sarupexternship

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HBRA Architects

Over spring break I traveled down to Chicago to spend a week wtih HBRA Architects. HBRA specializes in classical architecture. They find themselves doing quite a few historical preservation projects. During my week I visited an interior renovation of a condo in and old high rise built in the 1900′s. The project involves loads of millwork specifications, and some complicated details of interior spaces. In contrast back at the office they are working on a large GSA project for a courthouse. Seeing the government and the residential design work gave me a good sense of the range of projects that HBRA takes on.

For the majority of my time spent at HBRA I was doing climate change research in relation to the building materials specified in the courthouse project. It was a valuable exercise that revealed the logistics behind what it means to attain a LEED certification.

Josh Alsum | Spring 2018 

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Uihlein/Wilson-Ramlow/Stein

Over spring break I spent my week with Uihlein/Wilson – Ramlow/Stein Architects. During my week there, I visited some of the different projects that they are working on, such as some of the renovations at Miller Park and the restoration of the Milwaukee Historical Society building. Along with this, they were great at teaching some of the more complex points in architecture and trying to make sure that I knew that the design of a building is only the first step in constructing a building and that the rest is a lot of problem-solving. Overall the experience was great in showcasing their work.

I got to work on some of their projects they were doing and in the process got to learn more about how different systems of a building interact with one another. They used Revit almost entirely to do their 3d modeling so I got to learn more about a program that I didn't know as well as I believe I should. Along with this, they had just gotten a VR headset that enabled the Revit model to become an interactive experience. Since they do not build physical models anymore the VR model was incredibly cool to get to see. It made the process so much more immersive than any physical model I have ever seen.

The site visits I got to go on were completely different from one another. While the site visit to Miller Park was more to see renovations and a lot of cosmetic and interior design focus. The visit to the Milwaukee Historical Society restoration was more architectural in a sense that they had to redo the parapets and the cartouches. The way they went about removing the stone on the building and fixing the load issues was quite amazing to me because they did all of this on scaffolding way up on the top of the building. It was cool to see that even though a lot of people see architects designing buildings, they also get to do incredibly amazing work restoration work as well.

The week was an amazing experience and I do not think that I would have gotten anything similar to this from any studio I could take at Sarup. I cannot thank them enough for allowing me to work with them and showing me some more technical information that I do not get much exposure to in my classes.

Mitchell Greetan | Spring 2018

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Mortenson Construction

Over winter break I spent a week job shadowing many professionals at Mortenson in Brookfield. Roberta Oldenburg, a design phase manager, was the one who connected me with many great leaders of their organization, providing me with a wide range of experiences. I shadowed design phase managers, project managers, superintendents, VDC+BIM engineers, the estimating team, MEP engineers and field engineers, who took the time to explain to me what they were currently working on while also elaborating on previous projects. This exponentially contributed to my understanding of the construction process and the large role that cost plays in any architectural project. Site visits also enhanced this experience. I visited the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center, Froedtert Hospital, and Kenosha Aurora Medical Center, among others. Healthcare facility rennovations, expansions, and new construction make up a large part of the projects taken on by the Milwaukee regional office, but they have experience doing many different building types as well.

Because I job shadowed many individuals with varying jobs, each day was a unique experience, yet I learned that collaboration is key no matter what job title you hold. I attended several meetings, both in person and through conference calls, that were sometimes followed by break out meetings in a smaller group setting that expanded on specific topics covered. These meetings were for projects at many different stages of the design and construction processes. One was on site at the new Bucks arena, which was already fully enclosed at the time, so Mortenson along with architects or other representatives from Eppstein Uhen Architects and Populous were there to discuss interior design details such as signage. They had prototype signs for bathrooms, the concourse, sections, etc. on hand to approve or make changes to before installation. This experience made me realize and appreciate the complexity of projects as large as the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center.

I learned so much during these five short days, and appreciate every minute these professionals were willing to spend with me. This experience opened my eyes to many career opportunities I didn't know I had. I talked with several individuals from Mortenson who have degrees from SARUP, so even with a degree in architecture their careers led them to a job at this construction company.

