hey, I'm an Indian 3rd year architecture student. As a part of our curriculum, we need to intern with a professional architect for 4-6months. I live in my home town of Bangalore, India.. I hear Bangalore is globally quite famous, anyway.. I want to intern abroad, Mingle with different cultures and ways of life. A firm that really caught my eye was Asymptote, NYC, Hani Rashid and Lisa Anne Couture seem very impressive. I want to know about good architecture firms in NYC, LA or London, UK... If anyone has worked at Asymptote, i want to know what they generally look for in interns, how large their firm is, and what kind of work is generally assigned to intern architects? I am looking for professional experience more than anything. Would a large practice or a more modest one be more helpful? i have no clue. Any help will be greatly appreciated... Thanks!!
A friend of mine worked with Weiss/Manfredi through Rice's internship portion of their undergraduate program.He said they were wonderful to work with. The projects were interesting and the office really mentored him as he worked and learned.
I say this because some big name firms (like Weiss/Manfredi) are notorious for leaving you off by yourself. Depending on your perspective, this may not be a bad thing. One can learn a great deal from just being in a work environment with talented and smart people working on great projects. However, if you are interested in being mentored and possibly in more of a less intense environment, then maybe a firm like that would be interesting. It is not to say that Weiss/Manfredi wouldn't be challenging or exciting, it is just the impression I got from my friend was that they don't leave you out in the cold to 'fend for yourself.
When it comes to choosing a firm to work with, it seems like it would be based on what you are interested in rather than "who's good." You mentioned Asymptote which is an interesting practice and if that interests you then by all means look into it.
well, one thing to look into is that nyc is quite expensive to live in and interns in well known offices will typically not be compensated or will be compensated poorly. does the indian government sponsor students to itern abroad?
i have never worked there, but know someone who has interned there for a summer in grad school a couple years back. The word is long hours, but that's about the only bad thing he had to say. He said there was a lot of interesting stuff going on and he learned a lot. Plus, the place is probably staffed with a bunch of other young people, so socially it should be fun. I'm just guessing, but they are probably looking for strong computer skills - maya, rhino, or whatever it is they use - at the least.
As for NYC, yes it's expensive, but not impossible. Hopefully you will have your own funds secured, b/c I doubt that you will be getting paid. As for housing, I'd say definitely out of Manhattan (unless it's far uptown in Inwood). Probably look to Queens and Jersey across the river. Both are all well connected by public transit, so shouldn't be a prob.
The hours were very, very long. There was no 'comp' time (even a morning to sleep in) after a re-occuring 5:00am deadline. My superior would ask me to stay until I finished my redlines, and she would often leave me there alone. Which make you feel like shit when all the paid employees have left and you are still there slaving away, on somthing as boring as redlines.
a free intern was fired on my 3rd day there (it was his 2nd week). so be precautious if you do chose to work there, you can be made to feel on edge at all times, and don't move too many of your belongings with you, in case you do get fired.
the office does use good programs... Maya specifically, but also the norm: autocad, Illustrator and photoshop.
I went in able to use maya, but only ever had the chance to work on audtocad or Illustrator. I was delegated to menial tasks, and given 20-45 minute assignments, as if I was a complete idiot. That was a bummer, because I had gone there with the goal of working in an office that used Maya, and was fully prepared to do so.
They have alot of Interns; when I was there, there were about 5-6 interns for about 8-10 paid employees.
Also, the interns are a 'lower class' than the paid employees-- it is typical there for a paid employee to ask the intern to change the plotter paper for him/her. Also, the janitorial tasks are assigned to the interns... you are the assigned to take out ALL the trash, do the dishes for everybody else. I fould it paticularly degrading that Hani and Lise-Ann just put their coffee/ breakfast dishes in the sink- FOR THE INTERNS TO WASH.
Yes, the staff is younger than a lot of places, but I would much rather work in an office where (though unpaid, if that is your decision) you are still treated in a humane, respectable manner.
also, if you are hired, they pay very little: 24k for undergrads, and 36k for grads (but less than 36k if you didn't graduate from Columbia).
