Observe, Internalize, Engage : An Internship Report by Zicheng Zhang

By Zicheng (Roy) Zhang At Payette In the Summer of 2022 AnEngageInternalizeObserveInternshipReport

Lastly, the third chapter outlines some advice, from a former intern to a future Introductionone.

Internships come with an expiration date. It is unlike a full-time position in the way one enters an internship with an expectation of it ending. The fact that we are constantly reminded of its transience at the end of each day makes interning an accelerated experience. When thrown in at the deep end with a limited window for easing into a job, we are quick to adapt while absorbing voraciously from our surroundings, hoping to capture in one summer a glimpse of our future career.

The second chapter summarizes an intern’s observations and feedbacks for Payette’s company culture and internship program.

This internship report concludes my condensed but incredibly rich summer internship at Payette. In the first chapter, a fifth-year student coming out of an internship attempts to answer two major questions a fourth-year student had coming into an internship.

Questions & Answers From a Student to a Student:

One of my early assignments was to review the placement of coat hooks throughout the building. Carefully laid out on the schedule by our contractor, the different types of hooks correspond to different programs of the rooms in the building. After spending some time confirming each hook is placed in the right room as we approved in our drawings, I showed the revised schedule to the project manager for her review. To my surprise, she asked me right away why the coat hooks in the fifth-floor offices are of a different type than the ones in the sixth-floor offices. After confirming that the schedule matches our approved drawings, she said that we might need to update the drawings we approved for there is no reason to have inconsistent types of hooks in rooms of the same program. This, to me, exemplifies the difference in judgments between an intern and a full-time architect. With a more thorough understanding of the design intent, an experienced architect sees the bigger picture and identifies problems more intuitively (almost commonsensically) when an unfledged student concentrates primarily on the assignment at However,hand.

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1. What are the differences between interning and working full-time?

while the saying “there is no substitute for experience” remains undeniably true, it would be erroneous for us to conclude that the veterans have all the answers, a mentality that deters us from asking meaningful questions. Although more experienced

Working as an intern is unlike working full-time. On the surface, we have different assignments, titles and get paid differently. However, the real differences reside in our judgement, which can be highly specific at times, like the standard thickness of a quartz countertop, or extremely intuitive.

I am used to diminishing my own voice in the presence of seniority and convinced that it was never my place to bring up concerns acquiesced by the more experienced. Being afraid of my own voice is unproductive, especially during an internship where communication skills is critical. In fact, like artists, blessed with artistic license, enjoying the freedom to deviate and provoke, an intern is in a special position where our relative immaturity gives us the license to pursue connections, ask (potentially stupid) questions and make mistakes in a way that is less tolerable when it comes to full time employees. There is no better time to “learn from your mistakes” than now when others are more tolerant of our deficiencies.

2. How is the idea of “authorship” different?

colleagues might see projects on a different scale at times, our perceptions and concerns often remain largely consistent. I was once in a contractor meeting to discuss the design of interior wall panels. The contractor’s presentation was confusingly unclear, and I did not fully comprehend the way she categorized the panels, a critical step to understand before we start developing the patterns.

Thinking that I missed something in the presentation which my coworkers must have picked up on, I refrained from communicating with our contractor directly during the meeting and chose to speak to two of my colleagues privately after the call. What I realized as we reconvene was that the presentation was just as confusing to me as it was to them! Had I asked for a clarification during the meeting, it would have spared us much time on email clarification with the contractor that day.

Payette rejects the notion of singular authorship and embraces collaborative effort as means towards innovation. Having just finished my senior year of architecture school, an institution that encourages individual effort, I have never worked on a project with more than four people, and the handful of times I did participate in group projects never produced satisfying results. In a competitive environment such as college, especially in architecture studios where individual effort and talent are constantly displayed and evaluated, it is mentally hard to dedicate to projects whose outcome reflects everything but individual tastes and contributions. The fact that school projects concentrate primarily on artistic expression makes them suitable for singular authorship. When none of the real-world building complexities exist, one student can claim authorship and be directly responsible for every aspect of their “architecture”.

