9 Best Architectural Design Courses
Have a knack for design? Does architecture fascinate you?
You’ve come to the right place because we have some of the most insightful courses on architectural design that exists.
It can be difficult to figure out which course is perfect for you, so we have made it easy. Our list of top 9 architectural design courses has been evaluated thoroughly to ensure they offer the best learning.
Each of these design courses has been shortlisted based on the following:
- Who can take this course? Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Level
- Details of the course
- Course duration
- Price
- What the students have to say about the course
- Numbers of students who enrolled in this course
List of Top 9 Architectural Design Courses
- Architectural Design Course – Space Drawing with Perspective – Udemy – All Levels
- The Complete Sketchup & Vray Course for Architectural Design – Udemy – All Levels
- 3D Visualization For Beginners: Interior Scene with 3DS MAX – Udemy – All Levels
- Master Architectural Visualization – Blender 3x – Design – Udemy – All Levels
- Design Like An Architect – Udemy – Beginner Level
- Architectural Design & Animation in Blender 3x – Udemy – Beginner Level
- Become an Architecture CAD Technician – Linkedin – All Levels
- Archicad: Architectural Design Techniques – Linkedin – Intermediate Level
- Revit Architecture Conceptual Design Fundamentals – Pluralsight – Beginner Level
Note that these courses have not been listed in any particular order. However, our top picks are course numbers 3 and 4. These online courses are affordable and offer the best learning experience.
1. Architectural Design Course – Space Drawing with Perspective – Udemy – All Levels
Our first course for architectural design is designed for all-level learners. This training will walk you through the drafting process while designing a space from scratch. It will teach you the techniques of drawing as well as the complete process of the draft and sketch phase, which is a very important part of the design process.
The course will build your concepts regarding:
- Perspective techniques and how they are used in space drawings
- Drawing interiors and exteriors
- Thinking in three dimensions
The course has all the fundamentals covered.
We went through the course outline and saw that the course has 6.5 hours of on-demand videos along with 81 lectures. Overall, you will be able to complete this comprehensive course in 6 hours and 16 minutes.
For the extensive material, this certification is priced at only just USD 13.99 which is a bargain.
We went through reviews and ratings and were very happy to see overall positive sentiments regarding this course. Here’s one comment that we believe sums up this course:
“Very useful and well explained”.
It has a rating of 5.6 out of 5.0 and 272 students have already enrolled in it.
Based on the course price and reviews, we would give the course a rating of 8.0/9.0.
2. The Complete Sketchup & Vray Course for Architectural Design – Udemy – All Levels
Next up is a detailed course which is great for every level. Here is what you will learn by the end of the course:
- Core Sketchup skills required to model a Home
- Understand Vray lighting, materials, settings, render elements
- Learn from a Real-Life Residential Project
The course outline is extremely useful as it teaches through modeling, ensuring great learning. You’ll start with the fundamentals of Sketchup, then 3D Modeling and rendering course, and then jump into more advanced topics that involve Sketchup plugins.
Overall, the course will take you 8 hours and 47 minutes to complete with 9 hours of on-demand videos and 85 lectures. For this extensive content, you will only have to pay USD 13.99 which is great considering the sheer amount of information this course imparts.
We went through the course reviews and ratings to see what students had to say and were surprised to see mostly positive reviews. Here’s one comment that caught our eye:
“ The best complete techniques you may ever get from a course, so easy to follow and it has really enhanced my skills in producing a very skilled picture of rendering and a real understanding of the post-production process in photoshop.”
With a rating of 4.4 out of 5.0, this architectural design course surely offers detailed learning. The number of students enrolled in the course is 2,339 and gradually increasing day by day. Make sure you enroll before the price goes up.
Our rating for the course is 8.5/9.0.
