COMMUNITY / Five Questions With Our Summer Intern

Meet Drew Graff, a Master of Architecture student at the University of Kansas, where he is also pursuing a certificate in Historic Preservation. On meeting Drew, you’ll quickly discover a kind and genuine young man shaped by Midwest hospitality and charm. Before long, you’ll be equally impressed by his intelligence and enthusiasm for all things bold, colorful, and creative.

Drew’s talents extend far beyond architecture. He is an accomplished Eagle Scout, earning a Gold Palm in 2017. He also has a passion for textiles, quilting, and color studies, which is reflected in his vibrant and distinctive wardrobe. His shoe collection alone is worthy of admiration. Drew has received numerous scholarships and awards from the University of Kansas and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He is also the founder and editor-in-chief of KUltura, a publication showcasing architectural theory and creative work from KU Architecture and Design students and faculty.

To help everyone get to know Drew a little better, we sat down with him for a quick interview. Here’s what we learned.

LACI: First question, what first sparked your interest in architecture, and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?

DREW: I think architecture, for me, was something I wanted to pursue because of its kind of presence in my life early on. I have a lot of people in my life who are physically disabled, so it became very evident when the built environment caused issues for them. Those kinds of things became hyper visible for me. And why did I pursue this as a career? I thought through this, and I, I mean, I was always good at thinking creatively and good at mathematics and problem-solving; you hear this a lot in our work…

So it’s a blending of those two. And then you can continue to think about the issues that are pervasive in my life, but utilize the skills I’m good at. I also have an aunt and uncle who work in the built industry, so it was something I was also always aware of in terms of career path. I think what solidified my passion for architecture was definitely talking about ability and how the built environment has a lot of barriers with my aunt (Robin at Threshold Acoustics) and how there are so many ways we can make a change.

LACI: So you currently go to school at KU. What has been your favorite project or learning experience at the University of Kansas so far, and why?

DREW: I think this is more of a general statement about the University of Kansas, but their program is really, really incredible at giving you a diverse understanding of architecture even though it is positioned in the middle of the United States. Through this program, I’ve been able to study abroad in South Korea, I’ve been able to do projects focused in UNESCO World Heritage sites around the world, I’ve been able to focus on historic preservation and get my certificate in it as offered through the school. KU has enabled me to think critically about architecture.

LACI: Do you want to talk about your experience in Korea?

DREW: It was an interesting experience! I was, as part of a summer internship program with Haenglim Architects and Engineers in South Korea, an intern, and it was focused on model making, robotics, with some Python coding. And then also I was able to be a part of a teaching team for students from Taiwan where I taught Grasshopper, basic Python coding, Honeybee, Ladybug, all of those kind of parametric modeling and environmental modeling systems.

LACI: Are there any architect, building or design styles that inspire you or your work and influence the way that you think about design?

DREW: I wouldn’t say there’s a style I personally lean towards, but I definitely think there’s an ideology. I know Alvar Aalto and his ideas around orientation and understanding space through its physicality. So, say you walk into a space and you feel the light and you feel the air and you see the material, you see its roughness. Those kinds of things I think inspire me more so than say ‘this is a Victorian building.’ ‘This is a midcentury modern Prairie style building.’ I don’t think that’s where I get inspiration from. It’s more from the small items. And I think firms like Herzog & de Meuron or Solid Objectives, for example, do a really good job at understanding that and creating space around a really simple concept, but can extrapolate that into something that’s really in-depth, and playful, and thought-provoking.

LACI: Okay, so looking ahead, what are your long-term goals in architecture, and what impact do you hope to make through your work?

DREW: For the longest time I thought I wanted to go into the field, get licensed, and then immediately work on top-tier, high-dollar civil projects and do really ‘big architecture’ and continue to have that impact. And that was mostly because that’s where I saw the limitations occurring most for me and my family and friends. But now that I’ve gone through school, I actually think a more impactful thing is to go back into academia and continue to challenge students to increase what we think about in school—the kind of ‘pedagogy of architecture.’

I found that I really enjoy research too, so these things are perfect together. I can continue to do research—be it over legal disputes for our cities M/WBE Ordinances, or the physicality of space and how we experience it, or even space, age, and its use—and think about those things and create different ways of thinking and sharing that information. So, I’m excited that a firm like SLATTERY is open to thinking about research and academia.

LACI: Do you see yourself staying here like in the Midwest?

DREW: I am honestly open to anything. I love the Midwest because I’m used to the culture here and I think that it is diverse in the sense that we have access to diverse communities. In a way, it is easy in the Midwest to go anywhere in the United States and get to anywhere and access any type of resource you need by being so central. But, of course, I think that the Midwest has its limitations too. It’s a pretty small community at times, where if you don’t go outside of the bubble, I feel like it can get tiny and monocultural. So long term, I’m open to anything, and I think it’ll depend on where academia takes me, where licensure takes me, and where everything else in life goes. So that’s a hard question to answer. I guess I’m open to either staying or leaving. Whatever the wind pushes me towards.

LACI: Thanks Drew, that’s all the questions we have for today!

DREW: Thanks for the conversation!