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W: Good evening. Here with us is Herny Brooks, who is going to talk about his jobs. So, you’re an architect?
M: Yes.
W: Do you work for a public or private organization, or are you self-employed, that is, working on your own?
M: I’m working for a private design and construction company.
W: [1] How did you start your career?
M: [1] I started with the government.
W: Oh, did you? What made you decide to work for the government?
M: Well, it was a matter of chance really. I saw an advertisement for a vacant position in a newspaper, and I thought "Why don’t you try it?" In fact, I have no preferences to where I work, public or private.
W: And do you still have this idea, or...
M: More or less, yes, although I’m now working for a private firm, I worked for the government for about three years. It was alright. Of course there’s the bureaucracy one has to put up with, but it’s not that bad, if you don’t mind bureaucratic wheels turning slowly, and things not being as efficient.
W: Ah-ah. And what made you leave the public sector?
M: Money mainly. You see, I got married, and my wife doesn’t work, and we wanted to start a family right away. So we thought it might be better off if I moved to the private sector. [2] This is why it’s hard for me to be self-employed because self-employed work has the disadvantage that there may be time, or a period of time when you’re unemployed.
W: I see, so did you join this company straight away or..
M: No, I worked for..., in a couple of private firms before I came to this one.
W: Hmm, hmm. Now what qualifications does one have to become an architect?
M: Well, [3C] you’ve got to have a degree in architecture. That means before you apply to study architecture in any university, you have to pass exams, usually three A-levels with good results. [3B] Also you generally have to study sciences at school rather than arts...as the basis for the subject to be studied at university level, although when you really get down to it, the subject involves some aspects of arts too. Then you need between six and seven years to work through, by the end of which you usually sit for the final examination.
W: So you mean to take up architecture, one has to have a scientific background?
M: Well, yes, mainly scientific, but it helps if you have some general arts background too. You know, architecture is not a pure science.
W: Now, if one wants to take up architecture, one has got to be able to draw? Is that really true?
M: Well, it is true that the work of an architect involves a lot of drawing, and to be an architect you must be able to draw. But this doesn’t mean that if you can’t at present draw, you won’t have the opportunity to be an architect, because you can be taught to draw. [4B] In fact drawing in architecture is different from drawing in art. An artist’s drawing must be good in the sense that it gives a certain impression in the mind of the viewer; [4A] in fact some famous artists can’t draw very well at all, at least not from a technical point of view. On the other hand, [4D] an architect’s drawing must be accurate. So I’d say that accuracy of the drawings is what we aim at, what’s important.
W: Now what qualities do you think make a good architect, apart from being accurate in his drawings?
M: Well, I’m not sure if I can generalize about that. You see architecture is a mixture of theory and practice. So I suppose a good architect should be good at both. An architect’s work is good in as much as the construction is built precisely as the theory requires, so that it doesn’t collapse or can’t be used after a period of time because it’s dangerous. I don’t mean a well-built construction will last for ever, but it’s predictable that if the building is constructed in a certain way, or with certain materials, we can say how long it will last, provided that there’s no other factor.
W: Such as?
M: Er, for example, an earthquake, or if the ground level sinks which may destroy it. So that’s one part of being a good architect — to design a construction which is attractive and will last a long time.
W: Right, so, that’s the theory side. Now what about the practical aspect?
M: Yes, the practical side concerns, I’d say, the use of the structure you design. [5] If you design a house, the people who live in it later on, must be happy living in it. Er, a college student shouldn’t think to himself, oh, I’d rather study in the library, my bedroom’s too cold because the ceiling seems to be too high, and the windows too big. Or say, when somebody’s cooking in the kitchen, the smell of the food shouldn’t disturb somebody who’s still in bed. The bathroom should be situated for everyone’s convenience, but while it’s being used the noise shouldn’t disturb anyone. So you see [5] these practical things which give you comfort apart from serving the purpose of the construction whatever it may be, a school, a hospital, a hotel and so on.