return
to life in sf
Every day I sit with countless number of strangers on the
train as I travel from Berkeley to San Francisco. I come
across people from all walks of lifemostly, men in their
business suits and women in dresses wearing tennis shoes.
Some are reading newspapers while others try to catch
a few more minutes of shut eye. Once the train reaches
our station stops everyone bustles like busy ants and
go about his or her daily routines. 1 can only wonder
what they do for a living and whether they are happy.
As I walk among them, I feel like I'm part of the work
force. Even if I am next to skyscrapers that dwarf me,
I feel a certain sense of pride?I'm working at an architectural
firm in San Francisco.
Prior to this internship I had not thought of Historic
Preservation as one of the many routes in architecture.
I am fortunate to be working at Carey and Co. Even through
recession times, this firm has continually thrived. It
is largely due to the Loma Pieta Earthquake aftermath
that historic buildings have received attention. San Francisco
Civic Center is their biggest project yet as the buildings
undergo seismic retrofit.
As an intern I am able to see the intricacies of running
a successful architectural firm-from office administration
to site visits. I am exposed to the processes in the firm:
how they bring projects into the office by looking at
job listings to preparing proposals that win the projects;
once the proposals lead to contracts, how they organize
and work as teams to the projects through; and how they
meet with and bill their clients. In summary, I see the
business side and legal issues architectural practice.
These are the parts of the profession that, designers
tend to want to overlook. The internship is not only about
exposure to the reality of architectural practice, best
also about establishing lasting relationships with the
people in the office. I can ask questions and receive
advice from my mentors which in turn helps me decide my
own career path In architecture.
Architecture can be abort creating new structures. It can
also be about respecting and renewing the old. Historic
Preservation stands on the belief that? we are enriched
by our past. Without knowing, acknowledging and protecting
the relics Of our time, we lose connection to the places
we live in. In a sense; without understanding wire we
have been, like the passenders on a train: we remain strangers
to our own world.
-jennifer custodio
