The Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, India, is a massive temple of Dravidian architecture laid out as a sacred cosmic mandala.It has 14 gateways densely covered with intricate carvings.The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva who resides in the main central section

1. Forbidden City, Beijing, China

2. Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea

3. Itsukushima Shrine, Hiroshima, Japan

The Kailasa Temple at Ellora wasn't built stone by stone—it was carved top-down from a single massive rock.

Created in the 8th century, it is one of humanity's most astonishing feats of rock-cut architecture.

Thousands of tonnes of basalt were removed to reveal an entire temple complex, complete with courtyards, pillars and monumental sculptures.

The most incredible part? The builders essentially carved a mountain away until the temple was left behind.

The Burroughs Wellcome Headquarters (demolished 2021) was a landmark brutalist and late modernist structure located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Conceived as a structure that could continue growing. Its laboratories, offices and support areas could each be extended independently, with flattened hexagonal end walls indicating where new sections would attach.

I’m looking for some realistic career and business advice from people actively working in the industry or running their own studios.

I am a licensed architect who recently switched industries to work as a BIM Coordinator for a general contractor. Because of this pivot, I rarely touch the design or visual side of things anymore, and I find myself missing it. I have extensive past experience running renders, building complex models, and doing post-processing in Photoshop.

I’m strongly considering setting up a part-time architectural visualization business to run renders for clients after hours. Since I have limited free time outside of my standard 9-to-5, I want to see if this is truly worth pursuing.

Questions I have for this community:

Is this a viable side hustle anymore?

• With generative AI rendering tools rapidly advancing, are clients (contractors, small developers, local architects) still willing to pay a premium rate for custom part-time work, or is AI squeezing out the lower-to-middle tier of the market?

How do you compete in the market with cheaper overseas labor?

• As a part-timer based in the US (Washington DC area), my rates naturally need to reflect local living costs. Is it still possible to carve out a niche against low cost, high-speed overseas teams when you only have a few hours a week to give?

I'd love to hear from anyone who has successfully built an ArchViz side business while maintaining a full-time job. Is it worth the squeeze anymore, or has the landscape shifted too much?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

I have been wanting to pursue architecture for quite a while now. But the more I search about it on social media or reddit, the more discouraged I feel about the pay. I personally love what architecture is about, but also I want to have a high paying job. Is it even possible..?