Archinect
Elana Pappoff

Elana Pappoff

Los Angeles, CA, US

 

About 

I have taken a non-traditional path throughout my architectural education. Starting at Orange Coast College in 2003, architecture immediately grasped my devotion. Also during this time I began as an intern at Robinson Hill Architecture, knowing little cad and having no experience. This small but clever and passionate firm taught me tenacity and professionalism; and nurtured me from an intern to a job captain, allowing me to manage small retail projects. I was employed in this firm for two and a half years and maintain close contact with the principals, my early mentors.  I left Robinson Hill to pursue my Bachelor of Architecture at SCI_Arc, where I studied until graduating Fall, 2011.

Between Graduating in September 2011 and the present, I have finished my first design build loft project at the Biscuit Company Lofts in Los Angeles; worked alongside Peter Tests and Devyn Weiser on a collaborative robotics research website; designed and built an urban rooftop greenhouse and community garden at the Vignes Arts Building in Los Angeles; designed and managed projects for temporary museum installations around Los Angeles, including MOCA and The Getty Center.

I look forward to new opportunities and am happy to answer inquiries about contract or full time employment.

Elsewhere:

Employment 

Commonwealth Projects, Los Angeles, CA, US, Freelance Designer

Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Development and Fabrication Coordination within this freelance collaborative design group. Projects ranged between temporary trade show exhibitions to museum quality installations for prominent Los Angeles galleries, to furniture craftsmanship for private clients.

Oct 2009 - current
 

CRAB Studio, Intern

Apprenticeship with Sir Peter Cook in London, England. Responsibilities included concept development, digital modeling, rendered and animated visualizations, graphic design, and museum quality model fabrication.

Mar 2010 - Sep 2010
 

URBANA, Los Angeles, CA, Intern

Internship with SCI_Arc faculty member Rob Ley for the research, design and fabrication of an exhibition at the Storefront for Art and Architecture. Responsibilities included drawing plans, sections, elevations as well as buiilding a comprehensive and dynamic 3 dimensional model in Maya animating the behavior of the exhibit.

Internship included travel to New York to install the exhibition.

http://urbanaarch.com/#1035748/Reef

Jan 2009 - Sep 2009
 

Robinson Hill Architecture, Inc., Job Captain

Drafting and Project Management for a variety of retail projects in Orange County, CA. Work on all phases of design, schematic drawings through construction administration. Responsibilities included Code research, permit processing, accessibility diagrams, digital modeling and detail drawings, in addition to concept design and interface between engineers, consultants, and clients.

May 2005 - Dec 2007
 

Education 

Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), BArch, Undergraduate

Graduation with Distinction
Top Ranked Undergraduate Student
AIA Henry Adams Medal
Outstanding Thesis Award (Advised by Sir Peter Cook & Devyn Weiser)

Jul 2006 - Sep 2011
 

Awards 

Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis, Award

An integrated two-term experience, the thesis program at SCI-Arc is designed to engage the interests and methods of working of each individual student. The first term is primarily dedicated to research, and to the development of a formal thesis proposal that rigorously lays the groundwork for the in-depth design study expected during the following term. The thesis term itself is dedicated to exploring responses to the inquiry posed by the thesis proposal.

Undergraduate thesis reflects SCI-Arc's rigorous architectural education that is responsive to cultural change, promotes architectural experimentation and creative and academic freedom, and supports a fluid relationship between education and practice.

2011
 

AIA Henry Adams Medal, Award

Southern California Institute of Architecture
Top Ranking Undergraduate Student - 2011

Each year The American Institute of Architects awards an engraved medal to the top-ranking graduating student in each architecture program accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board. This awards are provided as part of the AIA Scholarship Program.

Formerly called "The School Medal", the program began in 1914 and was awarded for "general excellence in architecture throughout the four-year course to graduating students of architecture schools recognized by the Institute." The graduate was later presented with a copy of Mont St. Michel and Chartres, written by Henry Adams. The copyright of this book was later bequeathed to the Institute by the author.

The Henry Adams Fund was established in 1921 with royalties from the book sales. The fund was used to award a copy of the book "to draftsmen who cannot afford to buy it." The School Medal and Henry Adams book awards evolved into the Henry Adams Medal Program.

2011
 

AIAOC Award, Honorable Mention

Orange Coast College - Spring 07 Term Competition among all Orange County Architecture
schools. Project titled ‘Universite’ conceived new mobile education models to flourish in the
Newport Back Bay.

2007
 

Areas of Specialization 

Skills