- Brittany Peterson | 2018

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Winter Externship at NIDC

               During my time at the NIDC (Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation) I shadowed Larry Kilmer as he went about his daily duties. Most days started with a little gathering where he described some of the different programs that they were running. This allowed me to ask questions before heading out into Milwaukee where he would show me some of the different houses they have helped remodel. This all took place before heading to events and meetings that he had to attend. It was interesting to see the vast number of houses that the NIDC had a part in remodeling. I do not think we could go a single residential block without Larry being able to pick a house out that they had helped remodel.

               During the later part of the week I got to go with Brian Pellot who is a housing rehab specialist for the NIDC. He took me with him to several houses that were in different stages of the rehab process. I got to see everything that he needs to be aware of during his daily assignments. His job dealt largely in the codes of Milwaukee and ensuring that each house he helps rehab is completely up to code once they are done. He told me that one of the best ways to become a great architect is to understand the code of the area you are working. When you understand the codes, you begin to understand how a building is put together and when they both make sense, you can construct almost anything.  It was a very interesting week at the NIDC and I thank them for allowing me the opportunity to shadow them and learn from them.

-Mitchell Greetan | January 2018

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Winter Externship at Department of Community Development

I spent one week shadowing HNTB, a consulting company, and the following week I had the opportunity to shadow the planning team at the City of Milwaukee’s Department of Community Development (DCD). It was really great to be able to spend a week seeing how a private consulting firm operates compared to the public sector in the planning world.

With the City having Monday off for MLK day, the week was shortened to four days but nonetheless packed with activities and opportunities for learning. The week started off with an off-site meeting about the Beerline Trail. There was a small group meeting where the development group discussed current progress and next steps. After an hour, the development group was joined by other community organizations and members for a larger group discussion about certain topics related to the Beerline Trail – formatted much like a public meeting.

I attended a Design Review meeting for future developments within the city limits where different DCD employees meet to comment on design submissions. Comments include suggestions, likes or dislikes of the design proposal, and its compliance with the zoning code. I was also able to join a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) plan advisory group meeting where Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (SOM), who are contractors for this initiative, presented ideas for development along potential future streetcar extension lines into Walker’s Point and the MLK Drive/Bronzeville neighborhoods. There were lots of different organizations represented at the meeting and it was really interesting to hear all the different perspectives. Everyone had such great insight. Immediately after this meeting, I sat in on a debriefing and discussion of the TOD development in Walker’s Point with Alderman Perez.

Along with the meetings I attended, I was tasked with researching and putting together some case studies focusing on cities that have enacted Just Cause Eviction Policies. This will help with the TOD planning study the DCD is tasked with developing. I was able to present my findings at the end of the week.

The whole team were very welcoming and special thanks to Sam Leichtling for organizing most of my week. DCD works on many different projects and it was great exposure. Once again, I learned so much from my week with DCD and what it looks like to work in the planning public sector.  

Josie Willman | January 2018

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Winter Externship at HNTB

During winter break, I had the opportunity to work alongside and shadow the planning team at HNTB Milwaukee office. This team does a variety of different work from GIS to grant writing and from working on transportation projects to environmental projects.

Some of the observational highlights from the week included sitting in on some internal grant writing calls, a meeting for a discussion about environmental justice, and attending a Milwaukee Nighttime Economy Summit downtown. I was also given the opportunity to assist in collecting information for some of their current projects. This included researching information on streetcars around the country, putting a one-page PowerPoint slide together summarizing key points from a 40-page environmental screening document, and creating case studies for intermodal rail stations and BRT highway running systems across the US.

The whole team were beyond kind in going above and beyond by showing me the ropes in the little time we had together. They were always available to answer any questions I had and let me prod their brains on how they got into the planning field, career advice, and their own professional experience and navigation of their career. The week flew by, but I feel like I learned so much in my week there and walked away with a greater understanding of the opportunities available in the planning field and private sector.

