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Author: signordal
Architect-US: How to Work in the U.S. and Not Die in The Process
As a young architect, there are crucial moments and decisions that begin to define your professional career. What type of architecture do I relate to? Who or what inspires me to create and design? Where do I form my architectural references and context? Should I stay or should I look for a professional experience abroad? At this point, most of us have dreamed of living and working in New York, Chicago, San Francisco… but we often have no clue where to start and immigration bureaucracy seems so obscure, expensive and complicated that we easily get discouraged and give up on our American Dream.
Courtesy of Architect US
After many tries of looking for a career opportunity in the U.S., I can affirm that the easiest and fastest way to get a job and live your American Dream is through Architect-US – Esteban Becerril, Trainee at SOM.
The most common way Internationals make it to the States is through enrollment in a graduate or post-graduate school. However, not everyone can afford the academic track and thus University doesn’t seem to be a realistic way forward either. In addition to this, the global issues affecting the architectural profession and the proliferation of a new model of networked international practice, lead us to think the industry is in real need of platforms that encourage global dialogues and promote cross-pollination while breaking down the immigration barriers.
You can’t be a global practitioner without transfusion experiences between different cultures. Architect-US is great because it simplifies the process – Kenneth Drucker, Design Principal, HOK New York.
Aiming to reduce these hurdles, Architect-US Career Training Program the First Exchange Program specialized in international Architects and Engineers interested in working in the United States- facilitates the liaison between rising global architectural talents and U.S. based firms, sponsoring the J-1 Visa of participants as part of the U.S. Government’s Exchange J-1 Visitor Program. In 2016, Architect-US placed and sponsored the J-1 Visa of participants from 11 different nationalities -Argentina, France, England, Spain, Brazil, Canada, China…- making the American Dream of over 50 participants come true.
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I remember last year I was kind of lost and desperate to find a good job. And then I heard about Architect-US and I decided to apply for their Job + J-1 Visa Program. They arranged me interviews with several firms and in a few months I was starting at HOK, living my American Dream in the city that never sleeps! – Claudia Conde, Intern at HOK.
The goal of Architect-US’s outreach is to change the culture of opportunities, advocating for talent and excellence, while reinforcing the value of personal determination and sacrifice. In other words, Architect-US is conceived as a win-win Program: participants get the opportunity to live a unique professional experience and to gain entry into one of the most competitive markets of the world, by covering their J-1 visa expenses; on the other hand, US firms get access to international talent at zero cost by offering participants waged internships or trainings. Architect-US Program is a virtually free service to employers -they pay no program, visa or placement fees-, while connecting and strengthening ties with young professionals eager to learn from American techniques and methodologies, who hail from Europe, South America, Asia, Canada and Australia. It frees the hosts from visa costs and paperwork and facilitates a speedy bureaucratic process (4-6 weeks).
I had tried many times with other visas but when I started the J-1 visa process with Architect-US, I always had their team by my side, reassuring me. Now I can go on with my life in a happy and fulfilling way, knowing that I won’t have to worry about a visa for a long, long time! – Sibilla Morsiani, Trainee at Restoration Hardware.
In this sense the Program provides the J-1 Visa sponsorship to top-notch architecture students and young professionals, aged 18-35, for them to have the opportunity of pursuing an internship or professional training for up to 18 months in the U.S.; accepting only paid positions that will ensure anyone can afford participating regardless of their economic means. Some of the most prestigious U.S. based companies – such as SOM, OMA, HOK, Grimshaw, IBI Group and FR-EE among others- already trust Architect-US Professional Career Training Program, having brought a variety of cross-cultural benefits to their workplace and standing up for diversity inclusion.
Courtesy of Architect US
One interesting focus of the Architect-US Program is that it helps firms find the right people, both students and professionals – Gustavo Rodríguez, FXFowle Design Principal.
