Author Archive
Fremont Academy of Engineering and Design Career Day Event
April 2nd, 2013
by Rita Saikali by Israel Peña
Follow our photo diary of Fremont High School’s career day visit to our Ontario studio.
1. Brian Staton welcomes students arriving from Fremont High School Academy of Engineering and Design Academy.
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Posted in Designing Futures Foundation
Bringing Architecture Alive: A Design Education Program at Fremont Academy
February 19th, 2013
By Rita Saikali Carter and Israel Pena
Last month, we both met up with Gilbert Baez bright and early on a Friday morning at Fremont Academy of Engineering and Design in Pomona to lead the first in a series of workshops as part of an architecture education program that we had designed for high school students. Initially proposed as a Community Project in November 2011, our team received a $2,000 grant from the Designing Futures Foundation to support the creation of a program that would teach students about architecture and design, and inspire them to consider pursuing careers in these fields.
Posted in Designing Futures Foundation
Instagram Recap: Garey High School Make a Difference Day
November 1st, 2012
By Rita Saikali Carter, Design Leader
Follow my Instagram for a recap of HMC’s team participating in the 22nd annual Make a Difference Day, the nation’s largest day of service, with an estimated three-million volunteers working on projects across the country. “Make a Difference Day is about giving back to your community and serving others,” said seven-time Grammy winner Usher, who promotes services through his New Look Foundation. “One voice joined by another is the start of a movement.” Make a Difference Day was created by USA Weekend Magazine and is held in partnership with the Points of Light and Hands On Network. The Inland Empire United Way organized an extreme makeover of Garey High School and recruited teams of volunteers from companies such as Target, ADP, JC Penny, and Nestle. There were also many Garey HS students on hand and a large group of students from Cal Poly Pomona. It was amazing to see the school completely transformed in 8 hours from a dreary, blank campus into a vibrant learning environment with colorful murals, new gardens, fresh paint, and a host of other campus improvements. My favorite mural made up of huge stylized letters read, “Don’t leave a legacy, live one!”
The wall before the HMC team started painting the mural.
HMC Architects’ volunteers put their artistic skills to great use at Garey High School Make a Difference Day. (Left: Armando Gonzalez. Right: Beryl Lopez)
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Now Accepting Bids, Architecture for Humanity Auction
June 22nd, 2012
By Rita Saikali, Design Leader
On Valentine’s Day, Architecture for Humanity launched their I Love Architecture (#ilovearchitecture) spring campaign, calling us to come together and profess our love for the profession. They proclaimed that, “the purpose of the campaign is twofold; to first and foremost boost morale for the discipline, and second to garner financial support for our amazing chapters that are contributing to sustainable design work around the world.” Since its launch, chapter members have shared their love for architecture within their cities, and designers from around the globe have also shared their artistic visions—from hand sketches, illustrations, photos, sculptures, and paintings to poems, playlists, and video clips.
As an advocate of their mission, I instigated a discussion among our HMC community, hosting a series of group and individual discussions to get folks excited about participating in the project. On April 5, staff members from the Ontario, San Jose, San Diego, and Los Angeles offices gathered to discuss what architecture meant to them. Everyone agreed that architecture serves a purpose, it influences and impacts people’s behaviors. It’s a personal extension of ourselves into the world, and as Winston Churchill proclaimed, “we shape buildings, thereafter they shape us.” Collectively, we composed a collage from our ideas, sketches, images, and three dimensional constructs. We then submitted our HMC graphic to the Architecture for Humanity Spring Charitable Auction taking place from June 19–29 on eBay.
Our submission to the I Love Architecture Charity Auction, bid now on ebay!
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Posted in Designing Futures Foundation
I Love Architecture. Do You?
March 22nd, 2012
By Rita Saikali, Design Leader
On February 14, 2012, Architecture for Humanity launched a four-month long campaign confessing its love for architecture, and called us all to do the same. The campaign comes at a great time as unemployment in this profession hovers high, and individuals have maintained steady workflow, changed career course, or became creative in applying their skill sets in various ways to maintain livelihood. I’ve seen a myriad of actions including full time volunteerism, design ideation consulting, rejoining the student population, taking on educator roles, or starting up new ventures to name a few. It has been tough for all of us in this recession, and it’s for this reason the campaign should appeal to us all—so that we may remind ourselves and one another that there is hope, there is passion, and that strength comes in numbers to renew our love for architecture.
Posted in Beyond Architecture
Pinterest: The Medium, The Message, The People
March 12th, 2012
By Rita Saikali, Design Leader
The idealist will tell you to never fall in love with the medium, for it will be ever changing and you will never be completely satisfied with it at any given point. The realist will tell you that he doesn’t care about the medium, because after all, it’s not the message. The pessimist will tell you that the medium is not the message. Finally, the optimist will tell you to embrace the medium! After all, it’s hot, it’s handy, and it’s a fun way to share the message in an over saturated world (wide web). It’s a place you can follow and be followed, and more importantly, a place where you can make connections and build relationships based on common interests, ultimately leading to further inspirations and validation.
Posted in Beyond Architecture
