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This summer, Laurentian University’s architecture students are more likely to be found building an ivory tower than dwelling in one.
During the academic year, students can be found not only sketching, drawing and coming up with conceptual designs, but also hoisting beams and getting dusty building benches and saunas, or burning wood with traditional Japanese methods to improve its lifespan.
This bustle of activity extends into the summer for students between their first and second years, as students complete a mandatory, but paid, co-op term, which can be anything from mining to fabrication to working at Science North.
“Imagine you’re a first-year student learning about architecture and then you’re on a construction site,” said Gillian Schultze, who ficoordinated the placements.
“You’re the low man on the totem pole, but what you’re learning is profound in terms of your ultimate goal of becoming an architect,” said Schultze. “What it’s done for Northern Ontario is bringing some highly skilled, exceptionally skilled students into industry.”
Sonia Ekiyor-Katimi brought her skills to the Home Depot on in Sudbury, where she cycled through the lumber, paint, seasonal and mill work departments. Ekiyor-Katimi has always loved to make things, and work with her hands, and Laurentian’s build-heavy program was a way she could experience that while learning some design.
In the co-op, Ekiyor-Katimi said she gained valuable math skills, and fully designed a floating deck for a client.
“It’s important to know the industrial side,” said Ekiyor-Katimi. “In design, you think everything is going to work, but it’s not that simple.”
Noemie Lavigne has wanted to be an architect since she was six, and is one of the students who found herself thrust into industry. Lavigne said HATCH welcomed her with open arms into their structural engineering department in the summer of 2015.
Lavigne, who worked on a computer drafting project on a Sudbury mine smelter, said the experience was a reality check after the first year of academia.
“Sometimes, you’re trying to create a design that’s not realistic,” said Lavigne, who enjoys the design and drawing aspect of architecture. “The co-op helped me realize it’s different in the real world; there are more needs to consider, like codes.”
What HATCH gains are qualified students, who they hope will carry back a message about the diverse employment opportunities available for architecture students after graduation.
“The students come armed with the tools you need students to have right away,” said Djamel Ramoul, who co-ordinates HATCH’s interns. “Most people don’t see the use of the architect in the industrial world, in mining or mine infrastructure, but that is absolutely the wrong concept. There are a lot of architects who can improve and give to these projects from the safety point of view.”
Randall Kober, a professor at the school and a trained carpenter, said bridging gaps between designers and the trades is a major goal of the co-op program.
“When I went to study architecture school, other carpenters asked if I really wanted to go to the dark side. It’s really that ingrained,” said Kober.
“We’re breaking down the barrier that is seen between crafts people and materials people when theory and practice are being overlapped,” said Kober. “It’s mostly to get their hands dirty and to get their hands on materials.”
Lavigne and Ekiyor-Katimi will be spending their next co-op period — between third and fourth year — at architecture firms, applying the practical skills learned in the field.
In the meantime, more and more businesses are getting on board to hire the program’s 65 or 70 available students each year. Businesses who hire co-op students are eligible for a $3,000 tax benefit, something Kober hopes they’ll take advantage of.
