Archinect
Sean Baxter

Sean Baxter

Ann Arbor, MI, US

 

About 

Almost every architectural project I pursue begins with a thorough imagining of the broader context my design will be a part of. I want architecture to be emotional, artistic, tactile, and temporal and I value design the most that challenges the current accepted idea of what constitutes "value" in architecture.

I also have a background in international studies and am interested in how design can be inspired by immersion in other culture and language, and and wish to explore the social impact of design that works to be interdisciplinary, international, intercultural and sensitive to environmental issues.

Elsewhere:

Employment 

Multiple Schools (explanation below), Busan, South Korea, Teacher

Taught ESL courses at the following schools and companies in Busan: LCI Kid’s Club: Kindergarten and Elementary age beginning english learning (Jul 04-Jan05), Reading Town: elementary and middle school aged, beginning to intermediate level learning (Feb 05-Feb 06), Maersk Logistics: professional level english conversation skills for professionals working in global logistics (Oct 08-Jan09), Jeong-Cheol ESL Academy: elementary to high school ages, beginning to intermediate levels (Oct 08-Mar 09), Lee Bo-young ESL Academy: elementary ages, beginning to intermediate levels (Oct 08-Mar 09), Moojuk School: university students, advanced level conversation and writing (Jun 11-Aug 11)

Teaching english is an extremely challenging job which, while the basic requirements are a bachelor's degree and fluency in English, the actual skills required are diligence and hard work, self motivation especially in class prep and curriculum management, extremely high level communication skills, high energy, patience, sense of humor, cross cultural sensitivities, willingness to enter into uncomfortable situations/challenges, etc. and not necessarily in that order.

Explanation for the spotty and sometimes overlapping employment in Korea: My wife is Korean, so when employment (or employment with satisfactory benefits) has been hard to find in Oregon (as it was an extremely sparse job environment between '05 and '09), we would go back to spend time in Korea where I could find work teaching english. After working a few contract jobs between 2004-06, I entered the realm of being able to freelance or "part-time" as they refer to it there which means I could take on multiple jobs at a time. At my height I was teaching 3 separate jobs at once, Maersk/Jeong-chul/Lee Bo-young.

Jul 2004 - Aug 2011
 

Carlton Company, Milwaukie, OR, US, Inside Sales Associate

Managed the sales of product and logistics for the shipments of Carlton Company Chainsaw Chain to customers in East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.

Dec 2007 - Sep 2008
 

Ike Trading Co., Ltd, Beaverton, OR, US, Import-Export Logistics Associate

Managed import and export transactions and logistics for shipments of timber between the US and East Asia and also specifically between China and Japan for Ike Trading Co.

Aug 2006 - Jul 2007
 

Education 

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, US, MArch, Architecture

I am currently enrolled in the 3 year master of architecture program at the University of Michigan Taubman School of Architecture. Expected graduation is the end of April 2012.

Jun 2009 - current
 

University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, US, Bachelors, International Studies and Chinese Language

Studied International Studies with a specialization in International Law and Diplomacy. After studying abroad in Beijing and studying Mandarin for two semesters I was able to add the Chinese language major as well.

Sep 1999 - Aug 2003
 

Awards 

Student Exhibition 2G3/3G6 1st Prize/AIA Prize Honorable Mention, 1st Place

The SeAH Haiam Arts and Sciences Scholarship provides two to three awards of varying amounts to support undergraduate and graduate students' research travel, research work, fieldwork, or attendance at an academic conference related to Korean Studies, which will be used to support academic pursuits. The funding maximum is $2,500

2012
 

The Normal studio featured on Curbed (Jan 26th), Other

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships program provides allocations of academic year and summer fellowships to institutions of higher education or consortia of institutions of higher education to assist meritorious undergraduate students and graduate students undergoing training in modern foreign languages and related area or international studies. Eligible students apply for fellowships directly to an institution that has received an allocation of fellowships from the U.S. Department of Education.

2012
 

SeAH-Haiam Arts and Sciences Scholarship, Scholarship

Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning 2012 Student Exhibition

2011
 

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship Recipient, Other

Recognition of our studio's work on a heavily read Curbed news site.

2010
 

Areas of Specialization 

Skills