Statement of Purpose Example for Graduate School
“Architecture is the will of an epoch translated into space.” I was 16 when I first read this
quote by Mies van der Rohe, and, back then, I thought I really understood what it meant.
Thinking of this quote one summer evening, as I walked around my beloved New York City,
I was inspired to commit to a future in architecture. At that early stage, I cherished romantic
ideals of designing grandiose buildings that would change a city; of adding my name to the
list of architectural geniuses who had immortalized their vision of the world in concrete,
steel, glass, and stone. It was in college that I became passionately interested in the
theoretical design and engineering concepts that form the basis of architecture, while also
exploring in greater detail the sociological and economic impact of architecture.
The true breakthrough for me took place in my sophomore year of college, when I was
volunteering at The Bowery Mission, a women’s shelter situated in Queens, New York. The
shelter was in a poorly ventilated building, with an essentially non-functioning air
conditioning system. The little bit of relief for the people who stayed there was a small park
nearby, a patch of green between suffocating buildings. One day when I was working the
afternoon shift there in the peak of summer, I looked out to see bulldozers in the park. It was
being torn up to make room for yet another building. I saw that completed building a year
later – a grey block of steel that did not utilize any of the original park space. Witnessing this
injustice, while learning every day about how climatology, materials technology, and
engineering mechanics intersect with urban planning and architectural design, ignited a
passion for sustainable design in me. [BeMo2] How can we, as architects, minimize our
harm to communities and eco-systems? How can we design buildings with a view to sustain
long-term energy and resource efficiency without sacrificing immediate economic viability?
What are the eco-conscious solutions that architects can put forward to address the
environmental changes of the 21st century? These were the questions that plagued me then
and I have pursued the answers to these questions throughout my academic career so far.
I found the answers to some of these questions in the robust curriculum I pursued at ABC
College of Architecture, New York. I took up advanced coursework in Engineering
Mechanics, Surveying, Soil Mechanics, Steel Structures, Model Making etc. which helped
me hone my technical skills. As my interest in sustainable architecture developed, I became
curious about the social and anthropological impact of architecture. I studied Art History,
African American Literature, Anthropology, and Cultures of Ancient Greece, which helped
me develop a deeper understanding of the socio-ecological impact of architecture and ethical
responsibilities of architects. With this strong background of academic exploration, my
architectural philosophy continued to evolve. I became interested in cutting-edge design
techniques and their application to sustainable design. In my junior year at college, I
participated in the New Dimensions of Architecture conference held in New York City,
presenting my own paper on “Analyzing the Implications of the Weiszman Design Theory
for the Sustainable Architecture of the Future”. In fact, it was at this conference that I met
Professor Richard Wright, the esteemed architect and professor emeritus at the Architecture
department of XYZ University. Talking with him was one of the most enlightening moments
of my life. We discussed our shared passion for ecologically efficient and socially cohesive
architectural solutions, and he introduced me to the works of Leonard Nieman, Mary
Andrews, and other cutting-edge green architecture firms that are making a real contribution
to ecologically sustainable urban planning.
In fact, the possibility of learning from and working directly with Professor Wright is one of
my main reasons to seek admission into your M.Arch program. His innovative design
theories have a tremendous potential for sustainable architecture solutions. I would love to
learn from him and collaborate with him to continue to explore my interest in these topics. I
am also deeply interested in the scope of studies afforded by your wide-ranging curriculum
that focuses on the latest architectural innovations as well as socio-economic evolutions in
architecture. Moreover, for a budding green architect, nothing is more attractive than your
quarterly line-up of seminars and conferences that frequently feature the names of the
architects at the forefront of design innovation. With my strong academic background in both
the technical and socio-economic aspects of architecture, and my focused passion on
sustainable architectural solutions for the future, I think I am a perfect candidate for your
master’s program. This education is exactly what I need to launch me into the next phase of
my career, where I hope to gain experience at one of New York’s top green architecture
firms, working on problems of low-budget housing, eco-friendly factory designs, and organic
city planning. Eventually, I hope to specialize in sustainable, low-budget urban planning for
socio-economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
It’s funny to think how far I’ve come from my early romanticized ideals of what it meant to
be an architect. Those sunset walks around New York city from my teenage years,
surrounded by the works of Mies van der Rohe and Rem Koolhas, inspired in me an awe for
the cultural power an architect can wield. It was an early lesson that a building can both
represent and transform spaces. Today when I walk around my beloved city, what I see are
the innumerable missed architectural opportunities to organically inhabit and improve any
given space with sustainable design. And now, when I consider Mies van der Rohe’s famous
quote, I no longer think of my own petty will or the limited scope of individual genius; I
think of the will of an entire generation committed to saving our planet with team-work,
collaboration, and true passion, and how grateful I am to be a part of this generation of
architects.
