My Job

Intern

As an intern, I help out. I have heard stories of interns serving coffee and taking lunch orders. Thankfully, I am not one of those.

As of a couple weeks, I am an intern at Modative. They got this great new project to design Accessory Dwelling Units. An ADU is a garage converted into a home. The city of Los Angeles is looking for ways to create affordable housing. The city is now more flexible with ADUs, in response to the housing shortage.
The timeline for this project is very short, in comparison to most projects. In less than a month we will have our unit designed, and in two months built. This is short, considering it usually takes years to design and even longer to get them approved and built. My job, for now, is to produce drawings, renderings, presentations and anything else needed.

To be an intern at a small firm like Modative I must be:

• Skilled
• Well Versed
• Restless

Skilled

As an intern, I learn a lot. Although this is great for me, it is not why I am there. They hired me for the skills I have acquired at school. There, I have learned how to use many programs like:

• Revit
• Archicad
• Auto CAD
• Rhinoceros
• Adobe creative Cloud (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign)

I can use them to build models in 3D, or to document those models. For example, I can construct a building in 3D using Rhinoceros. Let's say I have to design a house. I would create the walls, windows, roof, etc in this program. I would also use it to make drawings from different views of that house. Then I would take drawings into Illustrator, and edit them, making them “architectural.” My skills in these programs are what got me a seat at the table. Not “the table,” but my table, at the office with a big computer screen.

Well Versed

Architects love to talk about their work. They enjoy critiques and presentations, and anything that relates to public speaking. In school, students must present their work at different stages in the semester. Professors like to invite other architects as jury, to come in and destroy all our dreams. Just like Simon in American Idol, as he breaks it to the singer that… well… he can’t sing. A panel of professionals comes in and judge their work. At very sad attempts to defend my work, I have learned to communicate my ideas. This skill has come in handy.
After my first week of work, my boss asked me to present her to the client. She gave me the news 5 minutes before the presentation. I was shocked, but public speaking is no stranger to me. Plus, I had composed it myself, so I was familiar with it.

Restless

Architects always look tired. Sipping coffee as they make educated comments on client meetings. At a small firm, nobody gets enough sleep. Since I started, I have gone in to work most of my weekends, and have a lot of extra hours. Some might say we are overworked. The truth is, we are passionate… and always on a deadline.
As an intern, I am like a sponge. I absorb everything around me. I listen attentively to all the conversations about building and materiality. The more I hear the people around me talk, the more I realize how clueless I am. I don’t know anything about 2x4 studs, or cement board. At the end that is what I am here for. To learn.

Flesch Reading Ease: 70.85
Flesch Kincaid Grade level: 6.44

2 uses of passive voice