Professionals Advisory Council

47°N is a student-lead, PAC-supported initiative that highlights designers and design issues unique to Seattle and our region. The group organizes and sponsors interactive learning events and lectures throughout the academic year.

In recent years, events have included in-depth studies of the design processes within local Seattle architecture firms, as well as lectures by prominent local – and national – practitioners.

The PAC collaborates with the UW Capital Planning and Development to organize construction tours of projects on campus. The goal is to facilitate engagement between the students and practicing professionals while providing an opportunity to see and learn from the current innovative projects right in our neighborhood. This initiative is also an opportunity to comply with the College of Built Environment’s aspiration for cross-disciplinary collaboration both within the College and between PACs.

Timeline
Early Feb                   Student applications due
Late March               Firm Sign-up Priority Deadline
April                           Placements announced
June                           Internship begins (earliest date)
Sept                            Internship ends (latest date)

Beginning Summer 2011, UWArchPAC mounted a pilot program of paid internships in Seattle-area design offices, with the primary intention of offering an introduction to the design workplace to students completing the first year of the Department’s 3-year MArch program.  Matching of eligible applicants with available workplace openings achieves student placements for 320-400 hours of employment.  Generally following the guidelines of the National Council of Architect Registration Boards (NCARB) Experience Requirements directed toward architect licensing, workplace supervisors monitor and mentor interns, in liaison with and reporting students’ experience to a Department faculty advisor.

Participating firms vary widely, exposing the entire class to a broad range of practice models and specializations.

If you are interested in supporting the internship program please contact archpac@uw.edu

Firm Profiles

These Seattle-area offices have employed one or more UW Architecture student interns in their design workplaces:

Ankrom Moisan, Bassetti Architects, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, CallisonRTKL, Carbon Leadership Forum, Coates Design, Craft Architects, DLR Group, Donnally Architects, EHS Design, Environmental Works, Fraser + Fogle Architects, GGLO, Graham Baba, Hinthorne Mott, Integrated Design Lab, Integrus Architecture, JAS Design-Build, Johnston Architects, LMN Architects, Mahlum, Miller|Hull, Mithun, MG2, NBBJ, Olson Kundig Architects, Patano Studio, Perkins+Will, Rohleder Borges Architects, Schacht/Aslani, SHKS Architects, SRG Partnership Inc., Stephen Sullivan Designs, UW Capital Projects Office, VIA Architecture, Weber Thompson, Weinstein A+U, William Zimmerman Architects, ZGF Architects LLP

Throughout the year, the ArchPAC hosts a series of panel discussions featuring current topics that impact students as they leave the University and enter the profession. Local design professionals have the opportunity to engage students one-on-one and students leave each seminar better prepared to enter the world of architectural practice. Recent seminars topics have been Interviewing Skills, Portfolio Design, and an Emerging Professionals Roundtable.

The annual ArchPAC student charrette is a voluntary orientation event at the CBE to welcome incoming graduate and undergraduate students to the program and offer a chance to meet other students and collaborate with local and regional design professionals as they enter the program, this city and the campus.

The traditional format for the charrette typically includes between 60-80 graduate and undergraduate students and 15-20 design professionals, organized into small groups of 8-10. These groups address both a specific site and a larger urban framework design problem that involves collaboration with other teams and a representation of the findings after the half-day charrette concludes.