To the AIA Nevada Distinguished Service Awards Committee: Associate Award Application
Sep 14, 2015 Letter of Nomination for Garcia, Esther: AIA Nevada Associate Award Dear AIA Nevada Distinguished Service Awards Committee This letter is written in support of Ms. Esther Garcia. Ms. Garcia is one of the top five students I have taught in nearly ten years, and I look forward to her taking and passing the ARE to become an architect. As a Cuban-American she has a very compelling story as a young professional navigating a complex discipline in an even more complicated world. As a student she was recognized for her strong academic record and design talent with AIA Las Vegas Chapter Scholarships. She has volunteered countless hours with community organizations Three Square and Opportunity Village along with giving of her time in local high schools for classes participating in local AIA-sponsored design competitions. After Ms. Garcia graduated from the UNLV M. Arch Program with a concentration in Hospitality Design, she began working full-time with Gensler (Nevada office). As our school s Architect Licensing Advisor (IDP Coordinator), I recognize that she is working diligently through her internship experiences and is sure to bring a wealth of knowledge and unique perspectives to the profession. As her resume and portfolio evidence, she achieves what she puts her mind to Thank you for giving her submital a consideration. Please feel free to call or email with any questions. Sincerely, -gnpn Glenn NP Nowak, AIA Associate Professor, Graduate Coordinator Hospitality Design (HD) Concentration UNLV School of Architecture 4505 S. Maryland Parkay Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-4018 702-895-1076 office 702-885-7262 mobile* glenn.nowak@unlv.edu
Biography I was born in Morón, Cuba, a small city five hundred miles east of Havana, with Spanish being my first language. While growing up in Cuba, I had been told that my parents were earning an average of less than fifteen dollars per month. We were surviving on a small quantity of food that the government provided monthly. On one fortuitous day, a lottery visa gave us the opportunity to come to the United States, which the Cuban government allowed us to do after pushing through a seven year wait. Our arrival to the U.S. was quite difficult; we did not have a place to live, or enough food to eat. Las Vegas Catholic Charities helped us for three months until my parents secured employment. I did not know the city, or indeed the language. I applied for financial aid and started to study at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) to improve my English, I took a general course of language study as well as liberal arts, until starting at University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). I remained a full-time student every semester of every year, attending fall, spring and summer while many students enjoyed a break from school. I had to be very focused, to be able to face such a radical change in adopting a new county, culture, and language. I earned my Bachelor s of Science in Architecture in 2012. Looking back, I was the only student at the School of Architecture who did not have a car or a laptop, but I persevered using campus materials and studying as much as I could. While the change of culture and rapid adoption of the English language were considerable challenges, ultimately they brought me closer to the goal of establishing solid grounding in architectural concepts, theories, and practices. Against all the odds, after all my hard work and dedication I gained the respect and admiration of my professors. I graduated with the highest GPA of my class, and the highest honor than an architecture student can receive at the UNLV s School of Architecture, the Jane and Robert Fielden Medal for Academic Excellence in Architecture Undergraduate Studies. I completed my Master s of Architecture at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (2014), where I was part of the hospitality concentration. I dedicated those years to researching and developing models to improve healthcare design. I explored ideas to make healthcare more proactive and efficient; ideas ranging from modular units that offer immediate access to care via telemedicine, to specialized facilities that marry the treatments of the hospital with the comfort and amenities of a hotel to provide a holistic healing experience, which in practice is showing to lead to a more rapid amelioration of the patient s condition. While pursuing my Master s Degree in Architecture, I worked as a research assistant for the Downtown Design Center, under the direct supervision of former director, Ken McCown. During those two years, we participated in multiple design competitions and were awarded two AIA Unbuilt Citation Awards in 2014. Since I graduated from UNLV, I have been working at Gensler of Nevada, where I have had the privilege of working on a tremendous variety of projects that are serving to give me a stronger architectural foundation. I obtained membership with the AIA very shortly after starting at my current company. I am working very hard to gain expertise in the different areas of the profession while including emphasis on sustainability. I became a LEED AP BD+C within my first 6 months of working with Gensler. While working I actively participate in numerous extra curricular activities such as the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Challenge (SC2), a prestigious international competition to revitalize targeted areas of the city of Las Vegas. I wish to thank the AIA for their consideration of this award. I continue to give all of my mind and heart everyday in pursuit of the goal to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible. I am already taking exams toward becoming a licensed architect so as to better serve my community and advance the beautiful profession of which I am so happy to be a part.