Josie Willman | January 2018

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While on winter break, I was able to spend my last week at Holabird & Root in the heart of Chicago. I was greeted with a firm tour and went over recent projects as well as the deep history the firm has. I spent the majority of my time working on Northwestern’s Pritzker law school updating plans as well as creating a diagram of their one block campus. I was also able to sit in on multiple rep meetings and was introduced to new lighting solutions. On Thursday after noon I was able to go with my host, Max Hanisch for a meeting at the law school for a walk through of the work that was recently completed. On the final day I was able to sit down with Max as well as a couple partners and go page by page through my portfolio as well as give me a new perspective of what I should be doing post graduation.

 My week at Holabird and Root was exciting and went by quickly. I enjoyed my time and was grateful to gain experience and see how there firm runs. The externship was great opportunity and what I learned will keep with me though out my career.  

-John O’Malley

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Goettsch Partners

Goettsch Partners welcomed me into their firm for a week over winter. Their main office is located on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, so attending work every day was a trill!

Day 1 & 2 - I was given a tour of the office which is located on the top floor of a building with views to Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago. After I met all of the employees I was given a task to help fix a sketch-up model of project in China. This project consisted of 4 towers on a pedestal and I was in charge of creating a solid sketch-up model to 3d print. I spent the next 2 days working on this model, with a company lunch thrown in the middle of it.

Day 3- I started day three in a different department which was not run by an architect. This department was in charge of organizing the material library in the office. I was tasked on making a scaled elevation of the shelving units so that they could be used for reference later. I learned so much about glass specifications that day! 

Day 4-5 Day four and five were in a new department. Day four started with me attending a page turner meeting with the developer and engineers. It was interesting to see all the different personalities in one room. The rest of my time at Goettsch was spent fixing redlined documents for a new zoo project. 

Overall, my time at Goettsch helped me see how a big firm runs. I enjoyed my time and cannot wait to start working in a firm!

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      Over winter break, I had the opportunity to spend a week at Zimmerman Architectural Studios. Zimmerman Architectural Studios is located at the City Lights Development in Milwaukee’s Menomonee Valley. I worked under Brian Hatzung of the Recreation department and proposed two reception area designs for the South Wood County YMCA. In these designs, I worked on a main reception area for the fitness center as well as, a childcare reception desk.

    I also had the chance to visit the currently under construction Aurora Behavioral Health Services Expansion with John Kregel in Wauwatosa. John walked both myself and Daniel Morales, a fellow extern, through the project site and talked about his experience in Field Services. He pointed out significant construction practices and explained the importance of Zimmerman’s Field Services department during construction.

    Zimmerman Architectural Studios is a wonderful firm that offers a truly amazing variety of expertise. It is amazing to see a large firm at work and the opportunities that come from having architectural and engineering services under one roof. I truly enjoyed my externship experience and the opportunity to work under the practicing architects at Zimmerman Studios.  

Evan Kind – January 2018

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Brininstool-Lynch Architecture Design

During my winter break, had the opportunity to spend the final week at Brininstool-Lynch Architecture Design in Chicago. When I first arrived I felt welcome, from the team David Brininstool and Brad Lynch have assembled. The firm consists of 17- 20 members, with a relaxing atmosphere. My first couple days there I was put on 9 stories multipurpose building, to fix up elevations and make a site analysis diagram, the colleague I worked alongside was mina. The third day I helped prepare design boards for a project, later that day I went on a site visit with Angelique and Jeremiah to a building down town on its finishing touches, Where I sat in on their meeting. The fourth day, I sat in on meetings with David Brininstool and Dan (Project Manager) for the start of a couple projects, for construction, design, and ADA improvements. On the final day, I did a couple diagrams for another project they put me on, during that day they took me out to lunch.

I had an Awesome experience at B+L, Where I learned a lot of what architects go through daily. Especially David for explaining most things that go on in meetings and being very welcoming. Thank you to SARUP for the externship opportunity!