3. 3D Visualization For Beginners: Interior Scene with 3DS MAX – Udemy – All Levels
We have another all-level course lined up for you. This detailed course will help you design amazing architectural components. Some of the learning outcomes of this course are:
- Fundamental concepts in computer graphics
- 3D modeling and look development skills using 3ds Max
- Become a job-ready person in the 3D visualization industry
This course will show you how to produce gorgeous 3D architectural visualizations in a fraction of the time normally required using 3ds Max and Corona Renderer.
The course will take 12 hours and 54 minutes to complete with 13 hours of on-demand videos and 109 lectures. The course is fairly priced at USD 12.99 and gives you free lifetime access to all the videos and lectures.
This course is very highly rated with a total of 4.7 out of 5.0 stars. Moreover, the students love it and only have positive things to say about it. Just check out this comment:
“An excellent course to start learning 3DS MAX. The Teacher is really clear about all concepts that he presented to us. This course is a true 5 stars, one of the best I could see in the Udemy.”
Overall, the number of students enrolled is 6,927 which is quite a lot.
Considering reviews, we would give the course a rating of 9.0/9.0.
4. Master Architectural Visualization – Blender 3x – Design- Udemy – All Levels
If you want to learn how to design amazing architectural components through Blender, this is just the course for you. The course content has been developed in a way that caters to all levels.
Not just this, but the course has so much to offer. It covers the essentials of architectural design including:
- The core skills needed to create photorealistic interior scenes
- Create 2D layouts in Blender and transform them into beautiful 3D designed architectural models
The course walks you through the modeling, material addition, and rendering processes step by step.
The course duration is 12 hours and 51 minutes which is a good enough time to grasp the concepts. Moreover, it has 164 lectures and 13- hours of on-demand videos which can be accessed at a pocket-friendly price of USD 12.99.
Overall the course has 4,335 students enrolled and a rating of 4.8 out of 5.0 which is pretty impressive.
Students have positive sentiments in regards to the course with common comments like:
“Really thorough instruction. Very clear and easy to follow. Lots of great information”.
This course is certainly a must-try. We would give it a rating of 9.0 out of 9.0.
5. Design Like An Architect – Udemy – Beginner Level
Next up is a course suitable for beginners. This course will teach you the basics of architecture and architectural design in a very detailed manner.
This course is a short and fast-paced one and will take you 1 hour and 21 minutes to complete. Moreover, it has 1.5 hours of on-demand videos and 6 lectures. This course is one of the shortest ones through which you can learn a lot.
The course is currently priced at USD 12.99 which is quite fair.
Students seem to love it as we saw comments like:
“Great introductory course. The content is beneficial, practical, and current for beginners. Garry is a great lecturer.”
The course even has a pretty good rating of 4.4 out of 5.0.
The total enrolled students are 508 which is low, but we believe the course has great learning insights.
Our rating for this course would be 8.5/9.0.
6. Architectural Design & Animation in Blender 3x – Udemy – Beginner Level
Next up is another Udemy course that covers the beginner level.
The course has a lot to offer including an overview of the following:
- 3D Modeling layouts into a fully realized 3D House ready for animation
- How to work Fast & Efficiently inside the Free Software Blender & FreeCAD
- How to Light your scene with Environment textures to achieve real-world lighting conditions
The course material is extensive and will take you 14 hours and 27 minutes to complete. Not just this, but for the price of USD 19.99, you get free lifetime access to 174 lectures and 14.5 hours of on-demand videos.
The course certainly is very popular and has a rating of 4.3 out of 5.0. Overall, the students seemed to like the course and posted comments like
“I learned many new things. The FreeCad information was also useful.”
The course is fairly popular in this category, with the number of students enrolled is 6,136.
Our rating for the course would be 8.0/9.0.
7. Become an Architecture CAD Technician – Linkedin – All Levels
This course is ideal for all levels. We went through the course outline and saw that these were some of the aspects that the course would cover:
- Master design techniques with CAD software.
- Learn how to modify designs and share your drawings with others.
- Practice 2D and 3D drawing techniques to prepare designs for construction.
