Architecture Internships and Vacation Programs

Architecture is a hybrid between engineering and art which requires creativity, attention to detail and logic. As an undergraduate looking for a career in the architecture field, it is generally required and highly recommended that a way to differentiate yourself from the other candidates by having job experience through internships. Internships can equip you with tools and on-the-job training as experience that can be used to land a job in both big and small architecture firms that deal in the construction of building projects of different scales.

As architects are responsible in designing landscape elements for building exteriors, parks, recreation areas and general residential garden landscaping, internships are a great way for you to put what you’ve learnt into practice and learn how to build, create, manage, or engineer a construction project both in the office and on site. Interns are often given the opportunity to demonstrate specific skills or focus on specific projects that take their interest. A growing sector in architecture that is in very high demand is green design.

Requirements

To be qualified as an intern, you must be studying a degree in architecture as well as having personal skills that include:

• Aptitude for mathematics
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Strong drawing/sketching skills
• Sense of design
• General knowledge of the history of architecture
• Analytical skills
• Visual and spatial creativity

What to Expect

During the time of your internship, interns can expect to learn the following¹:

• Preparing concept designs for tender
• Producing design amendments
• Delivering documentation packages
• Liaising with external councils/consultants
• Assisting Construction Managers, Architects and Surveyors in planning and organisation
• Interpreting plans, regulations and codes of practice
• Preparing preliminary sketches, working drawings and specifications
• Preparing, editing and revising plans, maps, charts and drawings
• Coordinating works programs
• Inspecting work and materials for compliance with specifications, regulations and standards
• Calculating costs and estimating time scales
• Collecting data using surveying instruments and photogrammetric equipment
• Performing routine computations and plotting preliminary data

You can find yourself interning in environmental and urban planning where you determine the potential impact of a development on community infrastructure and carry out projects of architecture, landscape and urban design. This kind of internship allows you to follow and assist with²:

• Site analysis
• Planning policy reviews
• Report writing
• Environmental planning and assessments
• Liaising with statutory agencies

There is also the opportunity to intern at an architecture and design firm where you can work on projects that are related to retail, housing and interior design. Through this internship, you can gain the experience of working with clients with providing professional services in industrial project construction or helping with urban planning. You can find yourself participating in the process of interior architectural design, developing alternative solutions and presenting graphics for approval from agencies, or communication concepts to clients.

¹ Career Development & Consulting, Architecture Internships, 2015
² Internships & Service-Learning, Architecture and Urban Planning¸ 2015