Many students interested in applying to architecture school often come up with various excuses for why they haven’t started working on their portfolio yet.
These excuses, such as “I’ll start after school is over” or “I need to take a vacation first,” can lead to procrastination and a lack of focus on preparing for the competitive admissions process. As in reality, applying to architecture school requires a significant amount of time and dedication, often requiring applicants to (temporarily!) take a break from social activities and other commitments.
Those who are able to make the commitment to this level of dedication and focus tend to be more successful in the admissions process. If you are not yet ready to make this level of commitment, it may not be the right time for you to pursue architecture school.
However, if you are committed to putting in the necessary work to become a successful architecture school applicant, it is important to manage your time effectively and make the most of it.
…and so in this article we aim to provide a breakdown on how to create a successful undergraduate architecture portfolio that gets you through the administration process and into architecture school.
archisoup.
Have confidence in any interview.
Your portfolio is the most important tool you have – but when it comes to presenting your abilities, everything needs to be working together.
Why do you need to create an undergraduate portfolio?
There are several reasons why you might create an undergraduate architecture portfolio:
- To showcase your skills and experience: A portfolio is a way to showcase your skills and experience as an architecture student. It allows you to present your best work in a visually appealing and organized way.
- To demonstrate your potential as an architect: An undergraduate architecture portfolio can help you demonstrate your potential as an architect to potential employers or academic programs. It can give them a sense of your design style and abilities, as well as your ability to communicate and present your work effectively.
- To document your progress and achievements: An architecture portfolio is also a way to document your progress and achievements as a student. It allows you to reflect on your growth and development as an architect and can be a valuable resource for future job searches or academic applications.
- To prepare for the admissions process: If you are planning to apply to graduate school or a professional architecture program, an undergraduate portfolio can be a helpful tool in the admissions process. It allows you to showcase your work and demonstrate your potential as an architect to admissions committees.
While a portfolio’s are not always a requirement for undergraduate architecture programs, there are situations in which applicants may be asked to submit one regardless as part of the admissions process:
- If the applicant is transferring credits and seeking advanced placement.
- If the applicant does not meet the minimum GPA requirements for the program.
What do architecture schools want to see from an undergraduate portfolio?
To begin with, it’s best to assume there’s no two architecture schools that will evaluate your portfolio in the same way. Always contact the coordination of the specific program you are going to apply to be sure what their requirements are. You can see examples of these requirements here, here and here.
That being said, there are some rules of thumb you could follow.
Architecture school admissions usually require you to demonstrate a vocation for creative and artistic skills, so anything ranging from freehand drawings to woodcraft should be emphasized. Graduate application portfolios from an architecture background will already show your projects as well.
If you are applying for graduate architecture school from a different field, don’t worry. You should highlight the ways in which your interests and acquired knowledge relates to architecture. You might want to enforce some skills by taking courses if you want to include certain things like drawings or models in your portfolio.
Architecture schools are looking for a diverse range of examples of your skills and talents, including work that demonstrates your understanding of three-dimensional form and your use of mixed media. You’re encouraged to select work that represents your strongest skills, which may include freehand drawings, paintings, ceramics, textiles, photography, animation, etc.
These want to contribute in providing:
- Evidence of design skills and potential: Architecture schools want to see evidence of your design skills and potential as an architect. This should include work that showcases your artistic ability and creativity.
- Demonstration of your design process: It is also important to demonstrate your design process, from the beginning to the end of a project. This may include concept sketches, diagrams, models, and other documentation of your thought process.
- Understanding of form and space: Architecture schools want to see that you have a strong understanding of form and space and how to use them effectively in your design work.
- Ability to observe and record: It is important to demonstrate your ability to observe and record the world around you through drawings, sketches, or other media. This may include observational drawings, life drawings, still life drawings, or urban/rural landscapes.
- Use of mixed media: Architecture schools may also be interested in seeing how you use mixed media in your work, such as digital media, photography, or other mediums.
