Her architectural skills took her to Singapore
Third-year Northeastern student Yasmin Friedrichowitz’s co-op gave her a chance to see how to construct a building from the ground up in a city with a diverse style.
Singapore’s architecture is a mix of old and new, from the traditional stilted wooden malay houses designed to survive tropical rains to the more modern works like the Jewel Changi Airport that offers shopping and a green escape under a massive reflective glass dome.
Given the city’s unique style, the opportunity to work for a Singapore architecture firm was too enticing for Yasmin Friedrichowitz to pass up. The third-year architecture student spent last semester on co-op working at DP Architects, the large firm behind international projects like The Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates as well as the People’s Park Complex and the Golden Mile Complex, which have become landmarks in Singapore.
“DP Architects have done a lot of really cool projects across Southeast Asia and have a really impressive portfolio,” Friedrichowitz said. “They have a very unique way of doing architecture. I like that they don’t do just one thing. Some firms will only do office buildings or residential homes. This one touched on every little part, so that’s what drew me.”
Friedrichowitz contributed to projects on a number of different types of buildings designed in different types of architectural styles. With over 900 architects, the firm also allowed her to work with a number of people and see how they each approached creating buildings, going from design to reality.
During her six months with DP Architects, Friedrichowitz worked on bids for architectural jobs and feasibility studies on buildings that developers were considering for renovation. The latter involved reviewing the building plans and determining how the design could be improved, whether square footage could be increased or if it was up to code. The structures she worked on included a larger historical complex and an office building.
Friedrichowitz said she gained a lot of experience in design work and built on her research skills. Her favorite project was a redesign of a mall promenade in which she experimented with different iterations of the design with 3D models, utilizing new software like SketchUp and Enscape.
“It’s something I never really touched on in school before or even considered to be something that they would go in to work on after the build is already established,” she said. “It really helps having a place where I can learn those things.”
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Friedrichowitz also conducted site visits, a move that allowed her to see the work being done on projects already underway and view the technical work needed to bring a building to completion. She also learned about working under building code restrictions and the process of getting a building approved. This included getting to see the restoration of a 19th-century Teochew mansion that involved working with historians and stone carvers who could re-create the original carvings on the building.
“For a first co-op, it gave me a lot of insight,” she said. “I learned so much while I was there in terms of designing different types of architecture. I didn’t know there were all these smaller things that go into actually creating and redesigning the building. Being in an office, you get to see more of the intricate details of what goes into planning and how much work it actually is.”
One of Friedrichowitz’s colleagues said she contributed a lot during her time at DP Architects.
“I personally really enjoyed the fresh perspective (Yasmin) brought to the team with regards to design,” said Gabrielle Wong, a DP architect who worked with Friedrichowitz in Singapore. “As an architectural co-op, she supported our work in the design and planning stages across various projects. We value co-op students for the energy they bring as well as their eagerness to grow and develop practical skills by supporting projects in tangible ways.”
