• Growing up.

• Architecture?                       

• Architecture!

• Apply to NCSU College of Design

• Got accepted!

• Studio projects and more studio projects

• Too. Many. All-nighters….

• Graduation (twice – BEDA and 5th year)

• Real world job!

• It has been a wonderful story so far…I can’t wait to see where it takes me next! 

Architecture is the creation of memorable spaces.  As humans we remember the house/apartment we grew up in, the city we grew up in, the spaces we worshiped in, the touristy spots on visited on vacation….architecture is part of our daily lives.  We cannot escape it! Architecture is an important part of our memories. 

Black papermate pens + sketchbook + camera + glue stick + my hands + my eyes + my feet + my mind + my experiences + my travels + my schooling + my curiosity = TOOL BAG

I consider myself to be a mentor and also a mentee. I think it’s important to advise others but also be willing to learn from others, regardless if they are older than you or not. I have enjoyed being a mentor to freshmen in the First Year Experience program at NCSU’s College of Design. Mentoring is extremely important in our discipline! 

I am most interested in the phenomenology of architecture.  Yes, architecture is a physical building, but how can that building and the spaces within it affect one’s senses? How does a person engage with the architecture? Can you hear architecture? Can you touch it? Can you smell it? Can you see it? Can you taste it? I believe that architecture is experienced through our senses and this makes architecture memorable because you FEEL something. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. is my favorite building. 

I’ve only been an intern for 6 weeks since graduation, but at my current job I helped prepare a short-list interview presentation for an Agriculture Center. A few weeks after the actual presentation, the chosen architecture firm was announced over youtube. I was listening in with a co-worker with headphones and literally screamed and jumped up and down when we heard that HH Architecture had been chosen. Even though I had only been at the office for a short time, I had already become a cheerleader for HH Architecture’s success. It was a memorable moment for me!

My sophomore year was full of all-nighters. I remember one of my first…

My studio was hand-drawing plans, sections, elevations, and perspectives of Kamphoefner Hall. My group’s numbers weren’t accurate, which led to multiple trips outside in the middle of the night to double and triple check dimensions. I was outside at 2 a.m. measuring with two male classmates. We ended up sitting down and laughing over things that appeared extremely funny to sleep deprived architecture students. The next day in studio my professor said, “As you all begin to stay up late, be aware of getting the giggles late at night.” Most of my favorite studio memories happened while pulling an all-nighter. 

Yes I did! I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I wanted to see as much European architecture as I could.  Studying abroad encouraged me to learn on my own, to observe on my own, and to enhance my documentation skills (through photography, sketching, note-taking, and gluing different things into my sketchbook). 

You don’t have to go to major cities or see the most famous buildings to experience architecture. Being observant of your surroundings is a good skill to learn. Start observing within your hometown. What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it? Ask questions, it’s okay to not know the answers. A lot of your architecture education comes from learning on your own outside of the classroom. I’d also encourage someone to look into other disciplines. Being knowledgeable about other disciplines (such as landscape architecture, art + design, graphic design, photography, etc.) will make you a better architect. 

One of my favorite moments was an optional studio assignment.  In Prague my professor suggested to “Turn on and tune in.” He encouraged us to take a metro or tram to the outside of the city and walk our way back into the city, documenting what we experienced. I drew sketches and took notes on a roll of trace paper. My thoughts and observations were random. Short sentences. Noticing as much as I could. I have never enjoyed a studio assignment more in my whole education. The next studio class our professor asked us to share what we experienced. Some students abbreviated what they experienced, but I read my whole 2 feet of thoughts to the class. Afterwards, my professor said, “I wish I had a tape recorder to record you reading that!”