However, when confronted with the task of developing a real 04

building, architects are quick to realize that a collaborative approach is paramount. Focusing primarily on healthcare and laboratories, Payette specializes in extremely complicated projects that demand multidisciplinary collaborations. More importantly, the fact that Payette’s creative process is completely different from that of architect-centered-practices like RPBW necessitates a collaborative effort. Instead of having one visionary architect (the author) dominating and fine-tuning the aesthetics to reflect and maintain an expected corporate image, Payette’s image and aesthetics are more indeterminate, evolving through projects. The development of new schemes relies primarily on collective output instead of top-down directives; an idea can come from anyone. Individual authorship no longer applies when no individual agent is directly responsible for the design outcome. Everyone is the author of their own ideas that constitutes a larger project authored by Payette as a firm. One of my assignments was to develop a randomized pattern using existing wall panels. After developing a few iterations manually, I figured the best approach would be randomization through computer programs. While I am not proficient with the computer program myself, I reached out to the building science group and one of my colleagues wrote a script for me that produces unlimited iterations, which I later included in my presentation as a possible approach. Collaboration as such is uncommon in a school project. I usually try to solve my own problems and ask my project partner for help at the most. People not directly involved with the project would offer critiques but never produce any real material for it as they will not be specifically credited. However, in this case, while the building science team gets credited during the internal review, the author of the project will eventually be Payette as a firm. Everyone is a collaborator because not one person can be directly responsible for the outcome as a real piece of architecture.

FromObservationsPayette.&FeedbacksanInternto the Firm: 07 2.

More Involvement of Senior Staff

Why should Payette encourage interactions between interns and senior members?Despite some notable differences in title, salary and responsibility, the job description of an intern can be at times surprisingly consistent with that of a full-time architect or designer: we are problem solvers who execute on what needs to be done, whether it be reviewing submittals or issuing bulletins. However, there are other operational aspects of an architecture firm that are equally important: the management of client relationship often defines critical problems and makes sure there is a continuous flow of problems (i.e., new projects) coming the company’s way; project financing and budgeting ensures that the employees get paid for the problems they solved and Payette as a company stays financially afloat. These insights are pertinent to how a modern corporation operates, how architecture works as a business in addition to an artistic expression. Senior managers are in the most suitable position to share these otherwise inaccessible perspectives with the younger staff, not only because of their expertise, but also because of their enthusiasm for mentoring the future generation of

More senior staff members at Payette should become involved in the communication and training of the interns. One of the reasons why internships are valuable to the students is that we get to be in a feedback loop with professionals who can navigate us through architecture as a career. While Payette’s organizational structure is flat enough for the interns to reach out and establish their own connections with anyone in the firm, we work and connect most closely with designers and project managers and our interactions with more senior staff members remains lacking.

How, then, can Payette foster the involvement effectively? Here are some

Additionally, events open to the whole intern cohort during lunch hours can be effective as well. Similarly, these events can be relatively sparse and anecdotal presentations where senior members share with the interns their roles in the firm, stories with the clients, history of Payette, and their general expectations.

2. Foreground the Payette Legacy

While Payette’s collaborative design approach produces tasteful buildings that also function well, there is not a visible narrative or lineage the company and its people can identify with, making all the projects uniquely, and consistently Payette. Being more upfront about celebrating the company’s rich history and heritage constructs a strong corporate DNA which Payette people can identify with, setting the company apart from its competitors.

