Marianne Cadio
Last co-op! This summer semester, I had the amazing opportunity to go back to Japan for my final co-op, this time at Schemata Architects, a firm based in Sendagaya that specializes in a architecture and interior design using unexpected materials, or normal materials in unexpected ways. I also was able to get a room back in the same Sharehouse I was in last time, allowing me to see old friends and make many new friends.
My work for this co-op was very different from my previous internships, both in terms of the workplace and the work assignments. For one, the workplace was one where each person had their own project, and so the entire design was effectively done by them and the boss. This was architects would quickly learn the entirety of the design process, eventually allowing them to become independant. Work hours were loose and the atmosphere was extremely friendly! Otherwise I also did very different tasks. The majority of the first half of my internship was spent designing furniture out of everyday materials, scaffolding, tires, pipes... This taught me so much on interior design, and the Japanese and Schemata approach to it. The second half was spent working on a book that the boss, Nagaska Jo was to publish in November. I was placed in charge of the book's graphics and doing so taught me so much on delegation, how architectural publications work, as well as, how to represent a concept in one simple drawing.
Other than work and reconnecting with old friends, I also got to experience many new things! I went to Northern Japan to climb a volcano and see a famous temple, got scouted to be a hairstyling contest model, worked as an English tutor for the Sharehouse company, and met plenty of interesting people along the way who taught me so much about their lives and ways of looking at the world. From these experiences I learned much more about myself and what sort of life I want to live, helping me reflect on my career and academic aspirations. I found that while I've always liked to consider myself open-minded, my way of designing has always been based off of what my singular school has taught me, meaning there's still so many different ways of designing and approaching architecture that I can't even fathom at the moment. This realization has definitely helped me decide that I want to go to grad school and focus on a career that questions the way we think about design, whether that be through my own designs, or perhaps the way I can teach design to others.
Thank you!
