If you're a graduate looking to get into architecture and need to get a feel for the kind of questions employers might ask at interview, then make sure you research these graduate architecture interview questions below. These questions and answers are taken from real graduate interviews, and compiled to give you an idea of what to expect and how to prepare your answers.
Example Architecture Interview Questions:
What are your expectations of yourself as an architect?
It's important to be ambitious, but you must balance this with a realistic timescale. Try to show a genuine awareness of potential challenges and that you have an idea of how you might overcome them. If you can demonstrate that you have real loyalty to the firm you are interviewing with, then you are more likely to get to the next stage.
What challenges are you looking for in the architecture field?
Tailor your response to this answer by thinking about the job you are applying to. If you were, for example, going for a company who solely focus upon residential builds, talking about commercial banking design would not be of salience or relevance. Show that you have strong motivation and clarity in terms of your future path and direction.
What trends do you feel are important in Architecture/ Design?
It is important to think about the core modules you have examined. Think about classic designs as well as new ones and use these to tailor your response. Think about the fundamentality of design, right down to the basics. It can also be useful to think about a two-sided response to the question, assessing the merits and limitations of both sides.
Who in the "community" do you follow and admire for their architectural ability and why?
This question has two dimensions. It is an open question that seeks to understand what kind of architecture you like and it is also a question testing your knowledge about contemporary architecture. The best way to answer is to choose an architect that is interesting and one that you know a lot about. It would also be helpful if you do genuinely like their work as this will allow you to speak passionately about it. Highlight why you admire them – is it their philosophical approach, a unified style they adopt, or their innovations in the industry? A failure to be able to speak passionately and knowledgeably about an architect will indicate a lack of interest in the industry and lack of awareness of the 'community'.
Describe a situation where you have made design tradeoff decisions?
If you do have any experience then an academic example will be sufficient here. This question may seem to have limited scope but it gives you an opportunity to describe a whole project that you have worked on. Do make sure that you focus your question directly to the answer and restate the actual tradeoffs you made at the end, along with reasons why.
Should you really be building anything any more?
This is an open question about contemporary architecture. The best response would be to take a positive approach and say why it is important that architects continue to build. Do make sure your answer is well rounded and acknowledge the debate surrounding construction, especially environmental costs. Examine how you think this can be overcome by using clever architectural design and innovative, responsible building techniques.