Why history? Why now? Payette’s projects over the last decade have been primarily driven by and narrated through performance-based research and analysis. While these methodologies are incredibly innovative and specific, they also appear to be standard practices to the untrained eyes. However technologically advanced and intricately tailored to Payette’s projects, I personally believe sustainability and parametric 08

Firstly,ideas:the company can extend the current mentorship structure to involve the principals and associate principals, establishing a new staff (interns) – project manager (associates) – senior manager (principals) feedback loop. In the current mentorship structure, interns interact the most with one associate who assigns work and checks in with the new member regularly. Principals also should have a place in this process, and it can be relatively straightforward and casual. A lunch date once every few weeks with the intern would be beneficial enough. Through communicating with associates, new staffs acquire techniques and experiences critical to the assignments at hand. By talking with the senior members, interns can take a step back, seeing the industry in a fuller picture and understanding our roles in the company’s organizational structure. Short chats between the principal, associate and the intern can also be arranged at the end of each month for all three parties to discuss concerns and provide feedbacks.

Unlike architect-centered-practices whose identities evaporate once the founders retire, Payette is consistently project centered. After undergoing three generations of leadership transitions, Payette as a firm is at an optimal time in its history to revive, excerpt and promulgate 90-year worth of legacy without being burdened by its enormous Howweight.canPayette

analysis does not separate Payette from its competitors enough because the two approaches have been the zeitgeist that dominates this generation of architecture practices, and all contemporary architecture firms have some version of their own research.

leverage its heritage to strengthen and inform its practice of today? Payette has already had all the necessary materials in its back pocket. Now it is a simple matter of curating and bringing them to the foreground. Producing marketing pamphlets is a nice way of showcasing the company’s culture and values. My favorite one is the Payette 75 pamphlet published back in 2007. Unlike the more recent pamphlets that were project based, the Payette 75 pamphlet celebrates seven decades of studio culture and human interaction. The energy and sense of belonging emanated from the book are infectious. Projects exist in the form of sketches while moments of families, friendships, love, and laughter define the book. From these curated moments in Payette’s history, I see how the firm have developed over the years and that there was a group of passionate individuals who themselves also have grown alongside with it. Once the book finally gets its long overdue upgrade, I believe it will become the seminal material that reinforces Payette’s identity of collaboration and creativity.

*Pages from Payette 75

However, 90 years of history along with an impressive canon of archival works is not customary for an US-based architecture firm. To the clients, a long history implies experience and expertise. A historical lineage working in concert with contemporary analysis constructs a compelling narrative representative of competency and credibility. Additionally, to the Payette people, especially interns, a unique historical narrative associates us with a corporate image that transcends decades of time and space, fostering a powerful Payette identity.

Occasionally, Payette hosts company-wide field trips that bring people from different project groups to the sites of recently finished projects. Typically, the visits will be guided tours where everyone follows the project team as they introduce the building at different stops. The tour can get confusing for the visitors quickly because of the large influx of information. I suggest the project team develop a packet of necessary documents that contains basic project information, and gives them out to the attendees in advance, so that the group walks onto the site prepared.

Other than office culture, Payette also has a collection of past projects that carry great significance. However, I was not aware of the existence of such projects until it came up in a casual Thirsty Thursday conversation with Kevin, two months into my internship. There are no signs of those projects anywhere: not on the Payette website, not in the most recent monograph and marketing pamphlets as well. We need to bring them back. SOM is a great example of promoting their legacy: there is an entire section on their website dedicated to their legacy projects. Instead of archiving all the projects, they presented a curated narrative where archival projects were paired with contemporary ones to establish a sense of lineage. Payette, in fact, have attempted to represent its legacy projects in a similar way. Both James and George have drawn parallels between past and contemporary Payette projects in their essays for Fusion: The Performance of Architecture, highlighting qualities and strategies inherent within Payette’s designs. With some editing and reformatting for the website and pamphlets, Payette’s rejuvenated past will surely become an important chapter of Payette’s identity that informs its future.

