An Architects Inside Software Recommendation For Aspiring Intern Architects
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Your internship in the field of architecture can be a life changing experience. As an aspiring intern you might have the opportunity to experience many aspects of the company you are working for that will prepare you for your career up ahead. Even more so it might even help you to determine what specific field of architecture you might want to pursue in the future.
Many of us young architecture prospects quickly learn that the architecture industry is not all the glitz and glamour that we tend to see online or in magazines. A few firms are the exception to this but many are designing great projects for their communities but not something that will be on the cover of a magazine.
Make the most of your internship as it can greatly enrich your life and career by offering you numerous benefits including the different softwares that architects use and how they are applying them to their daily work. Additionally as an aspiring intern you may have additional insight from the technology you see or are already using in school that you can bring to an architectural firm.
Programs That Architectural Interns Should Know:
The architecture industry is filled with many different jobs that required unique skill sets and depending on what your interests are you should still gain a broad understanding about the many softwares that architecture firms are using.
The broader software experience can open additional doors when working for a firm as they sometimes need additional help on projects. By knowing even a little bit about the softwares can often land you nee experiences within the firm you are working for or even create an advantage when applying with a new firm.
Photo Manipulation Software
Photo manipulation software is one of the top softwares that I have seen firms use through out my career in the industry. The big name that comes to mind is Photoshop however with today’s large open source gatherings you can find other softwares that do the same things the large software brands do for a lot less, even free.
One recent online photo editing software I found out about is Photopea where I can do all the things I did in Photoshop but I can edit the photos on any computer with an internet connection.
With the photo manipulation software may architecture firms create their presentations for clients as well as building department hearing. They are able to quickly change the appearance of a building without having to do a large amount of 3D modeling and with prototypical work they can create a kit of parts to use on many projects.
PDF Document Software With Red-line Capability
With the push into more of a digital format may architecture firms have embraced some type of PDF document software that allows them to digitally mark up PDF drawings for either internal review or even job-site walk thrus with the contractor.
Several of the PDF document software that I have used includes typically two major name, Bluebeam and Adobe Pro. Both of these softwares require some type of subscription and at the moment I have not found a free version of a similar program.
Not only can you do document markups but if you learn the software you can find additional uses for the software such as presentations.
Online Meeting Software
Even before Covid many architecture firms relied on having office meetings with clients online. This saves time for all parties involved and can provide real-time project reviews.
Out of the many online meeting softwares my favorite is Go-To Meeting which has markup tools that allow anyone in the meeting to markup the documents being reviewed.
Many of these softwares are on the market so learn a few if you have not already and always take the additional time to learn the ins and outs of the software your company is using.
Communication Is Critical
Digital note taking has become more wide spread and I personally started keeping digital notes for work in late 2008 after the recession. It ha been very helpful for me to keep track of work related items like deadlines, things to do next on a project and keep notes about conversation and when projects are issued or reviewed with clients.
The digital note taking software I use is called Evernote and they have both free and paid versions. For me the free version has worked for me for the last 12 years. I have not needed the benefits of the paid version although if you have a weak signal you can work on documents offline and it will sync back when it has a connection. This platform work across multiple devices so you can edit on your PC and Phone or Tablet and the notes will all sync across the devices.
So to recap to raise your worth as an intern in any architectural firm you need to learn some of industry leading softwares and understand how they can benefit the firm you are working for. Even just investing the time to understand all of the features in a software can be beneficial to you and the firm by increasing productivity, wow clients in meetings and reducing the overall time it takes to complete tasks.
I hope this list of recommended software helps you and until next time,
Matthew B. Von Dohre, AIA, ID, NCARB, sUAS
If you would like to see more from Read The Plan check out our posts about Architecture Documents and Building Systems or our Inspirational Architecture Sketching Challenge.
