Archinect
Ben Schwarz

Ben Schwarz

Minneapolis, MN, US

 

About 

Hello, my name is Ben Schwarz, I graduated from North Dakota State University in May of 2010 with my Master of Architecture. I grew up in and am originally from Winona Minnesota and have had an inherent interest in architectural design from a very young age.

Design Views:

A successful architectural design is comprised of numerous pieces; one integral piece to every successful design is sustainability. Making use of all possible sustainable features at hand and constantly searching for and experimenting with new inventive techniques is paramount in today's design world. Designing sustainably is not only a smart choice, it is also our responsibility as designers in protecting the welfare of our generation and future generations alike. Sustainable design features should not be approached as cumbersome additions getting in the way of a design, rather they should be looked at as an integral part of a cohesive whole.

Over the past few decades the implementation of sustainable design in larger public, commercial, and office buildings has made steady progress; however as we enter the next decade I feel it is vital that we as designers take the next step and apply these sustainable techniques in a more widespread manner to the residential level. This will not only help out significantly with homeowner's energy costs and water usage, but it will also in turn help to educate the general public on how to be more energy conscious on a first hand level.

Employment 

TCI Architects Engineers Contractor, La Crosse, WI, US, Intern Architect

Responsible for a variety of tasks in all phases of project design including, schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration. Responsibilities include field verification and documentation of existing conditions, modeling and rendering existing conditions, proposed additions and new projects. Additional responsibilities include, defining and correcting errors in documents during all phases of project design, developing design concepts, creating and developing construction details, preforming building code reviews, and attending project meetings with the Architect, Project Manager, Owner, Contractor, and other applicable parties.

Contact Information:

Daniel Pipgras, Architect
Address: 1718 State Road 16
La Crosse, WI 54601
Telephone: (210)-313-4660
Email: danpipgras@gmail.com

Jan 2014 - Jan 2015
 

RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, Rochester, MN, US, Intern Architect

Responsible for a variety of tasks in all phases of project design including schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration. Responsibilities include field verification and documentation of existing conditions, modeling and rendering existing conditions and proposed additions, as well as defining and correcting errors in drawings during all phases of project design.

Contact Information:

Michael Kraklau, Senior Associate / Architect
Telephone: (608)-360-1522
Email: mike.kraklau@rsparch.com

Tim C. Miller, Project Manager
Telephone: (507)-993-0912
Email: tim.miller@rsparch.com

Jasen Andring, Project Captain
Telephone: (507-292-8664
Email: jasen.andring@rsparch.com

Address: 320 South Broadway, Suite B
Rochester, MN 55904

Jan 2013 - Jan 2014
 

TCI Architects Engineers Contractor, La Crosse, WI, US, Intern Architect

Responsible for the following design and estimation related tasks:

Design: Responsible for a wide variety of schematic design, design development, and construction document tasks, including creating and finalizing construction details and producing and managing family libraries in Revit 2012/2013. Responsibilities also include producing final renderings for a variety of commercial and government projects.

Estimation: Responsible for communication between project estimators, project managers and relevant of sub contractors throughout the pre-construction project estimation phase while maintaining and continually updating our database of sub-contractors for future use. Responsible for researching new areas and creating a base of sub-contractors based on required divisions of work required per project.

Contact Information:

Daniel Pipgras, Architect
Address: 1718 State Road 16
La Crosse, WI 54601
Telephone: (210)-313-4660
Email: danpipgras@gmail.com

Dec 2011 - Nov 2012
 

VDC Partners, Winona, MN, US, Revit (BIM) Modeler

Responsible for reading construction documents completed by other firms and creating three dimensional computer models from them to aid in the generation of cost estimates for the building’s construction.

Contact information:

Ben Schwab, President/Chief Engineer
Address: 1329 Skyline Dr.
Winona, MN 55987
Telephone: (507)-474-2620
Email: ben.schwab@vdcpartners.com

Dec 2010 - Mar 2011
 

Owen Warneke and Associates, Winona, MN, US, Intern Architect

Responsible for preliminary designs, site visits and measurements, photographic documentation, working with construction documents in AutoCAD, and picking up corrections on red-lined drawings.

***This position was a reoccurring summer internship.

Contact information:

Owen Warneke, President/Architect
Address: 355 West 2nd St. Suite 200
Winona, MN 55987
Telephone: (507)-454-2038
Email: owa@hbci.com

Jun 2006 - Aug 2008
 

Education 

North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, US, MArch, Architecture

Studied a vast variety of architectural topics ranging from in depth design studios including multiple site visits and analysis, to structural design principals, to integration of multiple pieces of new drafting, rendering, and BIM software, as well as a variety of other seminars covering various topics such as site drainage and development, architectural photography, and architectural history.

Sep 2004 - May 2010
 

Areas of Specialization 

Skills