#bacconnex2023

[bac-connex]

Thank you ICON Architecture!

Thank you ICON Architecture for the amazing externship experience and your commitment to welcoming and mentoring BAC students like myself as we start our careers in the architecture industry! Everything I learned during the brief one week experience at your firm was incredibly insightful and helpful for my portfolio, resume, and career development. There are a lot of skills and areas I’ve realized I’m not proficient at and I will spend my remaining time at the BAC to gain proficiency and expertise in the industry standard programs (Revit, SketchUp, Enscape, Lumion) that matter most to any architecture firm.

[jimenasalaverry]

Jimena Salaverry's Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Jimena! I'm a MIA student at the BAC. It'll be my first time as a part of PCX program. My externship is with STACK + CO and I'm so excited to start

[bac-connex]

A discerning and valued client!

This apartment building is in Somerville designed by the Live studio practice at ICON. There are very specific site constraints that need to be met in order for the client and the community to approve of its construction. There were many considerations taken into account, from the number of unit types, the massing and scale allowed by zoning, ground floor retail requirements, and the grading of the terrain. The client is discerning and wanted the facade of the building to be attractive despite the limitations of the budget. ICON Architecture prepared several different iterations of what the facade materials could look like when used in different ways.

This is a renovation project located in Quincy designed by the Interiors studio practice at ICON. The client wanted to update the existing amenity spaces to create a more attractive and modern interior for residents to use. Mood boards and material palettes were curated to create a cohesive theme to tie together the various spaces that will be renovated. The client had a certain vision that needed to be reconciled with the limitations of their budget and space constraints.

[bac-connex]

ICON Beach House Design

[bac-connex]

Thank You Nbbj

To being able to experience and be part of an office culture, for a week. It has been an amazing week in my career to self-discovery.

Thank you all for the amazing week and all the activities you guys planned for us.

[bac-connex]

The best mentor possible 

First of all I would like to thank Brenna for amazing opportunity at DCAMM .

She was extremely organized and planned a very effective week at DCAMM giving us the opportunity to meet such an abundant group of employees from different departments. 

Having the chance to explore the workspace and understand what are the struggles and benefits of each profession needed the communication and planning skills Brenna provided to us.

Seeing the abundance of positions influenced me to rethink on my educational decisions , opening an acknowledgment on what steps to take throughout my education. Seeing me question those steps Brenna provided questions and time in our meetings with each department so we can act on our decisions with the correct information from the best possible source.

She also created an environment where I felt as a part of DCAMM like I have been working in the firm for a long time.my team had the chance to discuss and cooperate with each other due to the freedom given to us .

we realized this sense of connectivity between all employees at DCAMM.

I’ve entered the program with so much anxiety and fear but left with confidence and triumph.

[bac-connex]

Final Day

Wow

What an amazing week we had, from shadowing meetings, and exploring a little from every team at nbbj, to site visits portfolio reviews and walking around following engineers do their thing. I really wasn't expecting to get so much exposure from different fronts in so little time. I am deeply thankful for everyone at nbbj, specially Anna.

Also i want to thank my buddy ~ I haven't meet many people so devoted to their own personal growth, being constant and able to step out of your comfort zone to gain experience and a new vision of things is so scary at times and my buddy just did it for a whole week.

Perspective it's really all you need in life, isn't it.

Thanks for all the other group members that presented their experiences on their firms. You all rock ~

Thanks George for the photos :D

( also sorry for the delay, it was brought to my attention i posted this on my personal instead of the BAC acc)

[bac-connex]

Mentors are...

inspiration / hope / transformation

Sometimes during our path of students we give for granted a lot of the opportunities where we are allowed to stop, take a breather, analyze the problem and construct something new. This week showed me how good mentorship and teamwork allows you to do this even under stress and work scenarios.

We had a couple of site visits and portfolio review today, and honestly every experience after the other kept changing my POV over the architectural field. So many approaches and visions colliding and forging one project its really inspiring.

