Clare Sausen Too often for many hopeful young architects, education in the field only begins at the college level. Though they have visions of impacting the built environment, they have no access to the design thought process through professional mentorship necessary to get them there.
At Duncanville High School in Dallas, TX, that’s begun to change. Eight volunteers from CRTKL—Mike Hoffmeyer, Charlie Dodson, Tom Hippman, Eric Bell, Marcelo Tinajero, Julie Mendoza, Javier Cardoso and Velma Jackman– are currently working with nine DHS students on a summer practicum to develop a design for a family residence incorporating adaptive reuse of shipping containers. The students are split into design teams and, at the end of the summer session, will present their design to a panel of our volunteers for comments and critiques.
The program is currently underway and meant to introduce concepts of architecture that can be used in the future– including concept design, schematic design, presentation and more.
“As a profession, we enjoy passing on the concepts and advice we’ve had passed onto us” begins Mike Hoffmeyer, coordinator of the practicum program. “The built environment will constantly evolve and that takes getting a new generation excited about architecture.”