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OUTSIDE ARCHITECTURE 

Over winter break I had the opportunity to spend time with Brook Meier, and his brand new architecture partnership, Outside Architecture. Brook is a UWM alumni, and has worked for multiple great firms in Milwaukee, including Vetter/Denk and Kahler Slater. Brook and his wife are both practicing Architects and they both moved to India a number of years ago to start a firm with a few other partners. In recent years they have moved back to the United States. Brook and his partner Jeremy started Outside Architecture in 2017, and though they have just started, they have some really cool projects they are working on.

During my “week” (which quickly turned into a month long experience) with Outside Architecture I spent the majority of my time modeling a few proposed sites for a brewery, and an installation in General Mitchel International Airport. As we worked at the same desk, we had some great, informational conversations about architecture as a profession. I enjoyed getting to hear about such a diverse post-graduate experience, and it gave me a great scope on what my future as a professional could look like.

Josh Alsum

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WXY Studio | NYC

I had the amazing opportunity to work for a New York firm called WXY Studios. Everyone was extremely nice and cool. I felt like I found a place where I fit in and there was a hidden network within the office that everyone was intrinsically connected to. I was happy to be a part of the system for a week.

I had the chance to work on two projects during the week. The main one I worked on was a streetscape redesign for the stock exchange district. We were looking at ways of how to clean up the streets of objects, therefore making it more open for pedestrians and people. So, therefore, taking away light posts and having cable lighting, entrance installations for awareness, and having a shared street with bollards. I worked with another intern to research and find precedents and then producing drawings of plans, diagrams, details, and section to create a digital guidebook. The second project was a rooftop penthouse by the financial district. The building is considered historic so one constraint was that from the street level no one should be able to see the penthouse. My job was to make a model showing the existing historic building, the street, and the most current design.

Every moment while I was there was a step into more professional and personal growth and I wish I could have been there longer. Getting a little taste of NYC with living and working there for a week helped me become more confident in moving and having a life there after I graduate in May 2017. 

I made a short video about some things that I saw during the week if anyone would like to watch - https://youtu.be/5HIwoa9kLGM 

Thanks WXY!

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Spring Externship at Bruns Architecture

I was given the privilege of working with Bruns Architecture located in Milwaukee’s Third Ward. They are a small office with only three employees. Their small size allows them to develop great deigns in a more collaborative atmosphere than some of the larger firms I have experienced. I was tasked to build a quarter inch scale section model of one of their projects currently under construction. Since it was a hand cut basswood model it was a laborious, time consuming process, and I was not able to finish the model during my externship. I was able to complete a large kit of parts before my time was over. Working with Bruns was an enlightening experience and introduced me to how smaller firms work. I am so thankful I was able to extern there.

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Spring Externship – SOM

Over spring break I had the opportunity to extern at SOM in Chicago. I spent a whole week with the O’Riley/Steffes Studio. Most of projects SOM did are skyscrapers and they really focus on how to save energy. Every one there is very busy and workaholic. I can really feel their passion and persistent of design. The environment in this company is quite enjoyable and people are very nice and helpful.

Every Monday they will have a studio meeting and confirm their project progress. People have different tasks even they are in the same studio. Kyle, who is designing confidential competition project, told me they always have chance to access every kind of work, whatever it is schematic design, design development or construction document. It is a very good company for people who want to master everything about architecture.

SOM has very abundant resources of architecture. They have a lot of meetings every day. Some meetings are about the progress of project. Some meeting are more like a presentation for SOM staff who want to share something with other colleagues. People can put forward any questions and suggestions and sometimes they have very interesting argument in the meeting. SOM also have their own model shop and wind tunnel testing room to do some form research and wind-resistant analysis.

I really appreciate I see the variety uses of design software in SOM and I’m so glad I’ve chance to experience the frim environment.

