The last day was very short, very sad, and probably one of the funnest days of my entire LINK internship. We started the day off by looking at the art gallery and figuring out what needed to be finished for the sea container art gallery so it could finish for filming in the next week. I finished up my project and presented it to my mentor and Elias to get a final opinion. They loved it and so did I. We then all went out to lunch together for the last time to celebrate my last day and Sheila's birthday. I then took two hours off and toured Georgetown University. I started to get real sad after I got back because my mentor and bought me presents and was sad to see me go. The three weeks went by incredibly fast and I can't believe that I am already leaving in two days. I have learned a lot about my self and how the real world works, and honestly I love it. The thought of going back to school is really weird because there is so much less freedom, but I know that there is so much more I need to learn before I go out into the world. I don't think I'll go into architecture because I could never sit for so long without talking to people all day. I need to be able to go outside, be social, walk about and explore in what ever job I find myself in.
I honestly can't believe that after today I will only have one more week here at Travis Price Architecture, it feels like I have only been here a few days. This morning was fun though because we got to go back to the art gallery that is being built out of a sea container and see what is being done, what still needs to be done, and also to be filmed for an episode on HgTV. We were meeting with the landscaper and the glass people to really set the process into motion. I learned a lot of how everything collaborates to create a beautiful space both inside and out of the container. There is a lot that needs to be thought through with zoning and making sure you are following all of the codes. I have enjoyed sitting in on more meetings and seeing the refinements you need to make based on what clients want while also staying true to your design. I have also been sitting in with Elias and Kelly and watching their revision process of a container apartment. There are a lot of things you need to think about while designing, like for the lowest floor making sure doors and halls are handicap accessible. I feel like I have been able to learn a lot from my mentor and the clients while also learning a lot by my self by working on my own project.
Above are just a few images from the adventures I have been taking and seeing in the past week. It has been so weird to be in a city where there is always a taxi, an uber, or a metro stop to get me where I need to go. Last week I accidentally got into a cab and realized a few blocks later that I didn't have my wallet...oops. It has been a crazy, exciting new adventure that has allowed me to push myself and learn how to live in the real world, while of course tasting all of the amazing foods the city has to offer. It is crazy to think that after today I will only have a week and a half left here.
After the first day of my LINK where I felt some what paralyzed and totally lost, I was terrified of what my next three weeks would look like. And to my surprise the second was not only easier, but I felt so engaged and actually felt like I was getting a lot done. By Friday I had designed a house based on a clients requests out of sea containers, gotten it critiqued, edited my design, and even started to create a digital version of my house in sketch up, which Elias is teaching me how to use. I am super excited to keep working on my house and seeing the evolution of my project. I love that I get to be apart of the meetings with clients everyday and see how much this job requires human connection and relationships. I'll get some of my designs up here soon, but for now it's time to go explore the beautiful city of Washington D.C.!
I started off the morning by joining the Monday morning meeting and getting the week's objectives and what needs to get done individually and as a group. I then got to see the editing process and drawing stages of creating a new building. We were looking at Elias' sketch up design for an indoor space that holds six tennis courts all made out of sea containers and PolyGal. It was super interesting to see this beginning process and how they adapted their designs based on the program requirements that the client had given them. I was able to start my first step of my project today by creating a program requirements page for my mother to go over and tell me what she needs in house. Once she gets back to me I will be able to start looking at locations and continue to learn how to design a house, budget, and learn how sea containers differ from a normal house. From there I went to The Catholic University of America to check out what a college architecture class really looks like. And you'll never guess what they were doing...critiques. Being a product of Animas High I am very used to critiques and instantly felt comfortable because I knew what they were doing! It was interesting to see how only 14 students could have such different and beautiful ideas. I then got to adventure around the campus by myself and take the metro to go out to dinner with my uncle. The first day was unusual and a new experience that has already started cracking my shell of shyness, I think I am going to learn about architecture and myself while here.
For three weeks, from March 7th till March 25, I went to Washington D.C. to work at Travis Price Architects. Travis Price Architects is an architecture business that creates buildings and homes that tell a story through modern and beautiful designs. Recently they have been reusing old sea containers to build apartments, houses, galleries, and women refuge centers. The designs and structure embody the family or the people who will live in the buildings. They try to not affect the natural world around when building, by either using the trees through the house or shaping the building around nature.
I worked with Kelly Davies Grace, a senior architect within the firm, to learn about architecture and how to build and design my own home. Kelly has a masters in Architecture and is a partner in the Price-Brake Construction Company. I am hoping that Kelly will be able to help me understand architecture in a new light and how I can structurally design the visions I have in my head. I am hoping she will help me understand how to create a home based on the wants of a real customer or client. Though I have never really been interested in Architecture before, as I was narrowing down my options of things that I love to learn about and do, I ended up with engineering and design. I am excited to see if architecture is the perfect balance of both of these subjects in a professional environment. I hope that I can grow into a mature working citizen through this process and understand what a real job looks like after college. Even if architecture is not the right path for me, I hope this internship will give me a good idea about where I am going to fit in to the rest of the world. When I was first looking into different options for my internship I was looking at different fields of engineering and working with children. I worked through Gametime and BOCES last summer and found a new love for helping all children. While there was a perfect opportunity to work with kids for my internship, I decided I wanted to explore engineering because I love math and science and have never gotten the opportunity to work in this field. |
Mikayla WrightAnimas High School Student ArchivesCategories |