Author: katep157

On my last day at LS3P, I was given the opportunity to visit the construction site for Building Q at SAS. I was able to sit down in a meeting filled with construction workers, interior designers, and other architects. I learned that there’s a huge process that goes into building a building as large as the SAS one. They went through a list of things they needed to check up on but it consisted of 15-20 things. Do keep in mind that these are weekly meetings. After the meeting, I was able to go through the construction site and up and down the training center. It was very eye opening because I got a new perspective of how long and tedious it takes to build a building. 

I walked into LS3P excited and ready to learn more about architecture, the employees and the whole college process. Today, I joined the marketing team and learned a little about what they do. They also helped me with portfolios and so we viewed many different portfolios from interns to full time employees. I think the portfolio part of the day was very helpful and impactful because they gave great advice for colleges.  I’ve always been super nervous about colleges but I think the marketing team really help me get out of my comfort zone. After the marketing team showed me some of the current portfolios, I thought a lot about what I could possibly do with my portfolio if I do decide to do one. the whole time the marketing team was talking to me, I was a little nervous because colleges and admissions is very stressful and architecture school is very hard/has a big commitment to it.  They showed me the different programs that they use to create a portfolio such as PowerPoint and Adobe programs like Photoshop.  Once they told me what a good fall it so should consist of, I played around in photoshop so I could get more comfortable with the program.  I think today was very helpful because it really opened my eyes about the whole college process and portfolios. It was really important to me because it answered a lot of unanswered questions I had in the back of my mind.  After today I truly believe that I am more comfortable with different programs that architects use such as Revit and sketch up.

Today, on the second day at LS3P, I continued to meet many people who told me their journey of becoming an architect. I basically interviewed them asked them all a plethora of questions about college, portfolio and other things related to architecture. As I asked a majority of them about their college life, I screamed on the inside. “All-nighters” “no sleep” “hours in the studio” are just some of the phrases they said. I was so worried that I would experience the college life if I decided to become an architect, however, they also told me the good. The idea to “create something mediocre and turn it into something beautiful” was very eye opening and it also made me realize that being an architect may be my path. Other than the part of no sleep, they also told me about how close you get with other students and that you will be able to do a majority of things and spend a lot of time with them. I think asking all of these questions really helped me answer the unanswered questions I had in the back of my head. They made me feel very comfortable and that no question was too stupid to ask. If I didn’t ask these questions, the reality fo an architecture student wouldn’t have hit me. I would’ve enjoyed a more hands on activity but I think the interview with the different employees really helped me get a sense of reality. 

Today I joined a new architecture firm located in downtown Raleigh: LS3P. I walked into the building, went up to the 17th floor and found myself in a large firm filled with more than 9 people (Linton Architects). I was a little nervous to be surrounded by 40 architects, one being my dad’s friend, and shadow them during the week. The full day consisted of me talking a tour of the floor and having one on one meetings with a few employees. I enjoyed meeting the different architects and learning about what each of them do/the current projects they are working on, however, I think the thing I enjoyed the most today was getting a sneak peak of the new design of SEA. I was able to watch a digital tour of the soon-to-be building and my mouth was open the whole time, it was so cool and so beautiful. It’s sad to hear that they will be finished with the new SEA when I leave for college. 

Today I continued to work on my assignment of building a 3-D model for a current client. To my surprise, the house looked better than I thought. Once I added on the roof and little acccesories it felt complete. What felt like minutes working on the 3-D model was actually hours of clicking and dragging shapes. Other than the 80s and 90s music playing in the background, the office was very peaceful and I felt like I got a lot done. Today was also the last day of working at Linton Architects so it sad to say goodbye to everyone. Every single employee made me feel comfortable and tried to inform me with whatever they were working on. After lunch I went back to my table and continued to work on the finishing touches of the 3-D model. It’s amazing to see that a drawing could be turned into something a step further. I really enjoyed working with Mr. Linton and the rest of the employees and will use the knowledge that I gained in the future. I look forward to working in downtown Raleigh in a much larger firm called LS3P. 

Today, instead of shadowing Mr. Linton, I worked at my own desk with a very nice Mac computer! Right away I felt like an employees at Linton Architects working on projects for different clients, which I was! I was assigned a job creating a sketch up of a home for a current client. At first, I was very scared and intimidated that I wouldn’t do a good job, especially since it’s been one year of not using sketchup and I was surrounded by amazing architects. Although it was very intimidating, with the help of one of the newer employees, she helped me through the process and made me feel very comfortable. She didn’t mind all the questions I was asking and was very active. I spent the whole day creating a home with the variety of different tools in sketch up; I created the rooms in a home and the basic outline. At times it was a little frustrating because the home had to have every single detail. After a couple hours of working in sketch up, I was able to finish a huge majority of the house. I was surprised that I was doing a real architecture project for a real client. It was really fun and I really learned a lot about the process of creating a new home.  Continue reading Day 3

On Day 2 of my work experience at Linton Architects, I was able to go to two different locations and help Mr. Linton and other architects at the firm with local projects. In the morning, we drove all the way to Chapel Hill and visited the construction site for an upcoming house Mr. Linton is working on. We spent an hour going over the construction plan and layout changes for the large house. After lunch, everyone in the firm visited a new project site, a daycare center in Durham. Before designing and renovating is done to a building, a survey is taken place. A survey is basically when you take/find all the information on that specific building. We had to get the measurements of every corner of the building and take pictures of every single detail inside and out. I was able to help draw the rooms of the building and write down the the building measurements. It was very strenuous especially with little kids around. After, we went back to the office and I was able to sit in a meeting with a current client. From this meeting, I learned about the rules and regulations that go into reconstructing a home on historic land.

Today, I had the opportunity to work with Coby Linton, an architect and owner of Linton Architects. Linton Architects is a small architecture firm in the outskirts of downtown Durham, surrounded by many rural commercial buildings. I was able to meet all nine employees that work in the firm and learn a little bit about what each of them do and their process of becoming an architect. I was also able to view many past and current projects that each of them did/are working on. After lunch, I was able to visit one of Coby’s project sites and got a deeper sense of the construction aspect of architecture.

I’m looking forward to working with two different architecture firms in the next two weeks.