Internships, externships
My internship and externship experiences in architecture, urban design, and planning have taken me across India, Japan, and USA. A sample above, in the order of occurrence, shows:
For the urban design international research in Japan in particular (#9–#11), I collaborated with the Architectural Institute of Japan during a workshop that proposed pragmatic design solutions for the urban rejuvenation of Setagaya ward (about one million residents) in downtown Tokyo. Setagaya Ward faces challenges of aging population, high property and inheritance taxes contributing to abandoned houses and streets without active life, relative lack of space and greenery where needed, and underdeveloped alternative transportation means.
As the group leader, I worked on distilling and coherently integrating our ideas. We were students and young professionals in the fields of urban design, urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and engineering. Based on site surveys and analyses of Shimokitazawa, we designed, proposed, and presented a green network of parks, public spaces, and schools which:
- #1–#3 | Residential project conceptual design (Revit, SketchUp, VRay) situated between existing jungle trees and a mockup wall (AutoCAD) done while interning with Mozaic Design in Goa, India.
- #4–#8 | Exterior finish studies, 3D models, interior design (SketchUp, Artlantis, Adobe Photoshop) and a physical model done while interning with McLeod Kredell Architects in Middlebury, VT, USA.
- #9–#11 | Urban design collaborative research and presentation sample (Google Earth, ArcGIS, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign) done while leading a student group in a workshop organized by Architectural Institute of Japan in Tokyo, Japan.
- #12–#15 | Economic incentives research and ROI (return of investment) analysis for BIPV (building-integrated photovoltaics) proposal for Middlebury's new field-house done while interning with the university's Environmental Center and Sasaki Associates, Boston, MA, USA. Although the BIPV could not be integrated into the final iteration of this project, the university was inspired to pursue construction of a new dual-axis tracking PV field at a nearby site later on. Middlebury studied further and took advantage of some of the incentives I had outlined.
For the urban design international research in Japan in particular (#9–#11), I collaborated with the Architectural Institute of Japan during a workshop that proposed pragmatic design solutions for the urban rejuvenation of Setagaya ward (about one million residents) in downtown Tokyo. Setagaya Ward faces challenges of aging population, high property and inheritance taxes contributing to abandoned houses and streets without active life, relative lack of space and greenery where needed, and underdeveloped alternative transportation means.
As the group leader, I worked on distilling and coherently integrating our ideas. We were students and young professionals in the fields of urban design, urban planning, architecture, landscape architecture, and engineering. Based on site surveys and analyses of Shimokitazawa, we designed, proposed, and presented a green network of parks, public spaces, and schools which:
- Promoted a healthy way of living for the residents, improved socioeconomic micro-climate of streets and small businesses.
- Encouraged energy-efficient alternative transportation, conserved existing greenery, increased biodiversity within the ward.
- Provided a realm for community and nuclear family interactions, improved connectivity among neighborhoods via the network.
