while working for free never seems like a good idea - the work of that firm is delicious and the opportunity to work in rome sounds heavenly - just be sure that you can afford to live there without pay for 3-months. think of it as a semester abroad

it's the best deal you're gonna get in italy, and in a firm of that level, i'd take it without a doubt (speaking as an italian trained abroad) if you can afford it.
a stage is just another term for an internship.
you should be able to spit out something around 7/800 euros a month for living expenses, take of leave a 100 depending on your lifestyle.
and watch your back, as you'll be working in one of the few firms in italy with an international portfolio, people will be wanting to snipe you down...:)

can i email you with a couple of questions?

surething, email away

Rome :)))

A friend worked there for a few years, i've visited him and the office and it's great. The office is located in the middle of the centre. Many young enthousiastic people working there and after work they go for a drink together at the 'campo dei fiori' often with other young architects from Nouvel/Hadid/other offices. Rome is not an expensive city and has great food, wine and offcourse endless amounts of amazing architecture...

If the money is not a problem then i wouldn't hesitate for a second.

Email me if you want to come in contact with my friend, he can answer specific questions you might have about Fuksas and/or Rome.

piano offers the yearly ermanno piano internship - a 6 month internship paying 10,000 euros;

now, I assume $ is not a problem of yours, still, if you work for nothing, you can expect to be treated as such;

one of the only interesting things Gehry has said (im my humble opinions), was in response to not participating on the WTC competition (paraphrasing: if you agree to work for $40k, that's what you are worth); though the thought might seem secular and superficial, i wish all architects would start to think a little that way;

fuck fuksas,,,he is a ballooned mafia tycoon,with absolutely no cultural integrity.if you are willing to work for nothing,than that is probably what you are worth......no bad feelings but its because of guys like you that no one is getting paid jobs anymore......

"offered" a non-paying internship...there's a brilliant use of language.

I kinda agree with Softcell there.

Well I dont know much abt the firm in question but its true thatMany big architects/firms are very condescending in their attitude towards freshers etc.

I believe no architect/firm is greater than the profession itself.

tzenyujuei , if you have good qualifications I think you should move on...cos I have personal experience that big "names" on your resume count for chickenshit. In the end its what youve learnt in the first vital years of your career , rather than where or with whom you've worked.

yes, for all those complaining about the poor pay in the profession and then taking a non-paying position in a profitable firm, please be quiet. you reap what you sow.

hey folks, maybe you should judge things locally, and let me assure you, an unpaid intership is as good as you're going to get in italy as an non-qualified Architect. it's not a matter of "chosing someone who pays", it's about getting enough experience to get a job once u qualify...
accepting an unpaid internship in the states or the uk might be a stupid thing to do, but there are places with a completely different situation...

"Il Architecto" is how his greatness must be referred to, if you call him by any other name you will be fired... but you should expect to be fired within six months anyway. Whatever you do, dont work on a competition that loses, his tantrum always involves firing those associated with the losing entry. If you are asked to travel on your own money and expense it, you will be fired upon trying to submit the receipts as well. Oh, and dont ever book a vacation, you will be fired on the last day before you leave.

have you worked for them before Queen of England?

while i was in school i was offered a job at starchitects office in los angeles. they offered me a monthly stipend to “cover” my living expenses. my professor at the time was the wife of said starchitect’s right hand man. she sat me down one day to talk to me about the position. she said if you want it on your resume then go for it, just remember a summer internship while you are in school will only last on your resume for a short period of time. know if you take the job you will be abused while you are there starting with working 60-80 hours a week. after more searching i decided to work for one of my professors. it was minimum wage, and i learned so much that summer.

second story. i an old coworker of mine went to Harvard gsd. he was thrilled when rem offered him a job over the summer after having taken his studio. im not sure if it was paid or unpaid. he spent his entire time there making trees. his resume looked cool, but did he really learn anything?

if you want to go to rome go to rome. walk around with your sketchbook and camera. really study what you see. you will probably learn more that way than in the office. it costs you the same amount of money and you can still hang with all of zaha’s and jean’s interns at piazza campo dei fiori, which as an aside is the only piazza in rome not attached to a church (at least that i have found). i guarantee you all the other interns will envy you.

I spend some time every year in Rome, so some stories I know from people who worked for him. Other stories I know from working with an architect who won three competitions in a row that 'Il Architecto' had submitted entries to. We mischievously drank champagne knowing simultaneously Fuksas was firing the people ‘responsible’ for his losing entry.

good points spaceghost.

Separated at birth...


Massimiliano and Ernest Borgnine?

.mm

that is a good point spaceghost... i didn't think about it that way.

Hmmm, sounds like Fuksas doesn't stand a chance to win the Queen Mother's Memorial competition :)

"l'Architetto", not Il Architecto.

has anyone had a good experiance with big name companies before? or is it always the slave intern story?

until you get your game up it will probably all be slave intern story. meaning until you are irreplaceable by student interns willing to work for free they don't have to give a fuck about you. you are just as disposable as the toilet paper they use to wipe their ass. im sure some are good human beings and nice to talk to, but architecture is business. most starchitects can find students with amazing 3d modelling skills, but give them a stair detail and they can't solve the problem.

mmmh. i know fuksass for his architecture, his lectures and then for his relationship with the italian left wing party.

let's say that he is considered an italian star architect because he had the membership card of the comunist party since he was still a student and that provided him lots of work in those regions and cities where the left parties were on power.

he projected the brand new milano's trade fair, the biggest structure
for fairs in europe, but he didn't come at the opening ceremony because he didn't want to be shoulder by shoulder with berlusconi, leader of the right wing.

he will use you, as any other intern for that stage, you will be sit behind a pc drawing lines in autocad or sketching some lines in 3d max from a lousy sketch he made while sit on first class flying from rome to paris (where he has another studio).
forget studio briefings, forget clients meetings, forget enjoying rome, you will be a slave, his slave, you will work 8/10 hours 5 days a week and sometimes weekends as well.
after those 3 month period you will be dismissed with a thank you and nothing else, you won't be even considered for a future assumption or collaboration.
you will just have his name on your resume, but you will not learn a thing, you will just practice your computer's skills.

save your time and look for something else, with a decent pay for your job.

whatever. do it.
three months isn't that long.
It's a good office, they're invetive, and you'll be able to get a lot out of it.
You'll be in rome - which is awesome. Believe me.
After three months I doubt you'll regret it.

u mean il architetto and il capitano mmatt...fuksas never one an oscar

unfortnately fuksas is a nasty lunatic - people who work for him are petrified of him - he barely pays his full time workers - some have described him as the worst of the worst to work for - he's a control freak, ordering new pencils has to be cleared by him .. STAY AWAY

Funny, I took a 3 month position with Fuksas and so far what everybody has said here is true. It is great to be in Rome, it is worth getting the experience and having a big name on the resume, and they will work you hard copying Fuksas' sketches. But there is much more than that. I wouldn't have come if they hadn't offered me any money at all. But for meager pay and a short term assignment, it is very much worth it to me.

I also have the same situation.

I will come to Rome next week to a non-paid internship in Fuksas office (3 non-paid months and then 3 paid months)

It is nice hear from your experiences. It is obvious that we will work as slaves, but maybe it can be a great experience to learn and meet interesting people.

Rutger

could you give me the e-mail of your friend, please??