The course will take you 1 day and 2 hours to complete which is a good enough time to grasp the basics of architectural design.
This course is currently available for USD 30.97 which is relatively expensive but worth the learning experience.
Even though we weren’t able to find student reviews and ratings, the 47,904 students already enrolled in it, show its popularity.
Our rating for the course is 9.0/9.0.
8. Archicad: Architectural Design Techniques – Linkedin – Intermediate Level
Next up is a LinkedIn course perfect for the intermediate level. This course has a lot to offer and this is why we found in the course content:
- How to create a minimalist interface to support design creativity and craft a workflow to maximize modeling efficiency.
- Advice on workflow setup, concept massing and refinement, and design development.
- Learn how to take your concept sketches and create detailed architectural designs in Archicad
The course duration is 3 hours and 15 minutes which is good enough to cover the essentials as a beginner. The course is currently priced at USD $36.58 which is fair considering how much you will learn.
We were unable to find reviews, but the rating of 4.6 out of 5.0 shows how popular the course really is. Overall, the course has 3,950 students enrolled which further proves its popularity.
Our rating for this course would be 9.0/9.0 considering how fast-paced it is.
9. Revit Architecture Conceptual Design Fundamentals – Pluralsight – Beginner Level
This beginner-level course is perfect to understand how Revit Architecture works. The course will offer you a lot to learn including:
- How to set up a Revit project and begin modeling using the conceptual massing tools.
- How to model building masses
- Set up a project location, import CAD files, create a building mass, and work with sun settings for solar studies in Revit, all important skills that will help you with conceptual design.
Overall the course duration is 3hrs and is priced at USD 19.00 which is quite fair considering the learning it offers. For this price, you will gain access to the hands-on library which includes other useful courses.
We couldn’t find reviews for this course, but it does have a rating of 4.5 / 5.0 stars.
Our rating for the course would be 8.5/9.0.
Conclusion
If you want to become an excellent architectural designer then we have just the perfect architectural design courses for you. We have lined up our top 9 courses and even chosen our top 2 from the list. Courses number 3 and 4 are certainly the best ones for beginners.
Make sure to try them out!
What’s stopping you?
Check out the Other Design Courses
- UX Design Courses
- Landscape Design Courses
- Sculpting Courses
- Visual Design Courses
- Surface Pattern Design Courses
- Web Design Courses
- 2D Online Animation Courses
- Pixel Art Courses
- Graphics Designing Courses
Best Architectural Design Courses - FAQs
What are the requirements for an architectural design course?
You simply need to enroll in architectural design courses. Many courses are beginner-level ones and don’t even require prior knowledge. You simply need a laptop or a phone and a stable internet connection along with architecture design-friendly applications.
What do you learn in architectural design?
One of the things you learn in architectural design is how to read and interpret blueprints. This is a critical skill for any architect, as blueprints are the primary means of communicating the design of a building or structure.
In addition to reading and interpreting blueprints, you also learn about the different types of materials that are used in construction, and how to select the right materials for a given project.
Is architecture a good career?
There are a lot of different ways to answer the question “Is architecture a good career?” Some people might say yes because they love the creative aspects of the job or because they enjoy working with their hands. Others might say no because they find the work to be challenging and stressful.
Ultimately, the answer comes down to what you are looking for in a career. If you are interested in a challenging and creative field that offers the opportunity to make a difference in the world, then architecture may be a good fit for you. However, if you are looking for a low-stress job with a lot of job security, then architecture may not be the right career for you.
Can you be an architect without a degree?
Aspiring architects who don’t have a certified degree – or any degree whatsoever – may get their permit by finishing the Architect Registration Examination, a test directed by the NCARB. Also, they should have somewhere around nine years of work insight and complete the AXP.
Is it hard to study architecture?
It can be difficult to study architecture, as it requires a great deal of knowledge and understanding of the subject. However, with dedication and hard work, it is possible to successfully complete an architecture degree.
