I’ve been putting together a collection of various websites, podcasts and YouTube channels for architects for a while now. And in this article, I will share various useful resources that I myself still using.

Pandora’s box, so to say! 🪬

Article outline:

  1. Who am I and why can you trust my choice of resources?
  2. Resources with descriptions and links to them
  3. Conclusion

1° Who am I and why can you trust my choice of resources?

Let me remind you a little about myself :

I completed my undergraduate degree at SPbGASU and recently completed my masters in London at AASchool. After a couple months of job search, about 20 rejections and 5 invitations, I started working as an urban designer in central London. That’s how I’ve been working for two years now, on big projects and with cool clients 👩🏻‍💻

People with a lot of work experience studying with me on my masters, while I was only with internship experience. I think a lot of people face this situation when moving abroad… After some panic, I decided to take advantage of all the resources available to me for my growth as a professional.

And since the beginning of my master’s program, I have been collecting a useful “pack” of different resources that have helped me and are helping me with my projects, my studies, and my work. I have found these resources through social media, but mostly I have been helped by more experienced architect friends. Among them: architects from Zara Hadid, Arrows and Fosters Partners, students from Bartlett UCL, AASchool and Politechnico di Milano. So all the resources are selected very carefully by professionals 👀

Shall we get started? 

2° Resources

Here is a collection of links that I have been using for over three years now. Checked by me personally 🙂

So, uncover and save!
  • Podcasts
    1. In the Sandbox is a favorite of mine. The podcast is an exploration about the future of cities. The topics are mostly experimental and provocative.
    2. Going to the City – podcast about urbanism, development of cities and life in them. No new episodes, but about 50 podcasts have been recorded. Touching on topics such as marketing or industry in cities.
    3. Wider Check – I just personally think architects need to understand the field of marketing. We need to promote our work, right? Every episode is an insight.
    4. A City for You – each episode is about a new city and how people feel in it using examples from guest speakers. For example, a girl lives in Berlin and talks about how she goes to events or home and what she dislikes about her neighborhood and the city in general. The podcast has a cool approach.
    5. The House That Code Built – a tandem of an artificial intelligence named Cedric and a practicing architect! About neural networks and algorithms to build buildings.
  • YouTube channels
    1. Upstairs – breakdowns of portfolios and pitches to help you understand common mistakes. Honestly, the best ones. Also happens in podcast/interview form, which is really cool to listen to. 10 minute tutorials and various post-processing, maps, and rendering workflow best practices.
    2. ShowItBetter – The best tutorials on InDesign and Photoshop. The information is presented with cool examples that you can use in your projects. There are master plans (I didn’t miss a single lesson!), visualization, and schematics.
    3. Thomas Rowntree – cool vlogs from university, and some good advice on finding a job in England/Europe
  • Websites with useful information: I think we all agree that these are the most popular links 🔗
    1. https://www.re-thinkingthefuture.com – personally visit this one periodically for ideas and to read articles.
    2. https://landezine.com/ – projects and vacancies from all over the world are published here. Anyone can submit a project, but there is a small editorial fee if it is published.
    3. https://www.designboom.com is a news feed that showcases architecture and design. There is a separate section about international competitions. You can also self-publish your project here!
  • Websites with free materials👩🏻‍💻
    1. https://www.textures.com/library – you can download up to 15 textures/day.
    2. https://www.mrcutout.com – people, cars, plants, animals. You can download up to 2.5 MB/day
    3. http://www.clipped.io/ – people, transportation and animals. All PNGs are free.
    4. https://studioalternativi.com/ – in the “Free” section there are free packs of vector people and plants for cuts and facades.
    5. http://www.nonscandinavia.com – people for post processing. Replacing the same https://skalgubbar.se/ that everyone is already tired of …
  • Jobs: Here I’ve collected sources that might be useful for you if you’re on the lookout for a job or internship 📇
    1. Archinect Jobs – well-known platform focused entirely on architecture jobs worldwide
    2. Dezeen Jobs – creative roles in architecture, interiors, and design
    3. Bustler – competitions + some job postings
    4. RIBA jobs – UK-based, Royal Institute of British Architects

All these resources helped me a lot during my studies and even in my work.

So I hope that all the links and resources will help you too and save your already small amount of time!