Some students prior to starting architecture school will attend a foundation year or diploma course in art and design. This may be because they are unsure of what direction to take or just want to gain some extra skills and experience before starting.
This does however make their portfolios slightly more advanced and directed towards the subject, in both the content and the portfolios presentation. Although highly recommended, on average most students do not do this, and instead continue straight through to architecture school without taking any sort of supplementary course.
Overall, schools are looking for a portfolio that showcases your design skills and potential, demonstrates your design process, and demonstrates your understanding of form and space. It is also important to include work that shows your ability to observe and record the world around you and that showcases your use of mixed media.
How to create an undergraduate architecture portfolio for university
In this next section, we will walk you through the necessary steps for creating a successful undergraduate architecture portfolio for university, and discuss how to select and organize your work, add context, design a layout, and create both a physical and digital version of your portfolio.
By following these tips, we hope you can create a portfolio that is both effective in showcasing your abilities and helps you to stand out in the competitive administration process of architecture school.
01 – Define your portfolios purpose
Before you start creating the content for your portfolio, take some time to write your mission statement. This will help you clarify what makes you unique and what you want to achieve as a designer. Your mission statement should not be the same as your personal statement for your architecture school application, but it should provide a structure for your portfolio and help you focus your efforts.
To develop your mission statement, think about your overall background and life experiences and try to summarize them in a few simple, easy-to-understand ideas. This will give you a starting point for creating your portfolio and help you focus your efforts.
Remember, your mission statement is like a script for a play and should provide a structure for your portfolio, but it is not necessary to stick to it strictly all the time. As long as it provides a good starting point, you can begin developing your portfolio.
02 – Define your strengths
As you begin to develop your portfolio, ask yourself questions about your design process and how you approach design problems. For example, do you observe patterns of behavior and form in communities and individuals? Do you tend to focus more on aesthetics or on the rational aspects of a design problem?
Do you analyze the behavior of the people who will use your designs? How do these approaches inform your life and your work as an architecture student?
It’s important to be methodical and authentic in answering these questions and integrating your unique strengths and perspective into everything you submit, from architectural sketches to models. Remember to focus on what makes you a special and unique architecture school applicant and how you can demonstrate this in your portfolio.
03 – Find your uniqueness
It is crucial to stand out if you need financial aid to attend your preferred architecture school, as most architecture schools only reserve significant financial aid for a small percentage of accepted students (less than 5%). This means that only a small fraction of applicants (less than 1%) receive any financial aid.
To increase your chances of receiving a merit-based scholarship or fellowship, you need to differentiate yourself from the competition.
To do this, start by developing a strong mission and admissions strategy. Then, try to find ways to differentiate yourself from other candidates without becoming irrelevant. Focus on areas covered by the architecture programs you are applying to, but try to find a niche that other candidates are not likely to be occupying.
As you analyze your projects, you may notice some defining motifs emerging. Use these motifs throughout your portfolio to create a cohesive narrative and clarify your vision and points of differentiation.
Remember, top architecture schools often have three or more equally qualified applicants for each acceptance spot, so it is important to make yourself stand out to increase your chances of being accepted and receiving financial aid.
04 – Define your portfolios identity
To ensure that your portfolio is fully appreciated by the admissions committee, it is important to make the basic ideas you want them to understand as clear and easy to understand as possible.
One way to do this is by defining the identity of your portfolio, which allows you to transfer the focus from individual projects to your overall profile. This identity ties all of your projects together and helps to lift your portfolio.
Even if someone does not fully understand or appreciate individual projects, they may still appreciate your identity as a candidate.
05 – Make it bespoke
The goal of an architecture school portfolio is to show that you are a perfect fit for the program, but also very different from other applicants. Striking this balance is key to a successful portfolio.
To increase your chances of being accepted to a particular architecture school, try to tailor your portfolio to the specific program and its philosophical foundation. While it may not be feasible to create a completely different portfolio for each school you apply to, you can make minor adjustments or vary certain projects to align with the mission and values of each program.