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Spring Externship at the Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation

This spring break I had the pleasure of interning at the Neighborhood Improvement Development Corporation (NIDC) within the Department of Community Development in Downtown Milwaukee. My lead for the week was management trainee Luke Icenogle, who is in charge of community outreach for various home loan rehabilitation programs including the Minor Home Improvement Program (MHIP) and Targeted Investment Neighborhood programs (TIN). I learned that these programs strengthen and revitalize in-need communities by empowering owners through small improvements on their homes. Although I got to see a lot of the ins and outs of Luke's initiatives throughout the week, I was also invited to a wide range of other development activities including: a council discussion on establishing a foreclosure and abandon homes committee at city hall (see photos below!), a lecture on making children future civic leaders of Milwaukee by design advocate/educator Krisaan Rehbein, and a meeting with senior planner and designer Nolan Zaroff to see how GIS data is included in city reports. Overall I was thoroughly impressed with how many initiatives where being addressed each day and how passionate the NIDC and the DCD were at helping citizens improve their neighborhoods. One of the highlights of the week for me was getting to go about the city and do outreach with Angela from the Community Investment Program (CIP) and see the numerous Pocket Parks built by the city on former vacant lots. These parks range from half a parcel to over three parcels wide and featured award winning designs, small take away libraries, picnic tables for residents with disabilities, and/or gym equipment for children and the elderly. Seeing these small, but crucial investments was wonderful as I could see the significant and positive impact on their communities. Additionally, Angela was kind enough to let me shadow her during two meetings with members of the Southside Organizing Committee to hear their plans for a dog park on a blighted lot and a conversation at Walnut Way to discuss Habitat for Humanity's future investment in the Lindsay Park neighborhood. I am beyond thankful to everyone at the NIDC! All of the planners were inviting, let me ask questions about how they got into the field and were incredibly giving of their time and sharing their professional experiences. I walked away from the whirlwind week deeply impressed with all that the city of Milwaukee does and inspired by what I can dedicate my career to as a planner once I graduate. Special thanks to Vanessa Koster and Larry Kilmer for setting up this wonderful week for me, and Prof. Mo Zell for selecting me for this externship opportunity.

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Korb + Associates Architects

I had the opportunity to be an extern for Korb + Associates Architects, located in Milwaukee, WI. On Monday, I got a great tour of the office from Mark and Aaron and I was introduced to the rest of the firm. My first task was to help re-design a layout by adding two more schemes to present to the client. It was an extremely valuable experience seeing as how some of my work was shown to the client. Furthermore, I was given the chance to sit in on the meeting with the architects as they did their presentation.

 I learned a lot by talking to different people at the firm about what they do on a daily basis and how different it is from studio culture. I gained insight about what programs are being utilized in architecture firms, and what to expect when I test for my license. This first-hand information will help guide me on all of my future endeavors. 

In hindsight, I think that one of the most important learning points I will take away from this experience is being able to handle multiple deadlines within a short period of time. Within the week that I externed, I would say that I helped with at least 4 different projects. Things were moving pretty fast, but the team was always helpful in showing me how to complete my given tasks. 

All in all, I really appreciate my time with Korb + Associates Architects and I’m grateful for all the knowledge that I have gained and the wonderful people that I encountered!

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John Ronan Architects in Chicago

I spent spring break in Chicago with John Ronan Architects. When I arrived on Monday morning, I was given a great tour of the office by Danielle and introduced to everyone. I learned about how the firm worked and some of their most recent projects. The firm was small (about 10 people) and everyone basically worked in the same open studio space. We had a Monday morning meeting to discuss the upcoming week and the status of the current projects. 

During the week, I mainly worked on building models for a new project. We used Rhino and AutoCad. They had a laser cutter in the office that I learned how to use and was able to use as much as I needed to build the model. 

On Thursday we did a site visit to a residential build in a northern Chicago neighborhood. We met with the client and went over some finishing materials for the house. We also had a luncheon where a woman came in to pitch her company’s VR services and capabilities. 

Overall it was a great, invaluable experience. I really enjoyed the studio environment and the collaborative nature of the firm. It was a small close-knit group and everyone was very welcoming and helpful. 

Patrick Osowski - March 2017