Achivements I would like to preface by sharing that architecture has been my dream since I was a child, and I have been lucky enough to make it my life since becoming an adult. Growing up in a peripheral nation, life was not exactly easy, but that has brought to me the will to endure. My ultimate goal with architecture is to gain access to a field that allows me to further tenable, green solutions, to adhere to an environmental standard that answers human needs in its implementation. I have pursued my commitment to sustainable design, community well-being, leadership, and I have teamed up with numerous national organizations to promote these ideals. In Architecture I was honored to join the United States Department of Energy Solar Decathlon for 2013. This international competition supplied the goal of rendering concepts for sustainable, renewable residential designs and educating the public toward the virtues of energy-saving construction. I served as a member of the University Nevada of Las Vegas (UNLV) 2013 Solar Decathlon team, schematic design phase. Our design was awarded 2nd place out of over one hundred entrants. From 2012-2014 I generated design proposals for future museum and park spaces in a target goal directed toward enhancing the cultural offerings of Las Vegas. The project was run in collaboration with the Downtown Design Center, responsible for the rapid revitalization and development of Las Vegas aging downtown area. We received citations for our proposed Museum of Modern Art and adjoining park called the City Square Power Strip. I aim to advance the profession not only through practice but also through research. I have been invited to participate as a panelist in the National Communication Association Annual Conference this year. I will also be expanding on my thesis centered on the importance of architectural considerations in hospital design for the physical and emotional well-being of patients. I plan to continue to develop my graduate thesis with a research grant in the upcoming year. In the Community Having faced great challenges in my own life, helping others in need gives me great joy. I am a core member of the G-serve team in my firm, Gensler, where I lead efforts toward working with different non-profit organizations through the donation of goods, fund-raising, and volunteering. One of these projects for which I serve as a team leader, is called National Rebuilding Together Day, during which we refurbish dwellings for lowincome homeowners, including the elderly and those with disabilities. I have also actively volunteered outside of my workspace over the past five years with support organizations across the city of Las Vegas, including: Opportunity Village, a non-profit organization that provides jobs, empowering the lives of people with intellectual disabilities; The Helping Kids Clinic, which attends to the healthcare of children who do not have medical insurance; The Angel Faces Project, which teaches children horticulture, sustainable gardening and healthy eating habits; Fashion for a Cause, which arranges fashion shows to raise funds for charitable organizations such as the Nevada Blind Children s Foundation, and The Animal Foundation; Three Square, an organization that raises funds to provide wholesome food directly to hungry people across hundreds of neighborhoods in Las Vegas. Dress for Success, a non-profit organization that provides interview suits, confidence boosts, and career development to low-income women in over 75 cities worldwide.
For service to the community, I received two senatorial recognitions from U.S. Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid in 2010, and 2012 respectively, and a congressional recognition from Representative Shelley Berkley in 2012. In Architectural Education I mentor and judge the High School Design Awards, a program also sponsored by the AIA. The Design Awards directs young design talent drawn from the drafting and art classes of Clark County High Schools. Through this program, talented students are recognized, rewarded and encouraged toward architectural paths as design professionals. I also work with the Southern Nevada Hispanic Employment Program to raise funds for scholarships to assist high school students from low-income families in attaining higher education. I was once a recipient of this wonderful program and commit myself toward giving something back. Other Achievements 2015 Jason Pettigrew Memorial Architecture Registration Exams Scholarship 3rd place in the Strong Cities Strong Communities Challenge competition. 2014 Two AIA Las Vegas Citation Award in the Unbuilt category for the Las Vegas Museum of Modern Art and City Square/ Power Strip projects. Earned LEED AP BD+C Accreditation Finalist in the Sands ECO 360 Sustainable Hospitality Challenge. 2013 First Runner up in the Galaviz & Company/UNLV Student Essay Contest Bringing Las Vegas and Asia Closer Together in the 21st Century 2012 Jane and Robert Fielden Medal for Academic Excellence in Architecture Undergraduate Studies. Michael Alcorn Architecture Scholarship AIA YWS Architecture Scholarship of Excellence and Achievement in Scholastic and Personal Life. Southern Nevada Hispanic Employment Program Scholarship 2011 AIA YWS Architecture Scholarship of Excellence and Achievement in Scholastic and Personal Life. 2010 AIA Felicia Friedlander Academic Excellence Scholarship In Closing I wish to express my gratitude for your consideration for the AIA Associate Award. I have been very happy to make architecture my world throughout my adult life and feel very fortunate for the opportunities I have been given to study and pursue the field.