[bac-connex]

Day 5: Supportive always-together Buddies

This year I’m committed to seeking out more mentors that will guide me on my path to becoming an architect and project manager.

Exploring outside of my immediate field in architecture really open my mind into different fields I could go with my degree in architecture. I hope that this year I can find opportunities that will help me brach out and learn different things. Also this year and in the future I want to speak out about what I want in the future, like project management. I think this will help me find the right mentors that are willing to show me the ropes, and hopefully they will see my enthusiasm from the beginning.

[bac-connex]

Day 4: An Energetic Mentor

The most important quality and skill that a mentor should have is being able to listen to the mentee with any problems or any hopes that they may have and be able to have the time to be able to guide them towards the path that they want to take. In turn a mentee, should be able to listen to the mentor and be able to accept constructive criticism. Also be able to tell your mentor the path that you see for yourself.

At DCAMM we learn that the way that the departments are set up you always have some to report back to. That person is your point of contact and they have way that they communicate. For example, they have biweekly meetings where theres talk about the projects but also about career development and how they can be on a way they can land that role that they hope for in the future.

Brenna was our point of contact in DCAMM and she was always in every step. She listen to our needs, answered any questions we had and also asks us for any feedback that we may have for future externships. We really appreciated her in this journey.

[bac-connex]

Thank you DCAMM!

It is hard to narrow down my favorite part about this externship. After just one week I have learned so much about DCAMM and the people who work there. I was inspired each day by the passion, work ethic and overall camaraderie of DCAMM as a whole. This externship is an opportunity I didn’t know I needed and I am extremely grateful to have had this opportunity!

[bac-connex]

Passionate Buddies!

This semester I would like to focus on being a good mentor for students at the BAC but also in life. As the TA for Open Studio I work with Foundation students who are just starting out at the BAC and some are just starting out their journey in the design world. In my position I feel it is of upmost importance that I set a good example while also being available to them to answer any questions they may have about the BAC or life in general. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and I think it is extremely important for people, who are able, to come forward and be there for other students to help guide them through life.

[bac-connex]

THANK YOU RODE ARCHITECT

Thank you so much RODE architect for spending time on hosting us! I am very appreciated! It was such a wonderful week before the school starts.

[bac-connex]

My Energetic Buddies

My externship partners, Minerva and Baha from BAC, are both energetic students. Everyone actively participates in Externship activities, communicates with the staff in RODE, shares their experiences in architecture, and communicates with the people in the company. I am glad to know Minerva and Baha, who are passionate about the construction industry through participating in Externship!

[bac-connex]

A Supportive Mentor

Our mentor, Ruthie, has a strong background on Architecture and Engineering. As a registered architect in Massachusetts, she has the ability to handle projects of different sizes, and also bring some engineering background in. I am glad to have Ruthie as our mentor to explain the characteristics of each project and the details that need to be noted. Ruthie has never been stingy in sharing what she knows, and she patiently answers our questions when taking us to visit projects under construction, bringing me more knowledge that school cannot learn.

The diagram workshop of RODE is a great learning opportunity. Everyone is discussing together about how to use diagrams to make everyone's work more efficient. The project manager and the staff responsible for creating the diagram both participate and provide feedback, which is a great way to share experience and improve the efficiency of a project.

[bac-connex]

THANK YOU RODE ARCHITECTS!

Our supervisor, Ruthie, is like a superhero. She made sure we got the most out of this learning adventure. We did all sorts of cool stuff and talked about designs at every step of the way. Imagine getting to join in on those creative chats!

I've got to send a big thank you to Ruthie and the whole RODE Architects crew. They gave us, the BAC students, an unbelievably awesome chance to learn and grow. I can't help but look ahead and dream about meeting them again someday. Who knows, maybe we'll team up once more?

This experience has opened up so many doors for me. It's like a bunch of new opportunities just popped up out of nowhere. I'm so grateful for this ride and can't wait to see where it takes me next!