ARCHITECT | MYINT SAN AUNG

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

DESIGNING FOR ABETTER FUTURE

writer PETER WHITE

MYINT SAN AUNG grew up in Thailand as a Myanmar refugee and from a young age had a strong desire to be creative. In April, the 23-year-old graduated with a Master of Architecture (Professional) from Unitec’s School of Architecture after arriving in New Zealand in 2011 as a refugee. “I recall drawing the bamboo huts I grew up witnessing in the camp and constructing a little replica of them out of bamboo and leaves beneath my refugee house,” says San. “But I didn’t know what architecture was until I moved to New Zealand. “My Ōtāhuhu Intermediate School art teacher noticed one of my drawings of a structure and told me I should pursue it. Then I began investigating and finding architecture and I fell in love with it right away.” San completed his Bachelor of Architectural Studies in 2019 and has thoroughly enjoyed his time studying at Unitec. “Since the first day I arrived, the architecture department has been really helpful. “I’ve met incredibly talented teachers and been taught a lot of things, and it’s given me a lot of possibilities.

San has won some highly regarded awards, including the 2020 Studio 2 Architects Award for top student in the technology strand and Year 5 winner at the 2021 Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZIA Resene Student Design Awards. “As a student, my I WOULD LIKE TO WORK ON MORE primary responsibility was to create HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS AND ADDRESS ISSUES THAT MANY conceptual designs, which included

OF US ARE DEALING WITH IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVEs, architectural SUCH AS THE HOUSING CRISIS, REFUGE CRISIS, visualisation, site visits, model building CLIMATE CATASTROPHE AND SO ON. and the drafting of technical drawings.” MYINT SAN AUNG San would love to have his own practice. “Not only did we learn in lecture classes, but we were His long-term goal is to work internationally, with also given the opportunities to work with leading offices in New Zealand and overseas. New Zealand architecture companies such as Jasmax “I would like to work on more humanitarian projects during our studies, giving us a true taste of work-life and address issues that many of us are now dealing and what to anticipate in the architecture industry. with in our everyday lives, such as the housing crisis, “We were taught what the business is looking for, refugee crisis, climate catastrophe and so on.” but we were also encouraged to think for ourselves San took Art Painting, Design and Visual and let our imaginations run wild with our ideas.” Communication, English, Physics and Calculus in

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Year 13 at Auckland’s Selwyn College. He says creative subjects like Art and Design are highly important when applying to architectural schools. His advice to students is to learn to draw by hand. “You don’t have to be an artist to do so, but you will need to express your thoughts via your drawings, so learn to sketch and communicate through your drawings. Learn how to use computer applications, such as Photoshop, InDesign and others. “So start exploring and trying things out on your own now, and you will be ahead of the game when you get to your tertiary studies.”

KEY FACTS

■ MYINT SAN AUNG HAS A BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES AND JUST

GRADUATED WITH A MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE (PROFESSIONAL) FROM UNITEC. ■ HE STUDIED ART PAINTING, DESIGN AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION, ENGLISH,

PHYSICS AND CALCULUS IN YEAR 13 AND SAYS THAT ART AND DESIGN ARE

PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN STUDYING ARCHITECTURE. ■ SAN WOULD LIKE TO HAVE HIS OWN PRACTICE, WORKING INTERNATIONALLY

AND LOCALLY, WITH A FOCUS ON HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS. For more information on studying architectural studies, through Unitec, visit www.unitec.ac.nz/architecture