However, the main body of your portfolio should remain consistent to allow for refinement and improvement.
Remember, it is important to reflect the mission of the architecture school in your portfolio, but also to highlight your differences from other applicants. This will help you stand out in a competitive admissions process.
06 – Establish a theme
An effective way to tie together seemingly unrelated ideas in your architecture school portfolio is by developing a cohesive theme and carrying it throughout your presentation of all projects. A theme for an architecture school portfolio is not a strategy or mission, but rather an extension of both.
It consists of a set of ideas and graphics, a system of personal branding and aesthetics, and a set of tools and processes that appear and reappear throughout the portfolio to help integrate multiple ideas and highlight characteristics of the applicant.
To develop a strong theme, it is important to first define your mission and strategy. This involves delving into the specifics of your background and engaging your portfolio reviewers in an indirect dialogue to help them understand the complexity of the material you are presenting.
Use sketches and diagrams related to your projects to take the viewer through the important parts of the creative process and define the essence of each project. Keep the main focus of your theme aligned with your mission and strategy and use the remaining space to delve into the interesting details of your projects.
This will allow you to create engaging in-between sections that introduce the viewer to upcoming projects as part of preceding ones.
07 – Make it clear
To ensure that your portfolio is easy to understand, your theme should clearly reflect your strategy and mission, allowing the reviewer to instantly grasp the main focus of your portfolio by simply looking at the overall theme. A clear organization is key to a successful portfolio.
To create a powerful presentation of your process, start by describing the design problem and then introduce a seed of an idea or concept. Use primarily sketches and diagrams to explain the development of your idea and gradually include more finished drawings and renderings as you progress.
By the final spread, you should have narrated the entire process, culminating in images or examples of the final product. This will help the reviewer understand your thought process and design approach.
08 – Show your creative thinking
Your design-thinking process is crucial to a successful architecture school portfolio. It is more important than the final product itself, as it demonstrates the thought and effort put into the project.
By narrating the entire process, starting at the pre-schematic level, you engage the reviewer and allow them to see the progression of your project. This helps to make it more memorable and allows you to inject your own unique influences and ideas into the project.
In addition to the process of developing the project, it is also important to consider the process of presenting it. The presentation should not be static, but rather a ceremonial walk through the development of your ideas.
This helps to create a sense of sequence and allows the viewer to experience the project in a similar way to how an architectural project is experienced – as a series of spaces and moments in time and space. By presenting your portfolio in this way, you can effectively communicate your personality and make a strong impression on the examiner.
09 – Show your sketches
Effective communication through sketching is crucial in the field of architecture, both in team meetings and when presenting to clients or contractors. It is especially important when creating a portfolio for architecture school admissions, as it allows you to capture the attention of the reviewer and effectively convey the essence of your ideas and designs.
Diagrams and sketches can help establish a rhythm and pattern in your work, making it easier for reviewers to understand and remember your projects. A strong diagram can inspire the reviewer without necessarily fully resolving the project, allowing them to envision the final result in their own way. Mastering the art of diagramming is essential for success in architecture school and your career.
10 – Graphic representation and organization
The way you visually organize your portfolio can greatly impact its success. Good graphic representation allows you to highlight the strengths of your projects and mask any weaknesses, while poor representation can negatively impact the impression of a project.
It is important to follow some basic rules to avoid overwhelming the reviewer, such as giving each image on a page enough space to “breathe” and allowing the eye to understand the narrative of the page.
Avoid overstuffing your portfolio with too much information, as this can distract from the quality of your work. Your ability to synthesize your portfolio is a reflection of your ability to synthesize spatial sequences in your projects.
By considering the organization and presentation of your portfolio, you can showcase your projects in the best light.
11 – Create a narrative
One of the challenges facing applicants to architecture school is that they cannot be present to present their portfolio in person. This means that the projects in the portfolio may be misinterpreted or undervalued due to a lack of proper presentation and context.
