Taking Pride

Has it been a little embarrassing to call yourself an intern architect when speaking to clients, consultants, or the general public? Do you always feel compelled to explain you’re actually more professional and capable than the word “intern” implies? Is the term “intern” always stigmatized with less?
Recently, I’ve come across a debate on the “appropriate” job title that describes what we do as interns. The term “intern” in dictionary.com says this:

in⋅tern –noun Also, interne.

3. a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience, and sometimes also to satisfy legal or other requirements for being licensed or accepted professionally.

This definition describes in the most general sense what we do. When one searches for the term “intern architect” on the internet, a Wikipedia article begins by stating:

Intern Architect is a term often used to describe a person who has successfully completed a professional and accredited degree in Architecture…

The OAA defines intern architects as follows:

An Intern Architect is a person of good character who has paid the prescribed fee, has graduated with a professional degree/diploma in architecture from a post-secondary institution.

The problem is that as intern architects, we are so much more than these narrow definitions imply. We are future architects who collectively are engaged in the full range of architectural practice. Some of us may be fortunate to be on the frontiers experimenting with available new technology, others of us on the frontiers of research on new systems. These opportunities allow many intern architects to develop into experts who are valued and in high demand in the market.

The term “intern architect” clearly does not give the full picture of what we do. However, we must recognize this stage of “cocoon”, as I call it, and take pride in our growth and development into fully formed butterflies, a.k.a. architects. Not all of us going into cocoon-mode come out as the butterfly we envisioned ourselves to be years ago. Too many of us decide either not to intern or not to complete our internships or leave the profession altogether. As a group, we interns must take active steps to remain vibrant and engaged with each other and the profession.

For all of our endeavours to get ourselves licensed, we really deserve to feel empowered, not deprived. To achieve this continuously strengthening and healthy future architect mindset, I say we start by cheering for each other every little step of the way, and continue by taking greater pride and ownership of our intern architect stage.

How do you feel about the internship process? Please send us your thoughts and ideas on how to make our internships a more celebratory experience!

Johnnie Kuo IA (Vancouver, BC)

Potential ARE Building Systems Seminar

There is a possibility of bringing in a presenter to give a two-day seminar for the Building Systems exam, in a similar style to the recent Structures Seminar given by David Thaddeus. This seminar will be presented by Gustavo Mibelli, and from all appearances seems to be helpful to some of the interns in the Building Systems forums. We are looking at scheduling this seminar in the spring, if there is enough initial interest. Please let us know if you have any interest in taking a course such as this. Thanks!

ARE 4.0 Exam Seminar Presenters

The Intern Architect Committee would like to invite interns who have written (and passed) some of the ARE 4.0 exams to serve as volunteer presenters for this year's exam preparation seminars. The 30 to 45-minute seminars are designed to provide topical exam-taking advice to interns who are about to write each exam, and thus will focus more on strategy than on specific content. Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering for any of these positions. Thanks!

ARE Study Groups: Preparing for the AREs Outside Vancouver

ARE study resources at the AIBC library are available to all interns. However, out-of-town ARE candidates may find it difficult to attend ARE preparation seminars held in Vancouver. In some cases, these ARE seminars provide some much-needed encouragement to take an exam. For those of us who cannot attend, motivation can be the biggest challenge to studying and completing the seven divisions of the ARE.

So why not study as a group? A study group is an excellent resource for those who function well under “peer-pressure,” encouraging them to study for these exams. You will also find yourself responsible to others and not only to yourself. A regular ARE study group may start with as few as four people and grow to as many as fifteen. Members may join for just one exam or continue for all of them.

The ARE Forum, a web-based bulletin board, is a good resource when searching for interns in your area who are preparing for the same ARE division. Upon registration, you may post your call under Areforum > Miscellaneous Forums - Not a place for debate just listings > Study Groups

One example of the many ARE Forum postings is a 15-member ARE study group in Albuquerque, NM. They started with PPP, then CDS, SPD and are now preparing SS. So far, they have passed 2 and failed 1. This is how they work together:

As a group we decide on an exam to study for; then we determine how long we want to take to study 4-8 weeks depending on the exam; then we break the readings out according to the schedule; we are using the Kaplan material as our main study material with the PPI material as a second source ... Once we determine the reading, we take a week to read the material and do the quiz at the end of each lesson and then meet each week to discuss the answers to the questions, we talk about why we chose an answer and where we found it in the reading ... As we get closer to the end of the study time for that exam we begin to look at the graphic portion and work through the problems available as a group and discuss why we decided to do certain things and not to do certain things. We then take a week or two for each member of the group to take the exam before moving on to the next exam and then we start it again.

If you are working with a study group, how do you study? Please share your experiences with us. It will be helpful to other interns trying to start a study group.

Gastón Castaño IA (Victoria, BC)

Intern Architect Event 2009: 20x20

With summer now officially over, it is time to announce the upcoming annual Intern Architect event. The Intern Architect Committee (IAC) has been discussing this issue, and has chosen to revisit the 20x20 event organized last year. Our intent is to use this Pecha Kucha inspired event as an ongoing and continuing event that would be organized at regular intervals in the future.

As a refresher to those unaware of the origins of this type of event, Pecha Kucha originated in Japan in the late 1990s as a method devised by graphic artists to present their work while minimizing the amount of constraints and requirements. Each presenter prepares an audio visual based piece, consisting of 20 images, with each being shown for 20 seconds. This ensures the presentations do not last more than six minutes, allowing many presenters to speak during one event. Today the Pecha Kucha formula has been replicated throughout the world and these types of events are a common occurrence in numerous cities.

This year’s event will take place on Thursday, November 12th at the Architecture Gallery (AIBC). The event will start at 17:30 and refreshments, as always, will be provided.

We are looking for between five and eight speakers for this event. Preference will be given to Intern Architects and architecture students. Presenters will have the opportunity to showcase their work, ideas, or other interests. An honorarium will be presented to all of the speakers. Please contact us if you are interested in being a presenter at this year's event.

In order to ensure the event is well attended and financed, the IAC will to launch a targeted advertising and sponsorship campaign. Emails and flyers will follow shortly. To encourage guests to come and participate in the event, a draw for numerous architecturally-themed prizes will also be organised.

Please mark your calendars, and we the hope to see many of you at this exciting event!