Clippings Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship Press Release
Clippings Strong Cities Strong Communities Challenge (SC2)
Clippings Alumna Update and Rebuilding Together Photo
AIA Nevada Associate Award Application Sample Projects Strong Cities Strong Communities Challenge (SC2) Above: Aerial view Below: View inside the core of the complex (The Ring)
AIA Nevada Associate Award Application Above: Level 3 Layout Plan Sample Projects Strong Cities Strong Communities Challenge (SC2)
Sample Projects MOMA LV & City Square/ Power Strip Above: MOMA view from the park Below: Complex Diagram
Sample Projects MOMA LV & City Square/ Power Strip Above: Complex Diagram Below: Energy Generation Diagram
AIA Nevada Associate Award Application Sample Research Projects EXPERIENCE hospitality THESIS: The fusion of hospitality amenities in the design of a health care facility will bring a sensory relationship between the environment and the patient in which positive treatment pathways are born and emphasized, leading to a more a rapid amelioration of the patient s condition. Above : Ambiance Experiment
Sample Research Projects EXPERIENCE hospitality Above: Modulation Experiment Below: View of the Facility
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY Department of Landscape Architecture College of Design Ames, Iowa 50011-3091 515 294-6743 http://www.design.iastate.edu To Associates Committee, American Institute of Architecture From Ken McCown, College of Design, Iowa State University Date September 10, 2015 Re Recommendation for Esther Garcia: AIA Nevada Associate Award To Whom It May Concern: It is a pleasure to write a recommendation for Esther Garcia for the AIA Nevada Associate Award. I had the opportunity to work with Esther for two years while I served as the director of a community design center in Las Vegas. Esther served as the graduate assistant for me during that time. She demonstrated a passion for architecture, participation in the community, and involvement in the community. In addition to volunteering at several community events for the UNLV Downtown Design Center, Esther participates in both leading and relevant organizations in the and with Opportunity Village, two organizations with profound impact in Las Vegas. Esther mentored students while at UNLV, and has assisted with judging the AIA architecture to the community by raising awareness of it in the local high schools. Esther is eager to become a leader in the profession - one way this may be demonstrated eager to gain licensure in architecture. I have little doubt Esther will emerge as a leader in architecture, and will bring a diverse and relevant voice to the profession. I recommend Esther Garcia without reservation for the AIA Associate Award. Sincerely, Ken McCown, ASLA, Associate AIA, Past-President, CELA Professor/Chair College of Design/Department of Landscape Architecture Iowa State University
September 12, 2015 Re: Letter of Recommendation for Esther Garcia: AIA Nevada Associate Award Dear Selection Committee: It is with great pleasure that I recommend Esther Garcia I was fortunate to have Esther as a student in my 2nd year Architectural Design Studio in the spring of 2010, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Architecture. Her interest in the study of architecture exceeded the expectation for a 2nd year level student. Her work was thoughtful, complete, and well executed. Her time management skills were evident in the quantity and quality of work well developed for each class. Esther has a great attitude and temperament and was a joy to work with. Esther is one of the most productive students in the Architecture Program who seems to enjoy working harder as challenges become greater. She continuously strives to improve her skills and abilities and had demonstrated these traits by adapting her creative talents to a wide variety of projects on a regular basis. She is a gifted designer who also maintains a genuine intellectual curiosity about human needs that can be addressed through design. Her professional performance and demeanor underscore her demonstrated intelligence, creativity and determination to effectively contribute to the profession of architecture. Esther is insightful, intellectually capable, and most of all, driven and self-directed. It is for these reasons that I offer high recommendations for Esther without reservation. I am confident that Esther will be a strong asset to the profession of architecture. Her drive and abilities will truly be an asset to whatever the future may bring her. I whole-heartedly recommend Esther Garcia. If you have any questions regarding this recommendation, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Daniel J Chenin, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Director of Design, TAL-Studio Adjunct Professor, UNLV School of Architecture NCARB IDP Coordinator Nevada 10801 West Charleston Blvd, Suite 440 Las Vegas, Nevada 89135 702 480-7758 danielchenin@yahoo.com