In an interview or studio critique, the creator of the project is able to provide a detailed explanation and answer any questions from the reviewer. However, in the case of a portfolio for architecture school admissions, the applicant must rely on the design and development process of each project to effectively communicate their ideas and anticipate the questions of the reviewer.
This is why it’s important for architecture school applicants to view their portfolio as a project in itself and put effort into presenting it in a cohesive and engaging way.
One effective way to do this is by using the portfolio as a storytelling device. Telling a story about the development of the ideas behind a project can be more memorable for the reviewer than simply listing technical and programmatic details.
The portfolio should include sketches, diagrams, and text that take the reviewer through the process step by step, leading to the final concept.
To create a cohesive portfolio, it’s important to ensure that each project has its own character and that they all fit under an umbrella theme. This allows the applicant to cover a range of topics while still effectively communicating the most essential information to the reviewer through the overall story of the portfolio.
The quality of the story also depends on factors such as narrative, strategy, mission, graphics, layout, and organization. By focusing on these elements, the applicant can improve the cohesiveness of their portfolio as a whole.
12 – Keep text short
As an architecture student or applicant, it is important to understand the role of the portfolio in communicating your ideas. A portfolio allows you to showcase your ability to present your ideas through various forms of media, which is a crucial skill in the field. Even if you are not particularly strong at this, it is important to demonstrate effort in communicating your ideas through your portfolio.
Text is often not given much attention in portfolios. It is unlikely that reviewers will spend much time reading the written text in your portfolio. This is partly because designers sometimes use text simply to fill in gaps or add prestige to a project.
In rare cases, if the reviewer is particularly interested in the graphic narrative of a project, they may read some of the text to learn more. Keep in mind that reviewers will not have much time to spend on your portfolio, especially during the initial selection process.
Instead of using extensive text, include short references to the design and graphic material that clearly describe the concept. Consider using quick “napkin sketches” or “Corbusian sketches” to visually convey the story of your project and how it developed.
If you are invited to an architecture school interview, be aware that the interview will likely last about 30 minutes and will involve discussing the visual material in your portfolio with the interviewer.
During these interviews, the interviewer will likely not read any of your text. This is because they may review hundreds of portfolios and want to quickly and efficiently understand a candidate’s work.
To make the most of your text in the portfolio, try to keep the descriptions concise and vary the way they are displayed on the page. If you have graphic material that can convey the same information as the text, consider using it and removing the text from your portfolio.
Remember that the goal is to effectively communicate your ideas through the visual elements of the portfolio.
13 – Project selection
It’s important to have a clear strategy and mission in mind to ensure that your portfolio projects serve their purpose and don’t waste your time. Once you have this in place, choose one of your favorite projects and think about how to tell its story.
Define the type of story you want to tell and consider how the project fits into it and how the story fits into the overall portfolio. After defining the story, go back and develop any missing pieces to present the project in a cohesive and engaging way.
Once you’ve finished developing the drawings and models, take some good photos of them. It’s not necessary to use a professional camera – you can use your phone and try to capture your perspective as a designer.
If needed, you can adjust the pictures in Photoshop. The goal is to communicate your process through your design work and showcase the intriguing details of your process to win over the reviewers. Remember that anything you present needs to be included in your process, or the reviewers won’t be convinced.
14 – Format
The organization of images on pages in an architecture school portfolio is similar to the organization of urban blocks in a city, which helps define its character. This doesn’t mean that using a specific layout, such as a square or grid format, makes you a good or bad architecture school applicant.
Rather, the layout creates a rhythm and sets certain rules that may or may not be suitable for certain projects or audiences. It’s important to consider the layout early on and determine which one is appropriate for your portfolio.
Undergraduate architecture portfolio examples
We have a selection of undergraduate architecture portfolios here, and the below three personal YouTube clips on how to create a winning undergrad portfolio and gain a place in architecture school, provide an excellent account of what to expect.