Beyond an educational training service, Architect-US Career Training Program promote opportunities to provide international young professionals with the chance of having a first approach to the American Building Industry while raising public awareness of the benefits of hosting international talent. In 2016, Architect-US hosted an International Competition for the Design and Construction of the program’s booth at the American Institute of Architects 2016 National Convention, held between May 19-21st in Philadelphia, PA.
The competition counted with an international panel of industry leaders including Nuno Ravara (Herzog&de Meuron Associate), Ivan Shunkov (President of Harvard Architectural & Urban Society Alumni), Alex Alaimo (AIA National Associates Committee Director at Large), Salvador Pérez Arroyo (Honorary Professor of the Bartlett School of Architecture UCL), Blanca Lleó (Vice Dean of Madrid Polytechnic School of Architecture External and International Relations) y Patricia Garcia Chimeno (Architect-US CEO and U.S. Director of Operations). Out of the 60 registered entries, three awards were given based on self-supporting structural solution, material usage optimization, design ingenuity and ease of assembly. The 1st prize was won by Rebecca Lou Zhenyuan -a young talented architect working at Arup Hong Kong at the time- who not only saw her first design built in the most prestigious U.S. Architecture event of the year but also found her dream job at Kieran Timberlake, where she is currently pursuing the Architect-US J-1 Training Program.
Courtesy of Architect US
The endorsement of Architect-US means everything in the selection process with the host company, transmitting responsibility and feasibility. Definitely, what makes the difference – Lorena Galvao, Intern at IBI Group.
Internationals, Architects & Engineers, interested in participating in the Architect-US Program should register at their website. Furthermore, Architect-US The Blog serves as a forum for the exchange of international architects experiences, ideas and resources, addressing global challenges and bringing those in the architecture community closer together. More information about the outreach is available on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube .
- Title: Architect-US: How to Work in the U.S. and Not Die in The Process
- Type: Grants, Scholarships & Awards
- Organizers: Architect-US
- Submission Deadline: 01/01/2017 17:37
- Price: Free
Belarusian Memorial Chapel / Spheron Architects
© Joakim Borén
- Architects: Spheron Architects
- Location: Woodside Park Station, Woodside Park Rd, London N12 8RT, United Kingdom
- Architect In Charge: Tszwai So, Samuel Bentil-Mensah
- Area: 75.0 m2
- Project Year: 2016
- Photographs: Joakim Borén, Hélène Binet, Ioana Marinescu
- Project Manager: Diocese of Westminster
- Landscape Designer: Spheron Architects
- Planning Consultant: Alpha Planning
- Quantity Surveyor: Change Project Consulting
- Cdm Consultant: BBS Site Services LLP
- Structural Engineer: Timberwright
- Mechanical And Electrical: Arup
- Main Contractor: Timberwright
- Client: The Congregation for the Oriental Churches of the Roman Curia of the Holy See
© Joakim Borén
From the architect. The first wooden church built in London since the Great Fire of 1666 has been built for the Belarusian diaspora community in the UK, and is dedicated to the memory of victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
© Joakim Borén
The chapel sits surrounded by 13 statutorily protected trees in the grounds of Marian House, a community and cultural centre for the UK Belarusian community in north London. Its design offers a mixture of traditional and contemporary elements and, like many rural churches in Belarus, the chapel will offer a gentle presence among the trees of its garden setting.
© Joakim Borén
The chapel was designed by Spheron Architects, an emerging London-based architecture practice, following painstaking research into Belarus’s wooden church tradition. Spheron Architects Tszwai So spent time in rural Belarus, recording and sketching traditional churches there.
Ground Floor
The after-effects of the nuclear reactor explosion were felt particularly severely in Belarus, where 70% of the fallout fell, forcing many thousands of people to leave their homes and resettle around the world, including in the UK. The domed spire and timber shingle roof are common features of hundreds of traditional churches in Belarus and will offer familiarity, comfort and memories to London’s Belarusian community, many of whom moved to the UK following the Chernobyl disaster, while others have displaced by subsequent political and economic upheaval in their homeland.
