognitive process that shall keep enhancing the more you keep exploring it.

I wish to continue this journey of learning and further augment my design thinking and boost my potential as a professional for which I believe that the concurrent Master's in Architecture course offered at [UNIVERSITY NAME] shall be a perfect fit. I further plan to avail the teachings and research gained to help create spaces, environments and structures that will benefit the society. With these words, I look forward to a favourable reply from the admissions committee and aspire to be a part of the Fall 2022 M.Arch programme at your esteemed university. After reviewing my academic record, it would be an honour if I were to be considered as a candidate for being offered a RA or a TA (Scholarship).