This internship (for me) highlighted all that is disgraceful about our profession. I considered never working in architecture ever again, after finishing this internship.
whistle- the best way to find a fulfilling internship is through the alumni of your school. Find out who is living in the cities you're interested in and get in touch with them. They already know your training and level of ability.
'Hani and Lise-Ann just put their coffee/ breakfast dishes in the sink- FOR THE INTERNS TO WASH. ' - that's shocking.
I've worked for 3 starchitects (I've got them out of my system now), and only at Zaha's did I feel like I was an underclass. It is possible to get good experience at a big/famous firm but, just like any office, how it is run is up to the owners. I have much less respect for asymptote having read your post...
I have heard that Assholeymtote is a shitty place to work as well. The fact that you are essentially working below the poverty line ($24,000 for 80+ hr work week) while your bosses are driving new Porsche SUV's and wearing couture clothing would piss me off as well.
Once again, this is a reason that we as a whole need to not accept working in slave like conditions. All it does is degrade our profession. REFUSE TO WORK FOR FREE
fuck i change the plotter paper all the time. i noticed it had run out on friday and i changed it even though i had to go all the way down to the lock up to get some. boo fucking hoo.
That story is really disheartening. It's hard to admire a firm's work when you realize what shitty people they are.....
Seriously though, I cannot imagine hiring someone for *nothing* and then treating them like dog meat. If anything, I would be apologetic....like, 'I'm so sorry I can't pay you, let me take you out to lunch and bring you to meetings with me'.....
whistle, please do not degrade yourself by working at a place like this. From what I can tell there are a lot of places here in LA where you would get a good experience, and you may not get paid much but at least you'd be treated like a human being.
whistle,
i don't know the process of getting a visa (i'm a us citizen), but it's not easy. my cousin tried to get a work visa earlier this summer and it didn't work out for her. but have a go at it!
i wish more firms would make an effort to make interms feel uncomfortable so that more of them would leave the profession rather than realize that they still have alot to prove before they should be treated as equals
wow, great story, um... i'm sorry you had to go through that. it is good to have people on this forum that are working or have worked in these offices. i think sometimes those of us that haven't worked in these offices make too many assumptions about what it's like to work under hani, zaha, etc, but in this case, unfortunately, all those assumptions were true.
all the offices i have worked at, the interns had to do those jobs -cleaning the dishes, making coffee, picking up the bosses drycleaning etc.
ok, they did also use cad or make models. i mean come on! someone has to clean the friggn dishes!
doing other peoples dishes sucks. it's degrading. we didn't go to architecture school to wash other people's dishes.
but on the other hand, if i were a starchitect, i should wouldn't want to waste my time doing my own dishes. if i were famous though, presumably i could afford a cleaning crew to come in a couple times a week to do the dishes and take out all the model-making refuse.
mdler.... you should have reported him anonymously. Getting a free ride off daddy's name is bad enough, but sitting-off while his staff do your portfolio is despicable.
I really never wanna work for an American starchitect, it might be different overseas. I hear Renzo is a great guy to work for, but frankly I'd rather work at SOM and get paid that some starchitect firm.
On a positive note, the hours at REX maybe uber-demanding, but they will pay you from what I know.
American starchitects are no different from other international starchitects.
Look at the rumored Zaha temper tantrums or the rumored Nouvel paying about a euro an hour for work. Starchitects are no different across borders; there are good ones and bad ones.
interning in london, newyork or LA
hey, I'm an Indian 3rd year architecture student. As a part of our curriculum, we need to intern with a professional architect for 4-6months. I live in my home town of Bangalore, India.. I hear Bangalore is globally quite famous, anyway.. I want to intern abroad, Mingle with different cultures and ways of life. A firm that really caught my eye was Asymptote, NYC, Hani Rashid and Lisa Anne Couture seem very impressive. I want to know about good architecture firms in NYC, LA or London, UK... If anyone has worked at Asymptote, i want to know what they generally look for in interns, how large their firm is, and what kind of work is generally assigned to intern architects? I am looking for professional experience more than anything. Would a large practice or a more modest one be more helpful? i have no clue. Any help will be greatly appreciated... Thanks!!
