Q2: What did you find most useful about your undergraduate experience for your career path?
Ian
Two things: one was the small cohort that architecture and the program provided at Penn, and two, the exposure to the larger university as a whole. This was actually one of the reasons I chose to go to Cambridge [MA] for grad school: I had access to the university and multiple schools within the university, such as the business school. I remember a course at Penn taught by Adam Grant that was great. The small cohort of architecture also gives you a strong network of people.
Brent
I look back at Penn very fondly. I just had flashbacks to how powerful it was to be part of something that was blossoming at the time – Architecture had just got back onto the curriculum in 2001 when I started undergrad there. What drove me while I was there was the inner competition of the studios. While at the time, it was a bit tiring as a student, that competitive edge allowed me to be inspired by and impressed by my fellow students. Now, what drives me is that competition to beat myself with each product.
Ying
I like the arts and creativity, and I see myself doing something that has to do with my creativity and analytical skills. This just has been my interest and I thought I might as well pursue it in school. I enjoyed spending a lot of time in the studios. In my freshman year, I was part of the Global Architecture Brigades, and we got to go to Honduras to build a water structure. I got to know a lot of the upperclassmen during this, like Ian. Sophomore year, I did a lot of outreach with ArchTank. My favorite part were the internal events, like Dumpling Night. I’m proud of establishing that tradition.
I wouldn’t say that I’m an extreme extrovert, actually I’m an extreme introvert, but I wanted to advocate for a cause I cared about. My coursework in Urban Studies and my thesis helped me out a lot.
Maria
My thesis was the most fundamental part of my undergrad education experience, because it gave me the opportunity to delve into something that I entirely constructed with my advisor. It was something where I didn’t have a design brief to start with. My thesis had to do with the sea-level rise in London, and this was based on my experience studying abroad at the AA. This was a way to continue my experience from abroad and bring it back to Philly. Doing the thesis also helped me join the Penn program in Environmental Humanities, and I got to be in contact with people and fields that were more directly tied to sustainability. It also financially helped me travel to London over spring break and do interviews and aluminum castings – which I then brought back to Philly. I would say the thesis was a springboard for all of my graduate applications, and it gave me the foothold to know what I was interested in.
Charlotte
I dipped my finger in a lot of pools. I didn’t know where all interests were going at the time, but now I see them coming back into my architecture work – I do see my political science and art history backgrounds coming back to my current studies. Props to you all who are doing undergrad and grad architecture programs, I don’t know if I would’ve survived both. Studios are hard, but super fun. And the studio culture is an amazing, collaborative experience.
Thuy
Life at Penn and during undergrad was so multifaceted, and not just curriculum wise, but also in terms of extracurricular and friends. I was in the PURM program and worked for Orkan Telhan. It opened my eyes for the first time to the fact of doing research in design fields that are alongside architecture, like doing electronic stuff that related in some way. This was my first exposure to doing serious research and it helped a lot later at MIT where I worked with professors on different topics. If you’re early on, I advise you to take full advantage of any opportunity Penn has for travelling. I did the semester abroad at AA, I did a summer program in France program – I know there were some for Italy and Greece. I really encourage travelling.
Daniel
I have 3 specific or program-specific things that come to mind: One, the history and theory program; it teaches you how to think of architecture at a level that most of your peers are not at. Richard also curates your program for this; Two, the emphasis on drawing, and this still sticks with me today. I remember when my portfolio was being reviewed for jobs and grad school, my ability to articulate intense design programs in drawings was what made me stand out among the other applicants. And three, the intensive major and being in touch with my graduate peers. This really helps springboard you into the professional world and gives you skills that will carry into your career. Like Thuy said, the travel abroad and semesters abroad are invaluable, especially the people you meet and the things you learn.
Alex
I would say it was the incredibly well-rounded time I had at Penn, especially the way the program is set up with the liberal arts integration. A large part of why I wanted to work in real estate was because of its strong connections to architecture and placemaking. I still go to a lot of OACs and design meetings with architects. I have a great appreciation for what the architects do after having been through that.
People in the business side of things react positively to those who have an architecture background – if you are in the business of space, you need to know about space. Aside from architecture, there are so many other things you can explore as an undergrad. I encourage people to take advantage of everything and all the resources around you. Pull on the threads that are interesting to you.
Brian
Even if someone is sure about architecture, it doesn’t hurt to take other classes in other schools, especially classes about real estate. People in real estate and architecture speak different languages, and you are in a valuable position if you can speak both. You can make things happen and understand the nuances of the project. Again, I recommend taking classes outside of architecture. I think the biggest asset of the undergrad program was what the major provided in terms of being comfortable with ambiguity. Even the first project we did where we had to create a system of measurement using our bodies – I had no idea what we were doing at the time but it was informative in the end.
Erisa
The thing that stuck to me, while working on my thesis, was how the thesis allowed me to focus on specifically what I was interested in. My thesis helped me figure out what I wanted when I was working. When looking for jobs, I was looking specifically for interdisciplinary firms that would incorporate different aspects of life into design. While I was doing the research for my thesis, I came into contact with a lot of different people and even ended up having a phone call with the Creative Director at my current job where I got his thoughts on my thesis. This was how we connected and landed me my current job.
Lizzy
I have to say also the well-roundedness of the program and how interdisciplinary it is. Also the connections with studiomates and professors. I was able to see different disciplines and elements of architecture that I didn’t see before. I had some experience with research as an undergrad, working with some professors on campus. I had worked with Ying on a project about city resilience, and all of these projects had helped me find things that I was interested in both in and outside of architecture.
the ARCHtank BLOG 