Day 5 at O'Brien architecture

Today was my last day. This week seemed to fly by, i never imagine i would have as much fun as i did. The people there were some of the nicest and most welcoming people i have ever met. It was really hard to say goodbye. Today Chris and Sean told me i was welcome to come into the office at any time, and they said they would love to set up a date during the summer where i can go out with them and see some of their projects. Sean even invited me to play soccer with him. over the course of this week, i feel like i grew close with the community at the office. I figured out that this is something i wanna do. I wish to one day reconnect with Sean and Chris after i graduate to show them all i learned. I'm really glad we, as a senior class, got the opportunity to do this project. i honestly didn't expect to have as much fun as i did. All i can say is thank you and maybe one day i'll come back to the office as an educated architect.

Day 4 at O'Brien architecture

Today i figured out that i am really starting to figure out how to use the designing software on the computer. The first day that i was introduces to this software, i was able to make simple houses with flat walls and limited detail. After playing around with it a couple days, i am now proud to say i can make a fairly complex house with 3 dimesional walls, to add to that i can now put windows and doors on my house! It was a really awesome feeling when i saw the house i made, it was kind of unreal for me. Mr. Patton came to visit today, and i was glad to show him all the friends i had made at the office. I hope he saw how close they are to one another, and that he felt welcome. Today Sean showed me some books, and for the first time in a long time i was happy to read and look through them. They were books on different styles of architecture, i really enjoyed looking at the creativity that people are capableof, needless to say i was inspired. After reading these books i went back to the computer to work on my house, and i started adding different things, incorporating things i saw from the book, this made me feel happy :). Sean lent me a book to take home and read, i was really grateful because it's good to read once in a while. Well, today was a great day, and i'm having mixed feelings about tomorrow, yeah it will be fun, but it's also my last day.

Day 3 at O'Brien architecture

Today i arrived, and like the last two days, my day was planned out. Today i got to sit in on a meeting. The meeting was about a guy trying to sell his product. The way architecture firms work, is that they have the same brand and type of materials for every project. So this guy was trying to sell his waterproofing cement. He gave a presentation that was funny and enjoyable. After that Mr. O'Brien, the president of the company, asked me to help him with something. He had recently been working on a project in Rockwall, he had the design of the project on his computer. All of the buildings and parking lots were set, all it needed was the people and cars to make it look nice. He asked me if i could put the people and the cars into his project. I nervously accepted because i didn't want to do it wrong. After Sean, my mentor, gave me a quick tutorial on how to put the people and cars in, i felt comfortable enough to get my part done. After a little time, i got comfortable with the project. I thought i did a pretty good job for my first time. I was really surprised that Mr. O'Brien would have that much confidence in me. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 2 at O'Brien architecture

Today was a really exciting day. I learned how to use AutoCad (kind of), which is a program on the computer that created two dimensional models of buildings. It is kinda hard to understand, but i'm starting to get it. I also had the chance to go out to lunch with the president and founder of the company, Mr. Jack O'Brien. He asked me questions about my interest in architecture, and i asked him some questions as well. After a while, i feel like we became pretty comfortable with one another, and we began talking about soccer. He told me about how his son, Sean, who is also my mentor, used to play. Sean never mentioned this. Today i also got to actually go out and meet with a client. Tien, one of the architects, took me to Lincoln Square in Arlington, which is one of the projects Mr. O'brien made about thirty years ago. We went out because the client wanted to change the color of the shopping center. so me and Tien went out there and met with the client. I also met with one of the spec. writers, Sannil. He works on doing specifics, which are crucial in the building of anything. He pretty much writes out the manual on how the building is to be built and what material must be used. It is a very detailed and important job. Builders use the manual he makes to create the buildingd, without him it is impossible for the building to be made. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow!

Day 1 at O'Brien architecture

Today was a really fun and busy day. I arrived at 9:00 in the morning, and as soon as i arrived i had something to do. I sat down with Mick, one of the architects, he showed me some of the company's vision books. Vision books are books that they make for some of their clients, so the clients have an idea of what the project will look like after it is completed. After that i worked with Sean, the guy i shadow, and he taught me how to use Google sketch up to design 3D models of buildings. After that we went to lunch. After lunch, he taught me how to do detailed things on sketch up, like how to put furniture in and stuff. After finishing that, i met the interior design stuff, and they taught me about what they do. Time just flew by today, so i was surprised when it was 3:30 and it was time to leave