by Trevor Jackson
“My experience at Quorum was extremely unique and exciting at every step of the process.”
First and foremost, I want to extend a massive thank you to the amazing staff of Quorum Architects for making my summer internship a memorable and educational experience. Every single person at the firm was extremely welcoming and inviting from day one. From the Principals to every single staff member, they made themselves available to answer questions and offer insights about all their projects. This and the firm’s ethic are just a few of the reasons why Quorum Architects is one of the best places to work in Fort Worth.
My experience at Quorum was extremely unique and exciting at every step of the process. I had the amazing ability to work alongside the municipal team and closely with the retail team. I also gained an understanding of the interior design team, housing team and government projects team, allowing me to get a sense of the variety of project types that Quorum focuses on.
Working closely with the municipal and the retail team really gave me a sense of the differences between these two groups’ projects. The municipal team works on large-scale, long-range projects that can take years to master plan, design, document, and construct compared to the retail team’s projects. In contrast, the retail teams’ projects seemed to be in and out of the office in a couple of days. However, each project seemed to carry new challenges and offered learning experiences for everyone involved on the team.
“One of the best experiences of this internship was the ability to question and learn about the entire process, from contract work to making site visits, and learn what happens in the field.”
One of the best experiences of this internship was the ability to question and learn about the entire process, from contract work to making site visits, and learn what happens in the field. Each day I had questions pop into my head, and there were always multiple people to provide answers and their own perspective. A lot of what I learned didn’t come from being in the office. On the project site, I could really see and understand what was going on between the walls - how certain mechanical systems interact with and depend upon one another or how a wall attaches to the ceiling for support.
The team effort that is required for a project was also eye-opening. The way the architectural design team works with landscape architects, interior designers (in-house at Quorum), mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineers and even vendors really showed me how many people and how much coordination goes into the process of creating a building.
The most impactful thing I learned from this internship and experience was the amount of learning that is still to be done to understand the entire process from planning and design development through completion of construction. It takes a team that is willing to openly share their experience and knowledge with student interns to help us grow and succeed in architecture, and Quorum was a great place for me to learn and experience the field.