Architectural technology goes anywhere and everywhere
Architectural technology is serious work, but that doesn’t mean architecture lacks a whimsical or even bizarre side. The same design and technical skills that produce mainstream edifices such as warehouses, apartment buildings and shopping malls also get full play in creating structures that capture and unleash the imagination.
In places as far from Minnesota as Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with its legendary skyline that includes a shape-shifting skyscraper, the world’s tallest hotel and the Burj Dubai, a 160-floor superscraper that recently displaced the Sears Tower as the world’s tallest building, architectural technology works overtime and then some to satisfy humankind’s propensity to live and work in boxes that stand outside the box.
Lists abound touting the strangest buildings on the planet. We’ve compiled a gallery of 10 that seems to appear whenever the subject comes up. After you’ve looked them over, vote for the one you like best or write in one of your own!
The Dancing House, aka Nationale-Nederlanden Building, in downtown Prague, Czech Republic (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
The Forest Spiral, aka Hundertwasser House, in Darmstadt, Bundesland, Germany (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
The Crazy House, aka Hang Nga Villa, in Dalat, Vietnam (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
The Crooked House, aka Krzywy Domek, in Sopot, Poland (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
The Stone House in Fafe, Guimarães, Portugal (photo: Jsome1)
The Basket Building, aka Longaberger Company, in Newark, Ohio (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
The Bubble House in Tourettes-sur-Loup, France (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
Burj Al Arab, aka Tower of the Arabs, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
Habitat 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (photo: Ken Ratcliff)
Kansas City Library in Kansas City, Missouri (photo: Wikipedia)
- The Dancing House, aka Nationale-Nederlanden Building, in downtown Prague, Czech Republic (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
- The Forest Spiral, aka Hundertwasser House, in Darmstadt, Bundesland, Germany (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
- The Crazy House, aka Hang Nga Villa, in Dalat, Vietnam (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
- The Crooked House, aka Krzywy Domek, in Sopot, Poland (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
- The Stone House in Fafe, Guimarães, Portugal (photo: Jsome1)
- The Basket Building, aka Longaberger Company’s Home Office, in Newark, Ohio (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
- The Bubble House in Tourettes-sur-Loup, France (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
- Burj Al Arab, aka Tower of the Arabs, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (photo: Wikipedia Commons)
- Habitat 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (photo: Ken Ratcliff)
- Kansas City Library in Kansas City, Missouri (photo: Wikipedia)
Back to Earth
DCTC’s Architectural Technology program teaches students the design techniques and procedures to develop and prepare construction drawings for residential and commercial buildings. Students work in an environment patterned after the most up-to-date architectural offices.
Graduates find employment in many related areas: architectural firms and professional design offices, construction, product sales, estimating or managerial departments of construction firms or material manufacturing companies. As architectural technicians acquire experience, they gain more responsibility and often advance into project management positions.
ISEEK, the go-to source for education and employment info in Minnesota, lists the following salary data for the seven-county metro area:
Architectural Technicians
- Average wage: $25.43/hour
- Top earners: nearly $36/hour