© Ioana Marinescu
A series of contemporary twists have been introduced to the basic traditional form, such as the undulating timber frill of the flank walls which enlivens the exterior. Natural light enters through low-level and concealed clerestory windows running the length of the chapel, and through tall frosted windows on the front elevation. At night, soft light from within allows the chapel to gently glow. Inside the chapel will be decorated with a series of historic icons set into a timber screen separating the nave from the altar area in the apse.
Section
The chapel has been funded by the Holy See, and replaces the Belarusian Catholic Mission’s makeshift place of worship inside the existing community centre. Accommodating up to 40 people, the new chapel serves not only as an important spiritual focus for the Belarusian community, but also as a lasting memorial to the victims of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
© Ioana Marinescu
Product Description. Belarusian Memorial Church has been designed to serve as a reminder of the traumatic loss of a great number of rural settlements in Belarus and Ukraine after the Chernobyl Disaster, since many villages with their wooden architectural heritage were razed to the ground. The materials palette was restricted to wood and glass, and very small areas of lead. Soft wood was chosen instead of Oak, a prevalent choice in the UK, in order to reflect the Wooden Church Heritage of Belarus.
© Joakim Borén
The principal structural frame was made from Douglas Fir and prefabricated off site. It went up in just a few days, infilled with pine CLT panels manufactured in Spain. The timber floor is made up of 35mm thick T&G Douglas Fir boards and the entrance doors and handles are also made from Douglas Fir with infill glazing.
Detail
With the exception of the floor boards and entrance doors, which are finished in a clear lacquer, the entire interior is of natural unfinished wood
© Joakim Borén
The internal area is approximately 69sqm and is level throughout with the exception of the raised altar, which is 200mm above finished floor level and only accessible to the clergy. The altar is divided by the iconostasis, which is again formed of Douglas Fir posts with infill CLT panels, occasionally broken by the Royal Doors, made from Douglas Fir
© Ioana Marinescu
600mm high fixed thermally broken frameless glazing units run at low level along within the nave with clerestory glazing running around the perimeter of the chapel with further glazing units in the tower. All double glazed units are 28mm thick made up of two panes of toughened glass with clear outer pane consisting of low-e soft coat (cavity face) and inner pane Pilkington Optifloat Opal
© Hélène Binet
The warm roof and cupola are clad in Canadian cedar shingles with the cupola housing a bell donated by Chevetogne Abbey, Belgium. Above that is a ventilation stack made up of oak grilles with insect mesh internally. The dome is a timber frame structure clad entirely in lead. This is topped off with a metal cross, anchored within the dome.
© Joakim Borén
Headquarter Mitsubishi Electric Europe / Kresings
© HG Esch Photography
- Architects: Kresings
- Location: Mitsubishi-Electric-Platz 1, 40882 Ratingen, Germany
- Area: 37000.0 m2
- Project Year: 2015
- Photographs: HG Esch Photography
- Building Contractor Rs&Partner: Immobiliengesellschaft mbH, Düsseldorf (Germany)
- Building Owner : Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V., branch office Germany
- Project Staff: Stefan Fuchs (Projektleiter), Guido Becker, André Pannenbäcker, Jörn Brambrink, Ralf Tielke, Kilian Kresing, Rainer M. Kresing, Nicolas Oevermann, Heinrich Nelling
- Landscape Architecture: RMP Stephan Lenzen Landschaftsarchitekten, Bonn (Germany)
- Framework: IBS GmbH & Co. KG, Bochum (Germany)
- Building Services: Planungsgemeinschaft Haustechnik, Düsseldorf (Germany)
- Front Technic: Strobelplan, Schorndorf (Germany)
- Engineers Leed Certification: Cushman&Wakefield, Frankfurt (Germany)
- Acoustics / Raum Akustik / Heat Insulation: ISRW Klapdor, Düsseldorf (Germany)
- Fire Protection: Ingenieurbüro Löbbert, Wuppertal (Germany)
© HG Esch Photography
The architectural conception of the new construction of the head office of Mitsubishi Electric Europe is based on the target of connecting different departments both horizontally and vertically across a total of six floor levels.
