From Korea to Warsaw and now Bainbridge Island!
I’m an undergraduate architecture student in Korea with four semesters remaining in my degree. Currently I’m an intern at Coates Design and prior to that I did an exchange in Warsaw, Poland.
I went to Poland to learn about how they restored and revived the City of Warsaw after World War II when eighty percent of it was destroyed. This was indeed a very instructive time to learn about neo classical architecture and to study urban revitalization and urban city quarters.
I’m here at Coates Design because I thought it would be a great opportunity to do an internship in the United States to experience the work culture and to gain hands-on design experience in this country. I was selected through a Korea-America governmental design internship program.
While studying architecture in Korea I learned that function and structure are viewed as superior to design and aesthetic. I suppose that’s why most of the architecture major is in the Technology and Engineering College. While studying in Poland I learned the emphasis in this country is that structure and design are equally important. They teach students both hand drawing/water coloring and computer/technology based structural design.
To round out my education, I’m hoping to learn where the US design industry places their emphasis. Currently I’m working on interior projects at Coates Design. In Korea they don’t teach interior design as part of the undergraduate program and the first time I was exposed to it was during my time in Poland. I’m looking forward to learning new things at Coates Design.
– A guest post from a Coates Design intern