[week.01] the other side of market square
MeeshSo Steve says, Hey Michelle, do you want some coffee?
I say yes and drink about half of it. I should have known better than to drink architecture-grade coffee on my first official day back in the game. I'm not even sleep deprived yet! For the next few hours I proceed to shake despite my desperate attempts to quell the unforgiving caffiene that is now coursing through my veins. I attempt to learn Bentley Microstation and bombard Steve with a thousand questions about how to use it.
Needless to say, now I know Microstation and it is not a struggle. Thank you Steve!
My internship is not just on the polar opposite side of the square, it's the other side of square life too. It's dressed up in business conversations, attire, and agendas. Before starting my internship I had seldom explored the western face of the square - now after just one week I am quite sure that I have eaten at every restaurant on the square.
I'm working at Smee+Busby Architects above Bliss Home on the square. For my first two official full-time days, we had a couple of kids from the county schools shadowing us. They told us they want to be architects because they like legos, like houses or like to draw, those kind of answers. One of them really likes Justin Bieber.
Smee+Busby is a PC (Professional Corporation). Everybody here is a team and definitely a family. Our bookkeeper's daughter is in the office with us a lot, and she is a joy! She is a junior athlete and we are always hearing stories about her accomplishments and we are so proud of her!
Susan is the only interior designer at the firm so she holds up a lot of responsibility. It has been really fun being her intern - I am getting a lot of great experience and exposure. She makes sure to always let me know what's going on and to show and explain things to me - she is a great mentor! This week we prepared a few different sets of floor plans and finishes to present to our client; we are preparing for a meeting with the CEO of the corporation at the end of the week. We pull together clip-style presentation boards for an interactive meeting. The presentation is complete with furniture selections, lighting, architectural details, sample construction documents, the whole gang. Susan gives me reign to choose things myself - it is great working with her. She is so smart, has great stories, and I am pretty sure that she knows everybody! We have had lots of lunches and meetings with reps, and a lot of signing for USPS packages as our samples keep avalanching through the doorway.
The really great part about the firm is that there are multiple brains at work on each project. It's so relieving to share the load with others, and to work interactvely on the same files. With each day everything on the other side becomes a lot more natural - a great feeling.
This week's focus has really been about getting acquainted with the firm and with all of the projects that we have going on right now - we have been keeping very busy. This week I met Amanda, a tile company representative. I didn't get a chance to get her photo, but she is a beautiful girl! She meets with us whenever we need to get caught up on current project or just want to catch up in general.
Friday launches itself into existence and I find myself on the way to Lebanon, TN with Scott and Susan. I am at my first client meeting for the project and it goes very well. It was very eye opening and refreshing to see the actual process.
My job rocks - I'm living in a world that I already know very well, but on a side of it that I have never seen before.
Happy Textiles of the week:
;)
Cute Print;)
Smiley Watermelons :)
Reader Comments (3)
I love that, living in a world that I know well but on a side I've never seen. That's EXACTLY what this summer has been so far. So glad to see you're doing well!
I love Trio! Best salads in Knoxville! I know what you mean with the whole, seeing a new side of design. Its great to finally feel like we're using everything that we have spent our lives obsessing about these past 3 years.
Thanks for sharing the caffeine-high episode. You may need to work up to the architectural grade coffee being served! As for the shadowing students, I hope you were able to share about the glories of becoming an interior designer. The Justin Bieber fan? Architecture is fine for that one! Since you've worked with SBA, are they expanding your scope of activities and responsibilities? The variety of work you are involved with is outstanding. The summary is good, but need to include the weekly focus and share an organizational chart, how the company is organized, and an introduction of a person you've met this week. Please add images to your post as well. I will comment further on week 1 and 2 when all content is added.