OFA Young Architects and Landscape Architects High School Internship

Don't know what architects and landscape architects do and want to find out?

• Interested in architecture or landscape architecture?
• Have you ever dreamt of designing buildings, parks, or plazas?
• Do you wonder what it's like being an Architect/Landscape Architect?

San Francisco Public Works Bureau of Architecture and Bureau of Landscape Architecture are offering a paid internship program to expose young high school students to the industry of public-sector architecture and landscape architecture. Over the course of the program interns will go through a variety of activities related to the design professions, including: construction-site visits, learn industry-standard software, design processes, and much more.

At the end of the program, participants will be able to walk away with design skills and exercises that they can include in their portfolios. Student interns will have a better understanding of how the built environment materializes to help shape and influence their future careers.

Why would a student want to go through the Youth Outreach Program?

• College applications
• Exposure to a professional design career

San Francisco Public Works is engaged in creating and maintaining functional, and eco-friendly buildings and spaces. Within our department, the Bureau of Architecture and the Bureau of Landscape Architecture are heavily involved in the planning, design, and construction of various projects. Our projects include civic buildings, hospitals, libraries, service departments (police, fire, art), recreation centers, homeless shelters, offices, public utility facilities, parks, plazas, and streetscape design.

Our teams work closely with the city and community groups to ensure our designs are responsive to the needs of San Francisco's neighborhoods. Our office is divided into studios that specialize in different project types like healthcare, interiors, transportation, parks, performing arts and more! Our organization values the diverse expertise of our team members and encourage staff to collaborate across disciplines.

We're not just about designing places that are functional and beautiful; but we also put an emphasis on sustainability too! From choosing eco-friendly materials, to analyzing environmental site conditions, we prioritize creating spaces that respect mother earth. We even team up with the San Francisco Department of the Environment to stay on top of the latest green practices.

Public Works relies on a large roster of partnerships to help deliver programs and projects: nonprofits, contractors, sister government agencies and volunteers. Our core values include integrity, responsiveness, and respect; which ground all our work, strengthen the department's foundation, and ultimately ensure that we do right by the communities we serve.

The Youth Outreach Program is 6-weeks long and begins during schools' summer break and goes from June 10 to July 26, 2024. Student interns will be spending a couple hours each day in the office from Monday-Friday over the course of 6-weeks. There will be a break during the week of July 4th. A detailed curriculum with planned field trip dates will be provided to the interns at the beginning.

Student interns will be expected to regularly meet at our office located at 49 South Van Ness, San Francisco or virtually through Microsoft Team meetings. All scheduled field trips or construction site visits will be within San Francisco.

Student interns learned how to use various software programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign; all common tools used in architecture/landscape architecture.

Student interns got hands-on in our fabrication room and learned how to laser cut and 3D print.

Using models, drawings, and images, student interns came up with their own designs for real projects.

Each day, Public Works staff will host student interns and guide them through architectural activities.

Student interns pinned up drawings and presented their designs and ideas.