Once you graduated, which was the first job you took on and what was your work-schedule like when you started out? Broadly speaking, is it lucrative to pursue a career in architecture?
After graduation I moved to New York City and worked for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, which later split from its head office in Rotterdam and went by the new name Ramus Ella Architects. The working hours at that office were absolutely insane. A usual working day was around 10 to 12 hours, but very often it went way over that. There was a span of seven weeks during which I wrapped up at 3 am daily and was back at the office by 9:30 am! No weekends, no overtime, no life beyond work.
So I guess that answers your question about it being a lucrative profession to pursue. A recent graduate makes absolute peanuts as compared to other professions. The key to survival is working long hours -- that way you don't have time to spend any money!
On a serious note, a newcomer working in a firm abroad can expect anything from $30,000 to $45,000 a year depending on the kind of office he/ she decides to get into. That may sound like a lot of money, but it's really not when you're living abroad -- things are terribly expensive and you'll be lucky to cover your monthly costs comfortably. Corporate offices tend to pay on the higher side, as against star architects (celebrity architects) who pay even less than $30,000 a year.
As a student you participated and won several architectural competitions and made quite a name for yourself at Cornell -- you were the recipient of The Michael Rapuano Memorial Award for 'Distinction in Design' and participated in and won several design competitions. Can you share some of those experiences with us?
The Michael Rapuano award was definitely a fantastic end to a grilling four years at Cornell. It's awarded to a single student of design -- this includes architecture, landscape architecture, painting and sculpture -- chosen from amongst participants of five different design schools.
Throughout my time at university, I always tried to take part in a number of competitions both within the university as well as those open to a wider range of people, from students to professionals. Competitions are a good way to showcase your talent -- you are bound to produce creative solutions within a very short period of time and this helps you get your name out there.
I remember there was this one state-wide competition organised by AIA Southern New York Chapter and Ithaca Downtown Partnership open to professionals and students -- we had to come up with innovative ideas for facades for a number of dilapidated buildings within Ithaca. A friend of mine and I got intrigued with this topic and decided to take part.
When we reached the venue, we realised that we were the only students participating and there were firms there which had worked on this project for weeks. Apparently the brief had been given two weeks earlier and these firms had their professional renderings ready -- they had only come there to give finishing touches to their work on the final day.
We got the brief that morning and had eight hours to come up with a design. Not losing hope and trying to enjoy the moment, we teamed up and came up with a quick solution -- to everyone's surprise and our own! we bagged the Most Creative Facade Award.
You've stated that creativity is the name of the game and that you're made a foray into other creative fields besides architecture. Can you outline interests and achievements in other fields of design?
I've always been interested in different fields of design -- graphic, fashion, furniture -- and I have tried to venture out into these disciplines whenever the chance arises. I've participated in a number of competitions that go beyond just architecture.
In my first year at Cornell, I won a card-designing competition as well as the Edward Palmer York Memorial Prize for designing a 6'x4' screen made from thin wooden sections, bent with steam and then stitched together to give a very fabric-like appearance to wood.
I also designed for two fashion shows, exploring the potential of using cutting-edge technology primarily used in architecture to produce garments for the show -- for one of them I created a plexi-glass corset, which was laser-cut and then molded with heat to fit the model. It was important for me to borrow techniques primarily used in architecture to be tested in the realm of fashion.
Image: Rooshad designed the plexi-glass corset seen here for a Cornell Design League fashion show in 2004 -- it was laser-cut and then molded with heat to fit the model.
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