© HG Esch Photography
Floor Plans
© HG Esch Photography
The building with its great variety of types of use including office space, conference rooms, workshops and a show room is grouped around a class-clad connecting hallway. Thanks to its transparent appearance, which contrasts with the otherwise massive parts of the building, it sends out an appealing and welcoming flair that can already be noticed from a distance.
© HG Esch Photography
The manifold occupation with flexible furniture, product exhibitions and small meeting rooms makes the connecting hallway a central venue for both the 750 employees of the company and for any visitors, thus facilitating intercommunion and sociability and creating a sense of well-being. Its effect as a recognition feature of the building is intensified and kept up through the vegetated courtyards annexed. Across these courtyards, the floor-to-ceiling windows establish visual connections to each workplace at each spot of the building. In this way, an open and lively spatial feeling, which conveys a sense of coherence and identity, is created within the flexibly designable working environments and office landscapes, with sufficient natural light being provided.
© HG Esch Photography
Floor Plans
© HG Esch Photography
In addition to the product exhibitions, the building equipment and appliances are made visible in a purposeful manner. The uncovered ceiling installations and air conditioning systems present themselves self-confidently as further developments and innovations of the company. That way, the building does not only constitute a meeting point and a place of communication, but it also develops further to turn into an aggregate, identity-generating Mitsubishi world.
© HG Esch Photography
Sections
© HG Esch Photography
The building, which was designed and realized by the architecture firm kresigns, received the Platinum Award as the highest level possible of LEED (“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”) certifications.
© HG Esch Photography
Is There A Higher Power That Participates In Our Lives? 27 Physicians Collaborate On A New Book Detailing Unexplained Medical Miracles
You’re reading Is There A Higher Power That Participates In Our Lives? 27 Physicians Collaborate On A New Book Detailing Unexplained Medical Miracles, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
My name is Dr. Scott Kolbaba and I have been a physician in the Chicagoland area for over 35 years. The answer to whether there is a higher power that participates in our lives was not one I learned in medical school. Quite the opposite actually. In medical school we are taught to base our findings on science. X=Y and so forth. However, as humans, our natural instincts are to seek answers to questions about who we are, where we come from, and where are we going. It was possibly those very instincts that made me realize some of my personal experiences as a doctor, as well as those of some of my colleagues, couldn’t be explained by science and fact alone. These experiences were truly divine intervention, the work of something we could only see through the eyes of our faith.
Dr. Kevin Russeau is a chiropractic physician in Wheaton, Illinois. I recall his captivating story like it was yesterday. He was a new practitioner in town and was working to build up his clientele. After receiving an invitation to a meeting of local professionals, he thought for sure this would have the networking potential to launch his practice to the next level. He attended the meeting and was excited about the opportunity to be in a room filled with the local movers and shakers. John Robertson, a crisis intervention specialist, was seated next to him. After the leadership introductions, Dr. Russeau and Mr. Robertson had a polite conversation over lunch. Once lunch was finished, Dr. Russeau excused himself to network with the other guests. It was then that Mr. Robertson invited him to sit for a minute longer to listen to a story he felt he needed to hear. His sincerity and gentle smile is what made Dr. Russeau pause and decide not to refuse. Settling back into his chair he listened intently.
Mr. Robertson told him a story about a young lady who had called into the crisis line. He spoke to the woman who denied she was depressed, but as they spoke, he kept getting the distinct impression she needed to be hospitalized. The feeling grew stronger and stronger until finally he revealed his impressions to her. She had broken down in tears and admitted she was planning to take her own life. Because of the bond that developed during their conversation, she agreed to go to the closest hospital for help. He checked later that same day and found she had been admitted to the community hospital psychiatric unit. After a short stay, she ultimately recovered and was discharged. As Mr. Robertson relayed his story, it was evident he had a passion for his work. He told about acting on feelings and instincts, not facts alone. When he finished, Dr. Russeau looked up and realized people were leaving and the meeting was over. While he enjoyed his conversation, he was disappointed about missing an opportunity to accomplish any networking. He headed back to the office and saw patients the remainder of the day.
