Graduate – architect

Creative drawings and highly innovative designs are often the first things that come to mind when many of us think of architects. But, Chaya Bratoeva says, architecture is just as much a science as it is an art.

The graduate architect says: “Everyone starts studying for the same reason, they think it is a very artistic career. In fact it is a building industry, so it is not an artistic career as such. You do have some artistic tasks but there are not as many as you would expect.”

The Bulgarian native came to Australia to study eight years ago.
She works for a small firm, Erik Rudolfsson Architecture, and also freelances for other architects. Bratoeva specialises in residential projects. She says she loves the field of architecture because it offers a great profession which embraces creativity.

She hopes to specialise in environmentally sensitive architecture and says: “I prefer things that combine landscape and architecture. I’d love to specialise in that.”

Bratoeva also hopes to design houses or public buildings that work with the natural landscape. She explains: “It gives you a chance to design the area around the house as well as the building.”

The young graduate architect is particularly fond of the work of renowned Australian architect Glenn Murcutt, who is known for his environmentally sustainable designs. She says: “He creates buildings in the bush where everything is sensitive to the land. That is the sort of thing I would love to do if I get the chance because a lot of the work that is available at the moment is in the city.”

A degree in architecture takes about five years to complete and architects need to be registered with the

Architects Registration Board of NSW before they can practice on their own.

This means graduates with a minimum of three years’ experience need to sit an exam and an interview to become fully qualified.

“There are other things you can do after you graduate. People sometimes go into fashion, or sometimes urban planning. You could branch into a lot of different things that are not actually architecture,” she says.

—– How to be … an architect —–
To become an architect you usually have to study a degree at university with a major in architecture. For

further information contact The Royal Australian Institute of Architects 62731548 or log on to visit www.architecture.com.au