This is WHSAD’s second year working with CTA architects. According to its website, “CTA’s work is rooted in the belief that the careful, appropriate restoration of existing buildings is among the most sustainable activities of any Architecture practice.” Students in the mentorship engage in projects that dovetail with this portion of CTA’s mission statement and learn both hard and soft skills. Oftentimes students have commented that the CTA mentorship is rigorous and puts students on the spot not only to present ideas to the professionals, but also to accept constructive feedback that lacks sugarcoating. During the mentorship students apply the design process, collaborate with peers and mentors, and gain a greater grasp on software programs such as AutoCAD, Revit, and Twin Motion.
Thank you to CTA Architects and the following mentors who supported our students this year: Kevin Morrison, Sarah Tsui, Asaf Yogev, Christian Rasnake, and Frank A. Szatkowski. Thank you to WHSAD teachers, Ms. Cumberbatch, Mr. Rodriguez, and Mr. Codio for your dedication and patience.
The following are narratives from some of the participating students.
Over the course of a few months, the mentees participating in the CTA mentorship program have worked vigorously to do the job that they were assigned at the beginning of the program. The CTA mentorship program is a program where we work with real architects throughout the course of the year. These architects act as our mentors as we work on creating a floor plan of a building that is assigned. It is a 4 year program that can be really helpful if you plan to major in architecture in college.
In the beginning, we start off brainstorming ideas we can implement into the building’s design. Later on, we began putting those ideas into the AutoCad software. This allowed us to add details to the floor plan to see what worked and what didn’t. Through all this, our mentors helped us along the way with making sure that everything made sense in our plan and to keep everything up to code within it. Bi-weekly, we go to the architecture firm and show off what we have worked on and they give us feedback on how to make the project better.
It’s been fun to work with my peers throughout the project. You have a chance to work with friends on the project and it’s been a good experience overall. All of us are extremely proud of our work; however it wasn’t done without some challenges. Many times we struggled with trying to figure out how to implement some of our ideas into the floor plan, but with the help of our mentors, we were able to find a way to make it fit within the overall scheme of the building as well as even making the plan better than we had originally thought. A lot of times, these kinds of challenges made us realize that it’s hard work to create structures such as this, however, it’s worth it in the end because you’re able to learn more and maybe use it later as well as be proud of the work that you put into the project.
These kinds of extracurricular activities make some classes far easier. This program for example tests your problem solving skills and allows you to think rationally if there are some parts that you are having trouble with in your class. To future CTA mentorship students, this program is really worth it at the end of the day. It may be hard work in the beginning, but it does get easier. This program is something that you are able to add to your resume. If you decide to get into architecture, it will help you boost your skills in different architectural softwares such as AutoCad and Revit.
-Luis Chinchilla, Sophomore
Please describe the CTA mentorship program.
CTA mentorship program is an after school program where students can use all their academic knowledge to good use! You can learn so much about designing and presenting in front of actual architects. It helps boost one’s confidence and prepares them for the real world that lies soon.
Please provide a detailed description of your project and your project’s process.
In the CTA program, we are given an opportunity to design a building. For example, this year it was a St. Nick’s Alliance base and give it a complete makeover (not literally but just for educational purposes). We are split into groups and have a competition on which team’s design is the best. At the end of the final presentation, winners are given a prize. We were using many forms of design such as renderings, and 3-2 point perspective drawings/sketches.
How has it been collaborating with your peers on the project?
Collaborating with my peers on the project has been very beneficial as I learn more about designing a building and developing a creative mind. They help identify my strengths and what I need to improve on. For example, at the beginning of the program, I was worried about presenting in front of people as I would get nervous but with time came experience, and I eventually got to the point where I would even crack jokes in front of the judges.
What have been some challenges you have encountered during the mentorship program?
One challenge that I have encountered during the mentorship program is the oral section. I have difficulty when presenting my ideas as I tend to get nervous and stutter. I would work on my challenges by always attending the meetings and making sure I explain my design thoroughly.
How did you navigate these challenges in order to realize your vision?
I navigate through challenges by having my group split what presentation slides we represent. I choose to talk about the exterior design of the building in front of the CTA architects as I am more educated on subject
What did these challenges teach you about yourself and about your work?
These challenges teach me how I am very adaptive to challenges and how I can easily overcome them by the help of others and self-determination.
How have the mentors provided you with on-going support throughout the process?
The mentors have been a tremendous help this past year. They are able to guide me through every step of the way as they are actual Architects! For example, one time my team and I were stuck on how to do a certain AutoCAD floor plan and our mentors took the time to help us out every step of the way!
What are some words of insight and support your mentors have given you?
