Reflection Letter:
Hi! I’m Nada, I’ve graduated from college in 2022. After graduating from college, I felt that I still had a lot to learn and find other perspectives on architecture to make me more confident and have a meaningful goal to be involved in architecture. Therefore, I decided to do an internship first before entering the real world of work.
I applied to several places to do internships. At that time, I almost gave up because no one came to informed me. Until finally I received news from RAW Architecture that I was accepted to do an internship there. After receiving the news, I felt grateful and happy and at the same time worried too, I was worried about not being compatible during the internship and because this was the first time for me to wander so there were many things that worried me. But I realized I had to be able to fight my worries because if I didn’t fight it I would never try and never know and never move forward. I have to get out of my comfort zone to become a more developed human being. After going through it, it turned out that it was not as bad as I imagined before because here I was warmly welcomed by a friendly and supportive environment so that it made my adaptation and learning process feel lighter.
I have been doing my internship here for almost 3 months and I can’t believe that my last day of internship has come. If I am asked what do I get from here? The answer is everything, because it’s my first time doing an internship at an architectural consultant, so everything is new and interesting for me to learn. Starting from the culture of working at a consultant is like, learning about conceptual to detailed development drawings, working together as a team, and many more. The thing I like the most and I look forward in here is the weekly meeting on monday because at that moment we can share and know the good and bad reality that happens in the studio and in the project. Jokes and casual talks during break time are also fun moments for me.
I want to say big thank you to Mr. Realrich Sjarief and Mrs. Laurensia Yudith for giving me the opportunity and trust to do an internship at RAW Architecture. Thank you also to all of my mentors who have given their knowledge and patience in guiding me during my internship. To all of my fellow interns as well, thank you for makes my day colorful during this internship program. And I also apologize if there are words or deeds that are impolite during my internship.
Lastly, thank you to RAW Architecture for being a part of my journey in finding my identity in architecture. I learned a lot of new things here, and it will be an unforgettable experience for me. I wish all the best for Raw Architecture team, Good luck!
Sincerely,
Khairina Alfin Nada
Motivation Letter:
Dear RAW Architecture,
Let me introduce myself, my name is Khairina Alfin Nada, people around me usually call me Nada. I am a fresh graduate from National Institute of Technology Bandung (Itenas). Through this letter, I would like to express my interest to intern as an architectural designer in your firm.
I want to tell you about my experience while studying in the architecture department. At first, the reason I majored in architecture was simply because I liked to draw and what I knew about architecture was just study about buildings. At the beginning of learning, I was quite surprised by the learning culture in architecture, such as the studio assignments which were quite a lot, detailed, and required a lot of time to complete it. Finally, over time I can adapt and follow it well. First semester to third semester, I took lectures with enthusiasm and also always got a good grades in every subject.
Until at the end of fourth semester, I started to feel bored in going through lectures. Many questions suddenly appeared in my mind that I realized I had never asked myself these questions. Questions like, “am I really happy in this field ?, “Can I survive in this field ?”, “What am I here for ? What am I looking for here? Or during this lecture I just run it for a formality ?”. These questions keep popping up in my mind and make me dizzy and anxious. At that moment, I realized I couldn’t go on like this, I had to be able to get answers for all of these questions.
Starting from these questions, I started to find out more about architecture. I started looking at podcasts, portfolios, reading books and articles about architecture. Fortunately, little by little these activities were able to answer my anxiety and restore my sense of enthusiasm in architecture. In fact, I am increasingly curious about the world of architecture. From this activity, it also made my perspective more open to architecture and made me realize that so far in the design process, I have not interpreted it and I have less research, I only pursue the word “finished” without interpreting what I design. And I regret that I was wrong and just realized it.
To correct my mistake, in sixth semester, I started to improve my designing process. Starting from the process of designing on the design studio assignments until I also started like to take part in architectural competitions. For me, participating in competitions is a refreshing activity. I can express my designs more freely than in technical and formal coursework. I can create my imagination accompanied by critical thinking and I can also see other perspectives from group members.
During the final project, I designed a special heart and blood vessel hospital in Bandung with the theme, namely the interrelation of space with behavior. The reason I picked up that theme because I was interested in delving into how space can affect its users. Another reason is I want my final project to serve as a tool to rethink the typology of a hospital from seemingly creepy to a place that’s comfortable, quiet, and how space can proactively contribute to a healing environment, especially in the context of a stress-inducing healthcare environment.
Now I realize, architecture is more than just a building. Architecture can influence and shape human habits. Architecture is not like the others arts that you can choose to see or not to see but architecture can envelope all of us. Everyone sees and experiences it. Architecture is an art that everybody deserves to enjoy precisely because it constitutes the life of our inhabited places.
After visiting the website and seeing some RAW projects, I became interested in joining RAW internship program. I believe RAW Architecture is the best firm to be a part of my process to finding my true self in architecture and fulfilling my curiosity in exploring knowledge. I hope that at RAW I can practice creativity, critical thinking that can open up my perspective more broadly on architecture, and learn more about how to make good and correct designs, as well as how to enjoy the design process.
It would be such as a great experience if I could have a chance to be a part of RAW Architecture. I would love to explore more experience, work hard, and contribute for RAW Architecture in many aspects in the future.
I am very open if there are things you want to ask regarding this application. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Khairina Alfin Nada
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