Interested in practicing internationally? In the August 2016 Young Architects Forum magazine you can read an interview from Payette’s Alison Lesniewski-Laas on her experiences working on international projects in China, Pakistan, Kenya and Tanzania.
The International Practice feature is the transcript from a webinar hosted by the Young Architects Forum last month where architects Alison Laas, Wyatt Frantom (Gensler) and Matt Dumich (Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture) recapped of their panel discussion held at the AIA Convention in Philadelphia.
The article and webinar focused on how to approach international practice, what methods have proven successful and how to avoid pitfalls. After an introduction to essential differences between domestic and international practice, the panel shared their unique experience about practicing architecture in a global context.
An Associate at Payette, Alison has been with the firm for nine years, and has been working on international projects in China, Pakistan, Kenya and Tanzania. She explains that working internationally has pushed her technically as an architect, and can present unique challenges such as locations having utilities that are unreliable or even unavailable.
Alison highlights a prime example of this with our Aga Khan Hospital project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In Tanzania, utilities like electricity to power non-critical HVAC systems are unreliable, so instead the design team needed to find a way to rely extensively on natural ventilation. Our design needed get enough air changes per hour to move enough air through spaces so it was hygienic, comfortable and safe for patients and staff.
Read the full article
Northeastern EXP features an organic pinwheel design, shaping research and classroom neighborhoods with shared community spaces radiating from the core to define each area. The building façade was tuned to achieve a 78% reduction in peak solar heat gain and a 62% reduction in cumulative solar radiation leading to energy use reductions and reduced mechanical system sizing. The use of stainless steel further leads to an embodied carbon reduction of almost one million tons when compared to aluminum while the natural stainless surface reflects light in a natural and warm tone giving the building an inherent energy.
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