A friend of mine worked with Weiss/Manfredi through Rice's internship portion of their undergraduate program.He said they were wonderful to work with. The projects were interesting and the office really mentored him as he worked and learned.
I say this because some big name firms (like Weiss/Manfredi) are notorious for leaving you off by yourself. Depending on your perspective, this may not be a bad thing. One can learn a great deal from just being in a work environment with talented and smart people working on great projects. However, if you are interested in being mentored and possibly in more of a less intense environment, then maybe a firm like that would be interesting. It is not to say that Weiss/Manfredi wouldn't be challenging or exciting, it is just the impression I got from my friend was that they don't leave you out in the cold to 'fend for yourself.
When it comes to choosing a firm to work with, it seems like it would be based on what you are interested in rather than "who's good." You mentioned Asymptote which is an interesting practice and if that interests you then by all means look into it.
well, one thing to look into is that nyc is quite expensive to live in and interns in well known offices will typically not be compensated or will be compensated poorly. does the indian government sponsor students to itern abroad?
i have never worked there, but know someone who has interned there for a summer in grad school a couple years back. The word is long hours, but that's about the only bad thing he had to say. He said there was a lot of interesting stuff going on and he learned a lot. Plus, the place is probably staffed with a bunch of other young people, so socially it should be fun. I'm just guessing, but they are probably looking for strong computer skills - maya, rhino, or whatever it is they use - at the least.
As for NYC, yes it's expensive, but not impossible. Hopefully you will have your own funds secured, b/c I doubt that you will be getting paid. As for housing, I'd say definitely out of Manhattan (unless it's far uptown in Inwood). Probably look to Queens and Jersey across the river. Both are all well connected by public transit, so shouldn't be a prob.
good luck with getting a work visa! even unpaid internships still require it in the united states, i believe.
The hours were very, very long. There was no 'comp' time (even a morning to sleep in) after a re-occuring 5:00am deadline. My superior would ask me to stay until I finished my redlines, and she would often leave me there alone. Which make you feel like shit when all the paid employees have left and you are still there slaving away, on somthing as boring as redlines.
a free intern was fired on my 3rd day there (it was his 2nd week). so be precautious if you do chose to work there, you can be made to feel on edge at all times, and don't move too many of your belongings with you, in case you do get fired.
the office does use good programs... Maya specifically, but also the norm: autocad, Illustrator and photoshop.
I went in able to use maya, but only ever had the chance to work on audtocad or Illustrator. I was delegated to menial tasks, and given 20-45 minute assignments, as if I was a complete idiot. That was a bummer, because I had gone there with the goal of working in an office that used Maya, and was fully prepared to do so.
They have alot of Interns; when I was there, there were about 5-6 interns for about 8-10 paid employees.
Also, the interns are a 'lower class' than the paid employees-- it is typical there for a paid employee to ask the intern to change the plotter paper for him/her. Also, the janitorial tasks are assigned to the interns... you are the assigned to take out ALL the trash, do the dishes for everybody else. I fould it paticularly degrading that Hani and Lise-Ann just put their coffee/ breakfast dishes in the sink- FOR THE INTERNS TO WASH.
Yes, the staff is younger than a lot of places, but I would much rather work in an office where (though unpaid, if that is your decision) you are still treated in a humane, respectable manner.
also, if you are hired, they pay very little: 24k for undergrads, and 36k for grads (but less than 36k if you didn't graduate from Columbia).
This internship (for me) highlighted all that is disgraceful about our profession. I considered never working in architecture ever again, after finishing this internship.
whistle- the best way to find a fulfilling internship is through the alumni of your school. Find out who is living in the cities you're interested in and get in touch with them. They already know your training and level of ability.
good luck.
um - what a refreshing post
i hate starchitects :)
um.... as oshit says, a very refreshing post.