At 7:00 PM, he saw his final patient, a laborer who had injured his back on the job. Dr. Russeau sensed there was something unusual in their interactions but completed his intake and started the treatment for his significant back injury. By the time he finished and was ready to leave the office, it was after 8:00 PM. He headed toward the door but suddenly and inexplicably had an urge to call his last patient. He turned around, heading back to his desk and dialed the number. His patient answered and Dr. Russeau told him he felt the need to follow up after his appointment. After an uncomfortable pause, his patient began to open up. He said he had been struggling with depression and was unhappy with his life. Since Dr. Russeau had spent some time earlier in the day with a social worker who specialized in depression, he asked if he could introduce them. His patient agreed. Finding John Robertson’s card on his desk, he called the number expecting to leave a message as it was after hours. He was surprised when Mr. Robertson personally answered saying he been working late as well and was just leaving the office when his phone rang. Dr. Russeau briefed him on his patient, hung up and called his patient back to provide him with John’s contact information. After this, he left the office and went about his evening, satisfied he had done what the little voice in the back of his head was telling him to do.
It was six months later, during a typical office day when Dr. Russeau discovered that same patient in an exam room waiting for him. He walked in with a smile and went to shake his hand but his patient suddenly broke down and cried uncontrollably. Attempting to comfort him, it took some time before he was composed enough to tell him his emotional story. He said that when he had come in to see Dr. Russeau six months before, he was in the depths of a depression and planned to take his own life. He admitted to having everything ready but the call that evening literally stopped him. He spoke to Mr. Robertson who recognized his desperation and was convinced to go to the emergency room for help. He was admitted to the psychiatric center where counseling and medication turned his life around. He said he felt great and thanked Dr. Russeau for saving his life.
Dr. Russeau was overcome by this revelation. What he thought had been an unproductive day six months earlier turned out to be a day he would remember forever. He realized the real purpose of that “networking” meeting was not about networking at all, but about saving a life.
I was so emotionally moved by this and other stories that I felt the urge to start writing them down. Physicians’ Untold Stories was born. It features ordinary doctors in private practice who experienced or witnessed events that could not be explained by anything we learned in medical school. The narrators of these stories are men and women of science. The one thing they all have in common is they are physicians touched by a divine moment so miraculous, they needed to share it with you. I’ve realized there is a higher power that often intervenes, guiding us down the right path if we just listen.
Scott J. Kolbaba, MD, is a doctor of internal medicine in Wheaton, Illinois. After being awarded a degree in economics from Cornell College and serving with the Marine Corps Reserves, he completed his medical degree at the University of Illinois and graduated with honors. Kolbaba interned with Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center and completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Visit http://ift.tt/2e1l7ma or order his new book at Physicians Untold Stories: Miraculous experiences Doctors are hesitant to share with their patients, or ANYONE on Amazon now.
You’ve read Is There A Higher Power That Participates In Our Lives? 27 Physicians Collaborate On A New Book Detailing Unexplained Medical Miracles, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Derbyshire, Englandphoto via patrick
[In]Exterior, Falahatian Yard-House / [SHIFT] Process Practice
© Parham Taghioff
- Architects: [SHIFT] Process Practice
- Location: Pir Bakran, Isfahan Province, Iran
- Architects In Charge: Rambod Eilkhani, Nashid Nabian
- Team : Rambod Eilkhani, Nashid Nabian (Senior and Founding Partners), with Ehsan Karimi , Parnian Ghaemi, Dorna Mesrzadeh (Junior Partners)
- Area: 677.0 m2
- Project Year: 2016
- Photographs: Parham Taghioff
- Project Manager: Dorna Mesrzadeh
- Designer Associate: Golnaz Jamshidi
- Presentation & Graphic Associates: Naghmeh Asadbeigi, Mohammad Hasan Tavangar, Amir Fallahi, Mahta Aminali
- Physical Model Associate: Forouzan Farhadi
- Constrouction Manager: Pouria Shafiee
- Structural Consultant: Pedram Mosahebi Mohammadi (Sarvin Structural Consultants)
- Mechanical Consultant: Ali Piltan
© Parham Taghioff
[In]Exterior is an exercise in challenging the well-established conventions of designing for a second home or a retreat family house.
