Intern Spotlight May 2021

Philadelphia / San Francisco

SPRING 2021 INTERN SPOTLIGHT We are grateful for our talented interns, Belen and Tara, and appreciate their contributions to the firm over the past few months. Read on to learn more about them and their individual experiences at WRT.

Planning + Design

Belen and Tara, we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and hope you remain connected to WRT.

BELEN JURADO

INTERN, LITTLE LEHIGH AFFORDABLE HOUSING REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Belén joined WRT as an intern to specifically support the redevelopment of the Little Lehigh affordable housing community in Allentown, PA. How were you connected with WRT? I was connected to this project thanks to Melissa Aclo at Allentown Housing Authority. Melissa has been helping me find and apply for scholarships the past two years of my college career. In October I received an email from her asking if I’d be okay with her connecting me to a potential internship opportunity. She remembered that I studied Communication Design and asked if I would be interested in interning. I was fascinated with the idea of participating in a big project that was going to improve the lives of many in my hometown, so I told her to go ahead and connect me!

Overall, what was the experience like?

My experience overall was wonderful. I observed the development of an architectural project like Little Lehigh, practiced my teamwork skills, and met many friendly staff members. I never had a dull moment because I was always learning something new about the buildings’ design process, learning the basics of Revit, or using my skills to edit photos or create graphics. I’m very

grateful for the opportunity to work and grow with WRT. It provided me with a new perspective on architecture, how projects like these come along, and how they improve housing in my hometown.

What were your primary responsibilities?

I have had a handful of different responsibilities these past few months, but I mostly worked on the project narrative for Little Lehigh. I compiled various files on the development of the project into one master document, where I kept floor plans and elevation renderings up to date, edited photos, made sure to stick to the design rules, and completed some research on potential mail products to be used by future Little Lehigh tenants.

How do you feel like you improved the most?

Since the beginning of last year’s shutdown, I haven’t had the opportunity to continue working and I lost one of my most important outlets to be creative. Joining WRT for the past few months has given me the opportunity to polish

my problem-solving skills and apply what I’m learning in my classes into a real workspace. I’m studying to become a graphic designer and the entire premise of my chosen career is to solve problems in the most creative and adequate way possible. While most of the work I’ve done here isn’t necessarily designing ads and making animated gifs, much of what I’m being taught in my major overlaps with the designing and creative process of the Little Lehigh team.

What’s next for you?

Summer and senior year! I’m dedicating this summer to my career, hobbies, and family. I’d like to keep exploring hobbies I love and practicing my skills regarding my career so that I can start senior year on the right foot. As for senior year, I’m really looking forward to it. Especially now that we’ll have in person learning. I’m excited to immerse myself into the creative and learning environment once again after more than a year of learning virtually.

TARA SINGH

INTERN, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Tara joined WRT in the San Francisco office and was a valuable asset to furthering our resilient Hotspots research in the Bay Area.

What have been your primary responsibilities?

My primary responsibilities have included working on the Greenbelt/WRT Resilience Hotspots project with Cristina and Beth. Throughout the semester, I have also had the privilege to engage in various meetings with the Greenbelt Alliance, WRT staff and various practitioners in environmental planning. I have been able to contribute towards the planning and design of the final document illustrating the research on climate resilience hotspots in the Bay Area.

What were some of the areas where you feel like you’ve learned the most?

I am grateful for my exposure within the field of environmental planning during my internship at WRT. Learning about how to formulate a research question and specific methodology at the scale of the Resilience Hotspots project has helped shape my understanding of planning and analysis at this scale.

Moreover, this research has helped me define the complexity of resilience as it relates to climate change.

I hope to bring this perspective to my future work throughout my career.

Overall, how was your experience?

The experience was wonderful! I have learned so much from working closely with Cristina and Beth. I am in awe of the multiple hats they wear and am lucky to have learned about their approach to different aspects of the Resilience Hotspots project.

What’s next for you?

After completing my Master’s in Landscape Architecture in May, I will be taking a month off to do some traveling around the U.S. I will also be participating in research on social housing in Denmark as part of an exhibit for the 2021 Venice Biennale. In June, I plan to begin working at SERA architects as an urban designer/planner.