3. Other Suggestions

i. Diversity of Projects At Payette, once an intern was assigned to their project team, they usually work on the project for the entire summer. Considering the amount of training it took for interns to get used to the workflow, it makes sense for us to stick with one project. However, this also precludes us from understanding the many facets of architecture as a profession. One way for us to experience multiple projects without compromising productivity might be developing small assignments that requires interns to speak to different project managers to understand what the team is working on and what does the workflow look like.

ii. Field Trip Packet

1. Ask for Work

As interns, most of the time we get assigned jobs. However, there will be times when we are between assignments and the project manager is too busy to find us a new job right away. Now it is the chance to find work for ourselves. A great way to get work is by sitting in on meetings and look for opportunities for us to contribute. Issues brought up during meetings are usually less menial and can better reflect our capabilities as designers. One of the more important jobs I worked on and off for about a month during my internship is to test out different layout possibilities for a woodshop space. Had I not asked to sit in on the meeting where they decided to change the room layout, I don’t think that I would get the job.

2. Find Audiences for Your Work

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While it is important to ask for work and finish them to the best of your abilities, it is also important to make sure things you worked very hard on do not end up unseen (although it happens often, you should avoid it whenever possible). Don’t be shy to walk up to your coworkers’ desks and ask for their time. However, do it when you feel prepared and ready to present for readiness calms the nerve and provides confidence. It will become more natural once you took the first step. Soon after that, you will start blocking out time on people’s calendar and inviting them to meetings discussing works you produced. As daunting as it seems to put yourself on the spot, it feels nice to have people notice your work and value them.

Suggestions & Takeaways From a Former Intern to a Future One:

4. Enjoy Yourself Networking

In a corporate environment, you will have access to many resources that you would not normally have at school. The building science team can help developing a grasshopper script; the fabrication department can help materializing a series of study models…Know what kind of assistance you can get at the company and don’t hesitate to reach out when you need it.

An internship experience is not complete without a fair amount of networking. Talking to coworkers is the best way to understand the company and the field of architecture. Other people’s professional journeys can inform your own future choices as well. Going on lunch dates is a great way to have a relatively long and uninterrupted conversation. Removed from the work scene, two people can get to know each other on a more personal level. Besides inviting people who you work closely with, I also recommend having lunch with senior members of the team since we do not get to interact with them much during work hours. With their experiences, they can help navigate and bring many new perspectives to think on.

3. Know Your Resources and When to Use Them

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This summer at Payette is the best internship experience I could hope for, and I am grateful to all who have helped me navigate. I have learned so much from everyone on the Northeastern team. Bob was kind enough to have lunches and share with me many lessons and anecdotes about how Payette operates as a firm. Garret and Jess placed their trusts in me to work on different assignments and gave me opportunities to present my works. Dan and Michael. N, my desk mates, gave excellent guidance with incredible patience to my often inadequate Revit proficiencies. Chris, Barry and Mary also patiently showed me what real professionalism and attention to details look like. I also appreciate the friendship and all the lunch hour chatters with Chuqi and Jason. Besides the EXP team, I got to connect with people across the firm who trusted and mentored me through this experience. I am greatly indebted to Jeff A. and Miep (go orange!) whose trusts were the only reason I was at Payette. Lu would always kindly stop by my seat and made sure I was fitting in. Emily also had much confidence in me to trust me with presenting at the August huddle and helping with the MLK day of service. I am also fortunate to have gone through this experience with a wonderful cohort of other interns. Dante and Jeslyn’s infectious energy helped me through many incredibly routine afternoons.

Thomas, Iris and Yihan were kind enough to show me around GSD and the area of Boston. Yushi did me a huge favor helping me develop a grasshopper script. Shizheng, being a lifesaver, invited us over for movies when we got rejected by all the places booked out on Saturday nights. I also want to thank Shengfeng, Haipeng, Yuyi, Sam and Rebecca for all the laughter and their friendships. Lastly, most of all, I want to express my gratitude for my parents back in China. None of these would be possible if it was not for their

Observe, Internalize, Engage: An Internship Report by Zicheng (Roy) Zhang a Syracuse University School of Architecture Thesis Student at Payette Associates in August zzhan203@syr.edu2022 | https://issuu.com/zichengzhang