“My Undergraduate Architecture Portfolio [Flip Through+Tips]”
Here the host of “Surviving Architecture” provides an in-depth flip through of her undergraduate architecture portfolio, sharing her architecture designs, compositions, and architecture portfolio layout tips.
“High school architecture portfolio // tips + examples”
In this video, the host Zoe shares the portfolio she used to apply to architecture colleges as well as explaining some tips she learned along the way.
“ACCEPTED Cambridge Architecture Portfolio Flip-Through”
Lastly, in this undergraduate architecture student portfolio flip-through video host Callum talks us through his portfolio that that he created for his application to study undergraduate architecture at the University of Cambridge.
FAQ’s
What should be included in an undergraduate architecture portfolio?
An undergraduate architecture portfolio should include a selection of your best and most relevant work from your studies. This could include design projects, models, drawings, sketches, and any other relevant materials.
It should also include a resume or CV, a statement of purpose or cover letter explaining your goals and interests in architecture, and any other relevant information about your background and experience.
Ideally, the portfolio should showcase your design skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities. It should also demonstrate your understanding of architecture and your ability to communicate your ideas effectively through a variety of media.
It’s important to include a range of projects that showcase different aspects of your skills and interests, and to present the work in a clear and organized way.
When selecting projects to include in your portfolio, consider your audience and the goals of your portfolio. If you are applying to a specific program or school, research their requirements and focus on projects that align with their values and goals.
It’s also a good idea to get feedback from professors or industry professionals to ensure that your portfolio presents you in the best light.
What kind of portfolio for architecture school?
An architecture school portfolio should showcase your design skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities, as well as your understanding of architecture and your ability to communicate your ideas effectively.
It should include a selection of your best and most relevant work from your studies, such as design projects, models, drawings, sketches, and any other relevant materials.
In addition to your design work, it’s also important to include a resume or CV, a statement of purpose or cover letter explaining your goals and interests in architecture, and any other relevant information about your background and experience. This will give the reviewers a sense of who you are and why you are interested in pursuing a career in architecture.
When selecting projects to include in your portfolio, consider your audience and the goals of your portfolio. If you are applying to a specific program or school, research their requirements and focus on projects that align with their values and goals.
It’s also a good idea to get feedback from professors or industry professionals to ensure that your portfolio presents you in the best light.
Overall, the goal of an architecture school portfolio is to demonstrate your skills and potential as a future architect. It should showcase your passion for the field and your ability to think critically and creatively about design problems.
Do you need a portfolio for architecture college?
It depends on the specific architecture program or college you are applying to. Some programs may require a portfolio as part of the application process, while others may not. It’s always a good idea to check the requirements of the program you are interested in and follow their guidelines.
Even if a portfolio is not required, it can be a valuable tool to showcase your skills and interests in architecture. A portfolio can help you stand out in the application process and demonstrate your passion for the field. It can also be a helpful way to reflect on your own growth and development as a designer.
If you decide to create a portfolio for architecture college, it should include a selection of your best and most relevant work from your studies, such as design projects, models, drawings, sketches, and any other relevant materials.
It should also include a resume or CV, a statement of purpose or cover letter explaining your goals and interests in architecture, and any other relevant information about your background and experience.
Remember to carefully select the projects you include in your portfolio and present them in a clear and organized way. It’s also a good idea to get feedback from professors or industry professionals to ensure that your portfolio presents you in the best light.
The Portfolio Kit
Building upon this articles discussion points, the below “Portfolio Kit” contains a highly detailed guide teaching you how to craft and package the perfect collection of work for both academic and professional portfolio scenarios, and in both digital and physical formats.
This comes paired together with a designed set of over 300 drag and drop InDesign portfolio cover, contents, title, and project template pages, enabling you to effortlessly copy and paste text and import drawings, diagrams, and images straight into place.
The Architecture Portfolio Kit
Your portfolio is the most powerful tool you have. Learn how to shape and use it to its full advantage with this in-depth guide.
