"My internship centered on the creation of a design proposal to transform a vacant building into the new Breaker Gallery headquarters. The design proposal was specifically for the adaptive reuse of an existing site. We were able to complete a significant amount of the initial design planning including narrowing down potential sites based on community feedback and site visits, obtaining existing floor plans from the city, gathering structural information on the top two sites, and creating proposed models based on community feedback and the objectives of the future Breaker Gallery site. A final design proposal will be submitted to the city of Tacoma in 2022. If this proposal is successful, compelling, and able to present an articulate argument, the city of Tacoma could award Breaker Gallery with substantial funding to create the headquarters. The new Breaker Gallery site would be able to expand the space that BIPOC artists are able to use to continue their practice. Cost is so often a barrier to continuing and maintaining an art practice, and Breaker Gallery helps to remove these barriers through free access to essential arts resources.

Having finished my first year of my master's program I was eager to apply my new knowledge to the real world through collaboration and working creatively within allotted constraints. We worked with engineers and practicing architects to narrow down site selection for the adaptive reuse proposal. A key skill I was able to apply was being able to clearly and concisely discuss the essential features of the proposed space to gain insightful feedback from the consulting team. I was also able to expand my skills as a designer utilizing direct feedback from the client, our artist community. Additionally, my master's program was the first time I used design software like Rhino, Adobe Illustrator, and Photoshop. During the internship I was able to continue sharpening these skills through design of floor plans, flyers, and other supporting materials required for the design proposal. Before starting my master's, I conducted several archival research-based projects. Due to the adaptive reuse component of this project, I was also able to practice utilizing city resources to source architectural documentation. This saved us a lot of time when drafting new proposals by leveraging existing floor plans and structural paperwork.

One of the largest challenges was administrative. To create the proposal, it was essential to tour the potential sites. This required finding accurate contact information for the land owners, which was often difficult since many structures had long been abandoned. Then, once contact information was found, I had to schedule tours with landowners and the heads of Breaker Gallery. Once they were able to tour several sites and narrow down their selections, I had to schedule additional tours with the co-directors, Breaker Gallery board members, and members of our architectural and structural consulting team. Since the consulting team were volunteers, it was particularly difficult to arrange times when all parties were able to attend. In addition, since we had to manage all parties' time constraints and availability, we tried to narrow the selections to only our favorite locations. However on two occasions, the structural engineer determined our top contenders were too deteriorated to affordability reuse. Ultimately we were able to gain beneficial insight from Breaker Gallery leadership and the consulting team of architects and engineers. The next challenge was working with city of Tacoma administrators to gather the existing documentation in a timely manner so that I could both save time and design based on accurate measurements.

My key takeaways from the summer are that I’m far more prepared to be a practicing architect than I anticipated. I had no professional architecture background before my first year of the master's of architecture program, and I was still able to effectively and efficiently manage the proposal project, collaborate with a diverse team, and demonstrate designs. It was really nourishing to be able work with a team of Black designers and architectural professionals of color. The profession is still overwhelmingly white so I have immense respect for the co-directors of Breaker Gallery and their ability to build a team that reflects the Hilltop community of Tacoma, Washington. To ground the project, I had the opportunity to read community testimonials about the importance of Breaker Gallery’s work, what artists need, and how the new space will positively impact them and their art practices. I also had the opportunity to meet with artists in Tacoma who work with Breaker Gallery currently and gain direct feedback about what they are looking for and need. This was immensely helpful to the design and discussion process and allowed me further insight into how to design the space with intention — a process I hope to be able to continue in the future. Lastly I learned what it was like to work with a caring and supportive team. I was able to work with the co-directors to refine the internship objectives and focus on the proposal work that I was interested in. It was beneficial to have the opportunity to voice what I liked doing and balance the project needs with personal needs. Overall, I learned how to work through challenges together as a team in order to accomplish shared goals."