WORKac, based in New York City, is interested in positing architecture at the intersection of the urban, the rural and the natural. WORKac has achieved international acclaim for projects such as the recently completed master plan for the New Holland Island Cultural Center in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wieden+Kennedy’s 50,000 sq ft, three story New York offices, the Blaffer Museum in Houston, Texas, the Children’s Museum of the Arts in Manhattan and the Edible Schoolyard at P.S. 216 in Gravesend, Brooklyn.
We got in touch with Sarah Dunham, Director of Communications at WORKac, to hear her thoughts about being one of our host organizations.
Q: What are some of your favorite things about hosting exchange visitors?
We love having a diverse group of international people in our office! Hosting J1 exchange visitors allows us to work with architecture students from around the world, which brings fresh perspectives to our office on a regular basis.
Q: What are some of the neat work-related tasks that WORKac interns get to do?
Interns at WORKac are involved in nearly every phase of the design process for projects that they work on. In addition to 3D modeling and rendering, interns are crucial to the physical model-making process, which is an important part of the design process at WORKac. Helping to translate design ideas into physical models allows the team to test ideas quickly and understand the spatial implications of a range of design options for various aspects of a process.
Q: What are some of the cultural activities that WORKac interns get to take part in?
Depending on what part of the year they have joined the office, interns generally get to enjoy the annual summer party out in Rhode Island which involves camping, kayaking, beach days, and good food, or the annual holiday party which has featured epic karaoke in the past. Every so often interns will get to visit some of our recently completed projects including the new offices for Wieden+Kennedy New York and the Edible Schoolyard Project at PS216. Rarely (but it does happen!) interns may get to attend an event hosted by Zero + Maria Cornejo, a brand whose retail stores we designed a few years back. In addition, we tend to have happy hours in the office every few weeks and we always send interns off with a small get-together to say thanks!
Q: What should people do if they are interested in applying to the WORKac internship program?
We receive applications on a rolling basis so they can send any materials to hr@work.ac. We are not able to host a ton of people at a time so spots are a bit limited but we would love to talk with any interested students!
You can view WORKac’s portfolio here.