Interview with Kristy Chiu
Kristy Chiu is an architecture student in her senior year at Cooper Union. Her interest in architecture began in her junior year at Brooklyn Technical High School and since then, she has taken part in numerous architectural projects. Aside from studying architecture, she is also an intern at Domingo Gonzalez Associates which is an architectural lighting firm located in downtown Manhattan. In this interview, she discusses her experience as an architecture student and intern, explaining in detail some of her designing experiences and work with professional lighting designers. As an aspiring architect, she is working hard at her internship and studying for the Architect Registration Examination. Her goal is to work for a non-profit architectural organization to bring professional design services to communities in need. Below are edited sections from our discussion.
Donald: How did you become interested in studying architecture?
Kristy: I have always been interested in drawing as well as science and math. Instead of choosing to pursue one or the other, I felt that architecture was a combination of both of my interests. I also took a lot of technical drawing classes in my high school, Brooklyn Tech, and in my junior year, I selected the architecture major. I thought it was interesting so I decided to stick with this major when I was applying for college.
Donald: What was the experience with studying architecture like at Cooper Union? Do you think Cooper focused more on the technical or creative aspect of architecture?
Kristy: I came to Cooper with more of a technical background so the work was very different from what I was used to. Cooper puts a lot of emphasis on thinking through drawing and creating. Students spend a lot of time learning how to draw and how to express their ideas through their drawings. We do a lot of conceptual work. There’s a reasonable amount of freedom to explore and experiment with different materials and ideas. Sometimes the work is very frustrating, especially when you spend so much time on a drawing and you end up scrapping everything for a different approach at the last minute, but that is part of the thinking process. When you finally bring a good idea to life in your work, though, it’s very gratifying.
Donald: Have you encountered any major challenges during your college or job experiences with architecture?
Kristy: I would say one of the biggest challenges is learning to work with other people, especially those who you don’t necessarily agree with. Even though someone may be very stubborn or present a conflicting idea, you need to collaborate to get the job done. Also, a major part of design in architecture school is pinning up your work to be reviewed by your professors and critics, which includes professors within or outside of your school and other professionals in related fields. The challenge is being able to stand up for your ideas as well as being able to listen to their criticism and use it constructively to improve your project. I am also an intern at a lighting design firm and I think this applies to both school and work, not only for architecture, but also for almost any other field.
Donald: I definitely agree with you, being able to stand up for your ideas and take constructive criticism can be difficult but it is definitely important in many fields, especially those pertaining to art. Can you describe a major project you have undertaken as an intern at your lighting design firm?
Kristy: At Domingo Gonzalez Associates, I mostly support junior and senior lighting designers by helping them with detail drawings, shop drawings, lighting layouts, calculations, renderings, and a handful of other tasks. One major project I worked on was the street lighting along Main Street and Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut. For this project, my responsibilities included gathering information on existing conditions before the designers began working on various changes for the site. I went to Hartford with a junior designer to survey the site, which included taking photos and lighting measurements as well as recording information about the different lighting on the site. With the help of Google Earth, the information I gathered, and documents from others who were working on the same project outside of the firm, I created a lighting layout of the site, along with a catalog of all the different light poles, panoramic views, and other supporting documents. The designers took it from there to propose changes. Usually I work on different projects simultaneously, with tasks ranging from minor to major. During the school year, when my hours are limited, the projects I work on depend upon which has the most urgent tasks.
Donald: Were there any particular designers that you personally knew or studied about that influenced or inspired you?
Kristy: Most of the people who influenced or inspired me were those I came across in my studies. I think the school that you study at has a significant impact on who influences your work. At Cooper, there is a lot of emphasis on Le Corbusier and his work so I would say he has influenced me to a certain extent. Adolf Loos and Alvar Aalto also inspire me, but I don’t really look to one person for inspiration. There are many sources of inspiration depending on the project I am working on or my particular interests and I think it’s interesting to be open to a variety of ideas and to look at a range of different works.
Donald: Do you get opportunities where you can express your artistic side? Do you think creativity is important in architecture?
Kristy: One project that fostered creativity was designing a library in an educational setting. I started with ideas of reading and the exchange of information to develop my library, but I also considered the more pragmatic aspect of a building. After developing my idea, I considered structure and different building systems and incorporated them into my design in a way that worked with my existing ideas. I also designed a construction detail of my library, which accurately represented my idea. This project allowed me to display my creativity because I was able to take my ideas and manifest them into something that could potentially be built in real life. While creativity is essential in architecture, it is important to keep in mind that the top priority for any work is structure and stability.
Donald: What advice would you give to incoming architecture students?
Kristy: Time management is crucial; try not to leave everything to the last minute because work builds up and you may not get to do what you wanted to do if you don’t start early enough. Also, you might come to architecture school with a preconceived idea of what it should be like, but it might turn out to be something completely different. It’s good to keep an open mind to different ideas and to look at things from different perspectives. Also, try not to take criticism too personally. Use it to your advantage to make your work better.
Donald: What is your goal for the future?
Kristy: After I graduate, I plan on getting an internship and taking the ARE (Architect Registration Examination) in order to become a registered architect. Ideally, I want to approach architecture from a humanitarian perspective. For example, I want to work with non-profits such as Architecture for Humanity. I feel that the architecture field is too driven by profit and I want to focus on working directly with individual communities.