'Hani and Lise-Ann just put their coffee/ breakfast dishes in the sink- FOR THE INTERNS TO WASH. ' - that's shocking.
I've worked for 3 starchitects (I've got them out of my system now), and only at Zaha's did I feel like I was an underclass. It is possible to get good experience at a big/famous firm but, just like any office, how it is run is up to the owners. I have much less respect for asymptote having read your post...
I have heard that Assholeymtote is a shitty place to work as well. The fact that you are essentially working below the poverty line ($24,000 for 80+ hr work week) while your bosses are driving new Porsche SUV's and wearing couture clothing would piss me off as well.
Once again, this is a reason that we as a whole need to not accept working in slave like conditions. All it does is degrade our profession. REFUSE TO WORK FOR FREE
fuck i change the plotter paper all the time. i noticed it had run out on friday and i changed it even though i had to go all the way down to the lock up to get some. boo fucking hoo.
vivek the snake-- are temporary work visas difficult to get? considering i am in the middle of my undergrad... ??
vado retro.. where do you work?
that's the point, vado... you did it yourself, you didn't ask some intern to do it for you.
That story is really disheartening. It's hard to admire a firm's work when you realize what shitty people they are.....
Seriously though, I cannot imagine hiring someone for *nothing* and then treating them like dog meat. If anything, I would be apologetic....like, 'I'm so sorry I can't pay you, let me take you out to lunch and bring you to meetings with me'.....
whistle, please do not degrade yourself by working at a place like this. From what I can tell there are a lot of places here in LA where you would get a good experience, and you may not get paid much but at least you'd be treated like a human being.
the point is you do what needs to be done and you do it before anybody realizes it, jeeves.
whistle,
i don't know the process of getting a visa (i'm a us citizen), but it's not easy. my cousin tried to get a work visa earlier this summer and it didn't work out for her. but have a go at it!
i wish more firms would make an effort to make interms feel uncomfortable so that more of them would leave the profession rather than realize that they still have alot to prove before they should be treated as equals
wow, great story, um... i'm sorry you had to go through that. it is good to have people on this forum that are working or have worked in these offices. i think sometimes those of us that haven't worked in these offices make too many assumptions about what it's like to work under hani, zaha, etc, but in this case, unfortunately, all those assumptions were true.
all the offices i have worked at, the interns had to do those jobs -cleaning the dishes, making coffee, picking up the bosses drycleaning etc.
ok, they did also use cad or make models. i mean come on! someone has to clean the friggn dishes!
doing other peoples dishes sucks. it's degrading. we didn't go to architecture school to wash other people's dishes.
but on the other hand, if i were a starchitect, i should wouldn't want to waste my time doing my own dishes. if i were famous though, presumably i could afford a cleaning crew to come in a couple times a week to do the dishes and take out all the model-making refuse.
they just had to load the dishwasher...
I worked for a starchitect once. I had to make their son's college art school portfolio
seriously, mdler?? that's sad...for the architect's son that is.
he got into RISD
isn't that cheating?
mdler.... you should have reported him anonymously. Getting a free ride off daddy's name is bad enough, but sitting-off while his staff do your portfolio is despicable.
I really never wanna work for an American starchitect, it might be different overseas. I hear Renzo is a great guy to work for, but frankly I'd rather work at SOM and get paid that some starchitect firm.
On a positive note, the hours at REX maybe uber-demanding, but they will pay you from what I know.
American starchitects are no different from other international starchitects.
Look at the rumored Zaha temper tantrums or the rumored Nouvel paying about a euro an hour for work. Starchitects are no different across borders; there are good ones and bad ones.
I've heard of Zaha's horror stories, I take that statement back. Are there any good starchitects to work for?
From experience, oma is good. foster is good, if a bit reliant on idoisyncracies. Zaha's is - as has been said - bad.
If Rem, despite his fame, still pays his interns, even enough to live in Rotterdam, I will have that much more respect for him.
gehry pays pretty well. nice office. lots of respect. but you do have to deal with long hours.
indeed he does, Apuri...
At Gehry's office, what does "long hours" mean?
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