“How I was inspired to choose my course of study at university”
It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon in Belfast and like most of my fellow classmates I
was more concerned about the scores of the opposite sex flooding the streets than
about which course I should research. Open days are always fun and Queens
University open day was no different. I was currently standing outside of the
Student’s Union opposite the central Queen’s Building discussing with my friend’s
what school was it that had skirts that short and wondering why our school was so
under-privileged in that department when two of my friend’s came rushing up to me,
“Hugh, you HAVE to go see Queen’s Architecture! It’s amazing, you would love it, it’s
just like one of your technology projects”.
As the word Architecture left their mouths, all I could think of was the past
conversations with people who would say things like, “what A-levels are you doing?
Art, Maths and Technology? Why don’t you try for Architecture?” To which I would
reply, “I don’t want to draw square boxes and bungalows for the rest of my life”. How
wrong could I have been? After persistent persuasion from my two friends I walked
up the street to the Queen’s Architecture building with absolutely no expectations
and gathered in the main entrance space.
Immediately my expectations of the course increased from the point of not really
having any courses that I could see myself studying to having at least one,
Architecture. There were models, drawings, videos, sculptures and paintings. I
couldn’t believe it! This was what I would be doing? One image stayed with me in
particular, there was an A1 page with a design project on it, laid on the desk below
was a futuristic white model of a building half buried under ground and in the middle
of the presentation was a tonal pencil drawing of a young woman. This image was a
concept sketch and although I didn’t know that at the time, all I cared about was that
I would get to continue doing the best parts of the A-Levels I had picked; drawing,
painting and making things with my hands. I left Belfast that day a little closer to
becoming a University student and if you had asked me at that point where I thought
I would end up, Queens would have been my answer.
A few weeks later University of Ulster had their Open Day. All I had heard about
Ulster at that point was that if you even showed up to the football you would get a
pair free football boots and a bag. This however was not going to be enough to get
me in the net as I was already caught on the hook of Queens. But as I thought it best
to check out all the options, I decided to look at the Architecture course in Ulster. I
remember going to York Street in the city centre. The old art collage stood on both
sides of the road with the St, Anne’s Cathedral side under construction. I remember
entering through the back past a security guard and being less than impressed by
my surroundings. I walked the corridors of the building ushered by a lady from little
room to little room and began to see that maybe Ulster wasn’t going to be up to
scratch. We were told that a multi-million pound renovation was currently underway
and that it would be complete soon after the start of the semester if we decided to go
there. In terms of work on show the only single thing I can remember was a huge
model of St. George’s Market that had been stuffed in a small room at the end of the
corridor occupied by a stressed looking guy with dreadlocks. As I left the room I was
sure Queens had won me over but little did I know Ulster had an ace in the hole, a
particular female lecturer.
We were taken to a lecture theatre where a woman was to give a talk on the course.
She was impressive from the start. She told us how she had come from England to
teach the course and had done so because she believed in what it was about. She
talked about some of the things we would do and played a slide presentation
showcasing some of the work but like Queens there was one thing that imprinted
itself on my memory and it wasn’t an image. It was her enthusiasm. She spoke about
the course and it areas with such flair and excitement that I thought she might burst
at any moment. She smiled the whole time while she talked and was obviously
enjoying the opportunity of telling people about the thing she was so passionate. I
listened intently hoping that my instincts where right, that this course would be as
free and new and exciting as she made it sound and as I did so the idea of Queens
began to evaporate into the ether. But I was still new to this and I hadn’t seen any
work and it was only one woman, how could I be sure?
As the talk finished and people filed out of the room I stopped to ask her a question
along with some others. My question was whether or not I would be able to move
into another profession after the course as I was unsure about becoming an
Architect, to which she answered yes and named a list of professions but it was her
reply to the guy in front of me that tipped me over the edge and into the world of
Architecture. The guy in front was deaf and his friend asked on his behalf if there
were would be any provisions for him within the course. She turned and speaking
directly to the guy, as if it were he who had spoke instead of his friend, told him that
she wasn’t exactly sure, would find out for him and would have absolutely no
problem in learning some sign language along with other tutors. I was in total
amazement and I thought to myself, I want to be around people like this, people
interested in what they do, passionate about it, caring and completely unbiased
towards others.
That was 2005. After a gap year I began Architecture at the University of Ulster. The
new building had been completed within which I got my own desk on the top floor in
a studio spanning the width of the building. The female lecturer was my year head
and the deaf guy, Simon, well he sat beside me. In the second semester of first year
she told me about a scholarship for travel and mentioned that architecture students
had won the year before. In the summer of 2008 I was given £5000 through the
Gerard O’Hare Travel Scholarship and went to South Africa, South America and the
U.S.A. to promote interdisciplinary learning between my course and others.
I am in second year now and spend my life engaged in my course. That may sound
like a lot of work and off putting to some people but there’s a quote by Winston
Churchill I heard once which makes me feel lucky when I consider it, “find a job you
love, and you’ll never work again.
Hugh Magee BA Hons Architecture