Some words of insight my mentors have given me is to always defend your design. If one criticizes your design, it’s maybe because they don’t fully understand the purpose of it. My mentors taught me to always defend my design and fully explain so one can get a real grasp of it.
How do such extracurricular activities enhance your high school experience?
They help boost my confidence to create a great design. I can get to the top of my class with the help of extracurricular activities even if some students view them as “boring”.
What is some advice you would give to future CTA mentorship students?
The advice I would give to future members is to always communicate with your teammates and mentors. They are literally the reason that determines if you win or lose. The better the team works, the better chance of winning!
Please provide some quotes from peers about their experiences in the CTA mentorship program.
My group members all agree how although our team lost this year, the learning benefits are far superior than simple money. It’s a blessing in disguise.
-Saidjohn Saidganiev, Sophomore
Please describe the CTA mentorship program.
The CTA mentorship program is a program in which we learn how to apply the designing process for a building in a real space. We are taught by our selected mentors who are also architects. This gives us the opportunity to learn from people in the industry, providing us with much needed insight and knowledge
How has it been collaborating with your peers on the project?
Collaborating with teammate’s has proven to be difficult for me. This is due to a multitude of reasons which include, conflicting schedules, lack of communication, and lack of commitment. Even with these struggles, collaborating with peers has led me to learn more about the importance and significance of working as a team.
What have been some challenges you have encountered during the mentorship program?
Due to my inexperience in architecture, I found it more difficult to use and understand all of these new softwares like AutoCad, Revit, and Twin Motion. But even with these struggles, learning these softwares has given me so much exposure to the world of architecture.
How did you navigate these challenges in order to realize your vision?
I navigated these challenges through asking for help from people with more experience than me like my mentors, Mr. Rodriguez, etc. This allowed me to become a version of myself I never thought I could be until now.
What did these challenges teach you about yourself and about your work?
These challenges shined light on what I needed to work on. For example, while working, I was under intense pressure as I was meeting deadlines and doing things I’ve never done before. This helped me realize how my mental fortitude wasn’t as strong as I thought it was, but through this experience it has definitely gotten better.
How have the mentors provided you with on-going support throughout the process?
The mentors have provided me with support by giving insight on areas I needed to improve and where I can get the resources to improve these areas through comprehensive emails and meetings.
How do such extracurricular activities enhance your high school experience?
Extracurricular activities enhance my high school experience by exposing me to things that I will see in my adulthood early. This allows me to be ready for any challenge that I might experience through the knowledge and character building I have already obtained.
What is some advice you would give to future CTA mentorship students?
Some advice I would give to future CTA students is time management and planning. Be mindful that there are deadlines and plan for that accordingly.
-Naheem Idowu, Freshman
The project that I worked on was a CTA Architects project. CTA Architects is an architecture firm. They gave my school the opportunity to work on one of their projects as a competition between three groups. All of the groups would be from my school. We worked on the 211 Ainslie Street building. This building is used as a St. Nick’s Alliance base, a daycare and a senior center. The goal of this project was to create the best redesign for the exterior, lobby and roof. This meant that not only did the redesign have to look good but it also had to be used a certain way that is better than the previous design. Take for example the lobby, it was very small so to make the lobby better all of the groups decided to make it bigger. One reason to make it bigger is because if there is a fire, getting out of the building could take longer if many people are trying to get out of a small space.
Collaborating with my team has been a very interesting experience. If you were to look at our skills, you would think that we would make the perfect team because we would be able to do so much. There is a problem though. My team had a hard time with teamwork. There was sometimes a lack of communication. Although there was a lack of communication, we still won, but we could have done better. We did however have some fun moments because we all understood each other’s struggles throughout the project. The common struggle was a lack of time from not getting things done fast enough. This caused us to have to work for way longer causing us all to be tired and drained but that’s okay. Why? Because at the end of the project we were given a reward for having the best redesign.
I have realized that to win this project your team must have a set due date for getting things done. Without it you think that you have more time to get things done than you actually do, and many architects work towards making their design the best and after projects realize that they could have added something to their project to make it better.
All groups in this project had a mentor that was from CTA Architects. Our mentor helped us come up with ideas for what to do in the redesign and they taught us about what some stuff is used for. I was working on a software called Revit during this project. Revit in my scenario was used to show what the exterior of the building would look like. Since I was working on Revit my mentor gave me a book to learn how to use many of the things that you can do with Revit.
This project plays a key role in my future. Not only is it a good look for college but it also allowed me to work on Revit and learn more advanced things then I would have in my Architecture and Design class. I am now much more ahead of other people using this software. This is a software that I would be learning in college but I’m learning it in high school. This project was also my project for my Architecture and Design class so it was very good for my grade. Now that I have worked on Revit so much I can move on from it until next year that way I can learn more things.
-Shea Koiner, Sophomore