© Parham Taghioff
Conventionally speaking, retreat homes are conceptualized as villas in the park with a focus on maximizing the visual access of the interiors to the surrounding natural vista through transparent exterior thresholds of a solid volume.
© Parham Taghioff
First Floor Plan
© Parham Taghioff
[In]Exterior is a family house located in a retreat village in the periphery of City of Isfahan. The suburban context of the project offers no substantial natural view or meaningful topographic variation. Hence, the spatial organization of the project is fundamentally transformed to introduce two connected semi-courtyards. Instead of looking outward at a non existing natural vista or impressive view, the project is shifting its visual focus to the inner yards, arriving at maximum transparency of the architectural thresholds where the interior spaces meet the interiorized yards.
Section
The redefinition of inside/outside relation is also deriving the material condition of the architectural surfaces. The commonalities of surface material and texture, both in interior and exterior voids, allow for certain level of ambiguity in differentiating the interior and exterior condition from a perceptual point of view.
© Parham Taghioff
The spatial uncertainty in identifying the borderline between in and out is further established through the introduction of sliding walls that transforms the interior yards of the project to semi-open gardens.
© Parham Taghioff
Meanwhile, the introduction of the yards within the heart of the spatial organization of the house, allows for performative division of the house between the categorically different functions with private and public nature.
© Parham Taghioff
Product Description: For the facade of the building we decided to go for a white modular material to emphasize on the abstractness of the platonic forms of the project. Hence, the white industrially produced bricks of Namachin Esfahan were chosen.
© Parham Taghioff
Philip Johnson’s Interfaith Peace Chapel vandalised in Dallas
Chetian Tourist Center / West-line studio
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
- Architects: West-line studio
- Location: Shang Che Tian, Huaxi Qu, Guiyang Shi, Guizhou Sheng, China
- Design Team: Haobo Wei, Jingsong Xie
- Area: 6620.0 m2
- Project Year: 2015
- Photographs: Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
The Tourist Center is located just outside Chetian Village (车田村), on the main road arriving from Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province. The stone village, famous for its houses built with local blue-stones, has more than 400 years of history and its population is mainly composed by Miao (苗), one of the oldest ethnic minority groups in China.
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
The Village runs parallel to a river and the local traditional architectural style is characterized by single units (stone houses with open air courtyards) repeated in a parallel way. Each unit is linked to the others and all these parallel bands form separated groups.
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
Floor Plans
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
The Architects integrated this characteristic parallel feature in the design of the tourist center. Three parallel units (bands) are arranged following a L shape, which creates interesting outdoor spaces, in China categorized as “Yuan” (院), courtyard. This first band is characterized by white walls embracing the courtyards, white walls which create a ritualistic impression in contrast with the stone ones.
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
Categorized as “Xiang” (巷), lane, the space created by the second band is located on the widest area on site, on its north end. The building at the very end of the long quite secluded corridor hosts the restrooms facilities and has been built according to Chetian Village’s traditional stone masonry techniques.
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
The third band is the largest volume on site and it is categorized as “Tang” (堂), hall. Here are located the visitor center’s public functional areas: reception and info point, an exhibition hall and a tea room. Upstairs is the private office area. The interior units follow the parallel flow and have been partitioned according to their functions. Architects deliberately designed the turn near the south end of the first band and the second band in order to combine the three bands into one structural group. Group which still preserves the singular L shape units in aim of retaining the relative independence among the parallel bands, while gaining the benefits of uniformity and integrity.
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
Axonometric
© Jingsong Xie / West-line studio
Barcelonaphoto via nobuo
Sig Nordal 