12 Tips For Making an Outstanding

Architecture Portfolio
Getting a job or internship at an architecture firm doesn't only depend on your skills as an
architect (or student). The way you present your skills plays an essential role. At a time of great
professional competitiveness and with resumes becoming more globalized, assembling a
portfolio may seem like a chore and often very involving: Which projects do I list? What
personal information do I add? Should I include my academic papers in professional portfolios?

Brazilian architect Gabriel Kogan has shared with us a list of twelve tips on how to build a good
architectural portfolio, ranging from graphic design to the type of personal information and
content that should be included in your resume. Read his guidelines after the break, and if you
have any other tips share them with us in the comments section.

1. Just Say "No" to Stand Alone Resumes

Never (ever EVER) just send your resume without a portfolio of your work. That's rule number
one, without a doubt. Plain text resumes are rarely looked at and won't stand out when compared
to others. Where you graduated from is much less important than your actual ability in the
profession.

2. Your Portfolio's Presentation is Just as Important as Its Content

Visual composition can make or break your portfolio. This shows your grasp of an essential skill:
graphic design. Even portfolios with amazing projects tend to be overlooked or become invisible
when compared to ones with more attractive presentation. Very cluttered pages can hide content.
The images need to breathe. Do not overload your portfolio with a lot of information to make it
look more full: the more concise and attractive the layout, the better. Usually the people looking
over these documents can tell what information is relevant and what is just filler. The font,
margins, structure and proportion of a page say a lot about your ability as an architect as well.

3. Include Lots of Personal Information

An architect's work is multidisciplinary. For virtually every practicing architect it is important to

have general knowledge that transcends the technical design or building project. Personality is
critical to the job. If your poems are good, if your drawings are cool, if you write well, if you like
art, if you take great photos; there is no reason to hide any of that in your architecture portfolio.
Offices almost always seek architects who think for themselves. In addition, this information can
make the portfolio more fun. They should also appear visually. Your photo ID or a selfie of a
group of friends on the beach aren't really appropriate, but a photo - even abstract - that shows
your personality and how you present yourself or represent your interests may add a nice touch:
images that reflect, most importantly, your personality and your interests.

4. A Long Portfolio Isn't Better Than a Short One

On the contrary. Some offices receive dozens of resumes a day and so it is important to be short
and sweet; straight to the point. Portfolios with lots of pages are rarely looked at fully. Put your
best projects first. Close with something attractive too, but the first impression is the one that
counts. If you have many projects that you think are good, don't put them all; only the best of the
best. Mediocre projects - ones you aren't proud of or have any doubts about - leave out, they
may have mattered to you, but don't hang on. It's better to have two excellent projects than 10
average ones. It's better to have two excellent projects than two excellent ones plus 8 mediocre
ones. There is no rule for the number of pages, but a 40 page document already seems too long.
Remember: at first the document will be looked at for no more than one minute before being
passed on.

5. Choose Projects that Work with the Office's Profile

You need to make slightly different portfolios for each place you're applying to. Certain designs,
for example, may suit some offices, but would get thrown out of another. Study the company, get
to know little of their philosophy and create something unique for them. This doesn't mean that
you shouldn't include "unusual" projects. On the contrary, offices are usually very open to new
architecture styles, as long as they are well-founded. Be careful not to mirror projects of the
office where you're trying to work. Few things are more annoying to an office to than to see a
copy of a project or their "style" in a portfolio they receive. Being original and thinking for
yourself are fundamental characteristics.

6. Attach a PDF With a Maximum of 15 Mb

Online platform portfolios are not cool. Again, online platform portfolios are not cool. They're
always very slow and with interfaces that are difficult to navigate. It is important for the office
keep the file on their server because in the future they may be interested in something that there
was no opportunity for in the past. A PDF makes it easy to search your portfolio. Sites with their
own domain and architectural visual programming can be very well received, but do not replace
the old PDF. Google Drive and large file sending platforms should be avoided.

7. Make Your CV Page Appealing

Despite its limited importance compared to the works and images, the CV page should contain
clear data. Which city do you live in? What languages do you speak? What software do you use?
This information can be placed in an exciting fashion, with infographics, for example. Your ID
number, Social Security Number, marital status, home address and the like are irrelevant data and
therefore don't need to be included in an initial contact. But be sure to put information about
foreign language! This is often a necessary skill for offices doing work abroad, and its absence
could make your portfolio immediately eliminated.

8. Theoretical Projects

Nothing shows an architect's potential better than theoretical and academic projects. University is
the time to create the start of a portfolio and these works are worth a lot. Worth as much as real
projects, by the way. Research on architectural history or the like, when fully developed,
demonstrates fundamental knowledge for day-to-day projects. Demonstrate the intellect behind a
process and more sophisticated analytical capabilities. Architecture is becoming more and more
about research, therefore a mastery of theory is crucial. It should be evident - obviously and
succinctly - in the presentation of your work.
9. The Inclusion of Technical Drawings Can Help, but Can Also Distract

Submitting a portfolio isn't that same as submitting construction drawings. You don't need to
explain everything thoroughly, with plans for all the floors and dozens of sections. But it's
important to get the general idea of the project (the concept) and to show your skills. If you are
called for an interview, then take something more detailed. Including many drawings, and
particularly, many technical drawings, can only hold your portfolio back; It takes up valuable
space. It can be charming, however, to include a 1: 1 or 1: 2 architectural detail that shows your
attention to the construction and the precision of the design, but without exaggeration.

10. Duties for Each Project

Be clear and truthful about your contributions in each project. The real contributions! Even if
you were an intern, put what you've really done, "detailing frames," "preliminary project
concepts," "compatibility", "supervisory work", etc. This will show your actual experience.
Architectural design is always a collective work and therefore, even on work of your own jobs,
you probably didn't do it alone. Be honest.

11. Cover Letters

The text in the body of the email is important. It should be brief and attractive. No big speeches.
In any case, this is also an area to be a little less impersonal. Honest and poetic letters are better
than very formal letters. In fact, nothing sounds worse than formal letters. Unless you are trying
to get into an office with hundreds or thousands of employees (in this case, all of the
recommendations in this article don't seem to work well in general). The famous letters of
recommendation from other architects are falling out of favor. They're almost always written by
the architect himself and just signed by the architect making the recommendation. These letters
should only be included if the office asks for them within the process. Also, be careful not to
forward the same e-mail to all offices that you intend to look for a job at. E-mails with "fwd" in
the title or an open list of addresses are usually deleted before the process even begins.

12. Most Importantly, Always Tell the Truth

Don't invent or exaggerate anything in your portfolio or resume. Honesty is the best policy. You
can even get a job, but lose it afterwards because you lied. The truth comes out quickly. Just be
yourself.
linkuri cu modele de portofoliu de urmat:

https://issuu.com/marielena_/docs/portfolio_web

https://issuu.com/nicolaasvanorshoven/docs/prtfl_isuu_2_a955cae32f64cd

https://issuu.com/arturzakrzewski/docs/artur_zakrzewski_portfolio

https://issuu.com/obscuralucida/docs/segment_2_port-2011_09_25-final-small

https://issuu.com/anhduypham/docs/architecture_portfolio_anh_pham_fin

https://issuu.com/deepen_dighe/docs/graduate_portfolio