A Typical Week of Bachelor Students at the Institute for Art and Architecture

Welcome to the Podcast of Sophia

"Welcome to the very first episode of the Academy podcast for Kiosk.
In today's episode, we're going to dive into the week of architecture students in their fourth semester of the Bachelor's program. Each day is described by one person, which will hopefully allow you to form your own opinion and see what you like and what you might not."
 

Monday with Philipp

"Hello, my name is Philipp. Today I woke up at 10:00 am. Because we have studio at 2:00... and thats not so stressful to get to uni so early. But still, I was there two hours earlier because I had to prepare some things for today's presentation.

I made some conceptual sketches for my project, gathered myself to be able to present all my ideas clearly when the studio started at two o'clock, which usually goes until six. At first, I waited at least two hours before presenting my stuff because there are 15 people in the studio. After the presentations, we were among ourselves in the group and tried to discuss what we could improve or what we should develop further. It's very important to talk to the other students to get a sense of what we should do by tomorrow. We will just have another round of feedback. So not such a big presentation, but maybe after going outside to Schillerplatz and having a good time with my friends in the sun. Then I'll come back to the studio and work on my project for at least another hour or two."

Tuesday with Ambrosia 

"Hello, my name is Ambrosia, and this is my Tuesday: I was able to sleep a little longer, but then I came to the studio early to work on my stuff. The studio started at 2:00 am. Not everyone had the individual critique from the professors yesterday, some still have it today. Tuesday is usually also good for some questions left over from the day before, to continue working, but also to get new information e.g. What could be next week's assignments? What could be the tasks for next week? and so on.... The last two days have actually been pretty intense. So I might stay after the studio for an hour or two, work on some things, but then I can go home and relax a bit or meet up with friends... that's why I like Tuesdays."

Wednesday with Hanna 

"Hello, my name is Hanna and this is my fourth semester at the academy. Today is Wednesday, a more relaxed day because we have lectures in the evening. I usually wake up around eight o'clock, have breakfast and if we have a lot to do for the studio, I go straight to the university and do my studio work there. The lecture at five o'clock with Franz Sam is called 'Sustainability 1', it's quite interesting because we learn about a lot of materials. What he shows well are examples, not just from architecture, but also art installations and examples from many other areas. Talk to him! Because he's always very open to discussion and happy to talk to students and answer questions. After the lecture, I usually go home and have dinner, but sometimes I have to stay at the university and do something for the studio. But in the evenings there is always a very pleasant atmosphere in the studio because we don't have the main lights on, we all have our own table lamp, and that creates a very warm and good working atmosphere."

Thursday with Valerie 

"Hello, my name is Valerie. My Thursday usually starts later than usual because I work very early the day before and therefore get up very early. So I enjoy my morning and sleep in without an alarm clock. Then I usually make myself a coffee. Then my first lecture at the university starts at 10:00 a.m. This is usually more demanding because it's about construction and we have to do a lot for it. It lasts over 2 hours... It's a double lecture. Then I usually have lunch in the canteen at the university if there is no pasta (on the menu), because I can make my own pasta. After that, there's usually something else to do, often for the lecture I've just had. After that I have another lecture... a very entertaining lecture on gardens. Then it's usually, I don't know...7:00pm....And I'm lucky if I can catch a supermarket before it closes. When that happens, I cook myself something. And then later, sometimes I go out for a drink, sometimes not. Sometimes I watch a movie, sometimes I go back to work. It depends. But Thursday is almost Friday, so I usually go out."

Friday with Noah 

"Today is Friday. I usually wake up at 9:00. I mean, we have a seminar at 9:00, but I can't really sleep before 2:00 because of my sleep schedule, so I think it's acceptable to be an hour late.... So my alarm goes off at 9:00, then I get to the university at 10:00. Usually we have the seminar until 11:15 and then a short break before we have studio in the afternoon. After the studio... so, we always joke that usually Monday night is the only day we have a weekend because we often have presentations or pin-ups on Monday. So Friday nights are usually work nights, and the weekend after that too. Sometimes I go out after our studio or have a drink with friends. But that's usually my Friday."

Saturday with Kári 

"Yes, hello, I'm Kári. I'm an Erasmus student and today is Saturday. So I got up a little later... and went to the studio... and tried to work on something for Monday. I'm also trying to do something nice since it's the weekend, but sometimes there's too much work to do.... But somehow we manage, haha. I usually work until dinner or something and then go home, eat, get ready and then go party with the others from the studio. But not too late because we probably have to be here tomorrow. Otherwise we might have a beer or two in the studio and then go home early."

Sunday with Dora 

"Hello, my name is Dóra. I'm going to tell you about my Sunday. I don't sleep in because that's a waste of time. I usually get up at around 7:30 and then have my coffee. Then I sit down and do my work for university on my laptop. Then I go out for a bit...not to be so depressed... haha... and then I sit down again, do my work on the laptop. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll finish work for the day around 7:00 or 8:00, watch a movie, or go for a walk with my boyfriend."

Closing with Sophia

"So that was a whole week from Monday to Sunday, from the perspective of architecture students in their fourth semester at the Academy of Fine Arts. And yes, I agree, the amount of work sounds quite demanding, and it is. However, the work that takes up most of your time is your individual work for the studio. If you can accept a negative critique and not love your project.... you can do very little work. If you really stand behind the art you make, you will work a lot. None of this is to say that there probably shouldn't be a better work-life balance. We're all working on it individually, and as a group we encourage ourselves to take time for ourselves, because good work doesn't happen without sleep. Thank you for listening and see you next time."

Sophia Rettl, born in Villach, Carinthia. Studying architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in the fifth semester of her Bachelor's degree. She is currently spending an Erasmus semester abroad at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.