For architecture students, one of the major attractions of the AAP NYC program is the ability to combine professional experience with college courses. The program allows for students work at an architecture firm two full days a week while also being a full time student. The fact that we are in NYC makes this all the more successful because of the enormous array of firms and job opportunities for architects. Of course, the city is also a museum of architectural masterpieces and a place of current innovation. It’s a very different learning field than Rome (where all of us archies are just coming from) but offers it’s own numerous and important architectural experiences.
Cornell’s alumni network includes many architects in NYC, many of which head very successful firms. This facilitated our application process. Most of the firms we are now working at have had Cornell students in the past so know more or less what to expect and have previous experience of taking advantage of our two-day-a-week work schedule. Our internships began January 25 and will end before the end of the semester, but I assume some people will want to pursue their internship through summer. Our internships are paralleled with two courses that focus on the professional practice of architecture (life in an office, different types of offices, project breakdown, firm visits, etc.).
Here is the who / what / where / how on our internships and impressions a few weeks in. Information includes the name and size of the firm, what the intern is working on, how the intern is working (software, technologies) and general comments.
Size: 5 employees
What: Furniture packets, consultation with distributors
How: Internet, CS4 basic design programs, phonecalls
First Impression: “Small office, awesome espresso machine, very relaxed but lunch is eaten in office.”
Thoughts on winter commute/intern lifestyle: “The commute is way too long, interning is great experience, but tired a lot of the time.”
Thoughts on weekly schedule with classes: “Sometimes it can be a bit hectic to work on study, work at firm and enjoy the city… but studio so far is great. Yummy lunches all around.”
What you hope you will be doing later on in the semester at your firm: “Site visits, being able to speak architecture language with more ease, learn more detail on how projects become realized.”
What are you learning at the office in terms of professional skills: “Answering the phone, how to keep documents and other processes organized, how an office runs, learning to talk with distributors.”
Anything else: “Can’t wait to explore more restaurants and go watch shows!”
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Size: 6 people
What: Program development and client proposals
How: Rhino 4.0, AutoCAD, Photoshop
First Impression: “Great atmosphere to work in. Very laid back but with a serious attitude towards productivity.”
Thoughts on winter commute/intern lifestyle: “Living at home, I have a very short commute… it’s a great experience to live and work in New York City, especially after coming from such a small town.”
Thoughts on weekly schedule with classes: “Morning classes are really rough, but it is very cool to combine working and classes in the middle of the week. Thus far, the two have not overlapped and caused any problems, so I am optimistic about the rest of the semester running smoothly.”
What you hope you will be doing later on in the semester at your firm: “Renderings, furniture and finishes selection, on-site visits, sitting in on project meetings with clients.”
What are you learning at the office in terms of professional skills: “How to juggle multiple projects at once. In studio, we have one project that we work on throughout the semester. In real life, there are a number of things going on all at the same time and it’s important to prioritize and maximize efficiency. This is a skill that will help me both professionally and for the remainder of my academic studies.”
Anything else: Can’t wait to explore more restaurants and go watch shows!
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Size: 6 people
What: Plan and program organization, renders
How: Rhino 4.0, AutoCAD, Photoshop
First Impression: “I enjoy working at Slade, they let everyone partake in the design process instead of making me a CAD monkey.”
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Size: 200-250 people (I’m not sure…)
What: Mainly working on Manhanttan’s College-Student Center, on a physical model
How: AutoCAD and SketchUp
First Impression: “Its big…..with many section studios. Very different from a smaller firm that I’ve worked at. Professional, organized, friendly.”
Thoughts on winter commute/intern lifestyle: “The commute can be stressful from the Cornell dorms; the 6 train is always full. Wear boots during the winter.”
Thoughts on weekly schedule with classes: “It is nice to have an internship while studying; gives another perspective to life.”
What you hope you will be doing later on in the semester at your firm: “Be more involve in the design process.”
What are you learning at the office in terms of professional skills: “How to use the laser cutter…Faster ways of drawing in AutoCAD. I will be learning Revit?”
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Size: 12 employees
What: I’ve been working on the renovation of Cornell’s architecture department offices.
How: Rhino, AutoCAD, and Adobe Suite.
First Impression: “Smaller than I expected, friendly environment with a lot of interaction, methodical and strategic means of organizing works and research.”
Thoughts on winter commute/intern lifestyle: “The commute is way too long, interning is great experience, but tired a lot of the time.”
Thoughts on weekly schedule with classes: “The schedule actually works out perfectly. It’s set up in a way that you focus only on your internship when you work.”
What you hope you will be doing later on in the semester at your firm: “I hope I continue what I’m doing now; being a part of a design team for various projects being done by the firm.”
What are you learning at the office in terms of professional skills: “I’m learning a lot of commands I never knew existed in Rhino. I’m also learning techniques for improving the quality of renderings.”
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Size: around 300
What: Design development, Schematic development, Construction documents and detail drawings.
How: Autodesk Revit, AutoCAD, Rhino, Photoshop, 3D printer
First Impression: “Huge beautiful office with great view over Bryant Park, Insanely organized and systematized. People are nice but stick within their own project team groups. Many employees don’t know one another. Very digital orientated in terms of process and representation.”
Thoughts on weekly schedule with classes: “So far so good. It’s difficult to work on classes after leaving the office on internship days.”
What you hope you will be doing later on in the semester at your firm: “Be involved in the conceptual design development phase, model making and experimentation.”
What are you learning at the office in terms of professional skills: “I’m really learning Revit which is great. I’m on one of the few project that is entirely being modeled in Revit and so I am getting lots of lessons so I may help the team now and later on.”
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Size: 350 employees
What: Diagrams of projects for award submissions, shop work for presentation models
How: Rhino, 3DSMax, AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator
First Impression: “Friendly, dynamic, collaborative.”
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What: Packing/ unpacking boxes, organize office library until deemed satisfactory.
How: Physical manpower, sweat and blood. Rhino what?
First Impression: “CO-workers are very friendly and the work being done in the office is very exciting? Unfortunately the work I’m doing has nothing to do with the design practice of Weiss/Manfredi or anything I’ve learned in school concerning architecture. Weiss/Manfredi relocated their office this past week so I have been one of the manual laborers for this operation.”