Friday, July 17, 2009

Roy McGarrah
Roy is an architecture student at University of Texas with a strong interest in sustainable design. He enjoys learning from new experiences, having already amassed quite a travel portfolio. His wanderings have included the various places around the U.S., Oslo, London, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Greece. He also studied for a year in Freiburg, Germany. His favorite vacation was one to a small village in the Swiss Alps in which a 2-day planned stay turned into 10 days working in the fields for a local farmer, getting paid in homemade cheese and meat.

Roy feels strongly about living locally and strives to merge this concept within an independent lifestyle. He looks forward to working with the Ladakhi people and learning how the project can maintain cultural sensitivity while bringing in volunteers, technology and ideas from a foreign culture.

He also confesses a soft spot for ice cream at the midnight hour.


Kim Leinum
Born in New York, New York, Kim recently graduated from PSU with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. She intends to spend another grueling 2 years earning her Master's. With self described Existentialist leanings, Kim has explored and learned from travels around the world. From the US, Canada, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Sri Lanka to the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Greece, Kim has traveled far and wide, even living in Turkey for a year and a half.

Kim is interested in a possible career down the path of affordable architecture for disadvantaged populations. She sees this summer's study in Ladakh to be an integral step in developing her knowledge and expertise to fulfill those goals.


Nicole Walter
Middle initial?
M.

Where were you born?
Jackson, Mississippi, but grew up in California by way of Virginia, Florida, and Japan.

What was your background before architecture school?
Milsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi for undergrad. BS double majoring in Art and Environmental Studies, with a minor in Biology and a minor in Spanish.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
Skills in helping people get along, as a mediator, although it's sometimes difficult.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Play guitar and saxophone, and garden.

Who's a living architect/designer/firm you like?
Calatrava, for skills in engineering and architecture.

Who's a dead architect/designer/firm you like?
Frank Lloyd Wright.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
An axe and water.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Scary Spice.


Kai Pannu
Middle name?
Karam Singh.

Where were you born?
Oakland, California, but moved to Oregon when I was 2.

What was your background before/during architecture school?
Worked at a farmer's market, at a daycare, at a restaurant, and catering.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
Research in sustainability. And the drill.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Play piano, tennis, and freestyle.

Who's a living architect/firm you like or would work for?
Sobek Architects

Who's your favorite dead architect?
Corbu

Who's the most influential person in your life?
Josiah Phillips

What place/space do you most enjoy?
A place where people around are working together and as hard as each other.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
A lead pipe, a candlestick, and Mrs. Peacock.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Posh Spice – I'd change the world with my style.

Jersey (Allison) Wicks
Middle name?
Lee.

Where were you born?
San Francisco. Lived in Portland, OR, raised in New Jersey from 2nd grade on.

What was your background before architecture school?
Worked at SOM and another architecture firm in N.Y., worked for the associate dean at University of Texas. Studied in Italy. Graduated U.T. with a B.Arch. Interested in a PhD in materials science or building technology. Currently unemployed, if anyone would like to offer a job.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
Humor and the nail clippers.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Dominoes and eating raw chocolate chip cookie dough in bed.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
Numchuks and tequila.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Mick Jagger


Caty Skogland
Middle name?
Young.

Where were you born?
Seattle, WA.

What was your background before architecture school?
Straight from High School to college at Portland State University.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
Most tattoos and the palest skin (in competition with Tim).

What do you like to do in your free time?
SCUBA, sleeping, eating - things no one has time to do in architecture school.

Who's the most influential person in your life?
There are lots of influential women. Usually not strangers, but people who have personally touched my life.

What place/space do you most enjoy?
Walden Island, WA where my family's cabin is.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Baby Spice is the Spice Girl people would impose on me. I think Cinnamon Spice.

Hussein Al-Baiaty
Middle name?
Kamal.

Where were you born?
As-Samawah, Iraq.

What was your background before architecture school?
Hand painting shirts, shoes, wall murals. Learning business savvy and how to buy and sell.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
The gift of gab, the tunes, and some cultural background.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Painting.

Who's a living architect/designer/firm you like?
Zaha Hadid.

Who's a dead architect/designer/firm you like?
Mies – he said one of the realest things ever said: “God is in the details.”

Who's the most influential person in your life?
My father.

What's the best advice you've even been given?
My mom told me to slow down and think.

Best advice you've ever given someone else?
Stay positive, stay focused.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
A zombie mask and a big, Arab sword.

Ralph Loielo
Middle name?
Tobias.

Where were you born?
Philadelphia, PA.

What was your background before architecture school?
Was a pharmacy major at East Charlesburg, PA for a year, a philosophy major for one semester, went to community college for two semesters, now at Portland State University. Came out to Portland because of the outdoor life. Ten minutes outside the city in any direction there's good recreation. Kiteboarding, hiking, etc.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
Good humor, construction experience, creativity, and the hammer.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Glass blowing, hiking, the outdoors in general.

Who's a living architect/designer/firm you like?
Herzog & de Meuron.

Who's a dead architect/designer/firm you like?
Thomas Jefferson.

Who's the most influential person in your life?
The founding fathers.

What place/space do you most enjoy?
Crystal Creek in Denali. It's the furthest I've ever been away from civilization - 60 miles in any direction.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
A Corvette Stingray and a light saber.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Sugar Spice.


Andrew Hall
Middle name?
Jackson.

Where were you born?
Culver City, CA.

What was your background before architecture school?
Spent a year in Kenya, then went to University of Colorado at Boulder for philosophy. Worked in environmental planning for several years and started a LEED consulting firm called Scale Green. Then came to University of Texas.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
A real enjoyment for building – a general joie de vive.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Making mixes.

Who's a living architect/designer/firm you like?
Sanaa Architects.

Who's a dead architect/designer/firm you like?
R.M. Schindler.

Who's the most influential person in your life?
Samoan Swift.

What place/space do you most enjoy?
The Pacific Ocean.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
A blind old man and a nude colored money belt.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Cinnamon Spice.


Natalie Thomas
Middle name?
Anne.

Where were you born?
Oklahoma City, OK.

What was your background before architecture school?
Got a B.A. in international studies from University of Oklahoma. Now doing the two-year grad program at University of Texas.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
A can-do attitude and the Hannah Montana hand sanitizer.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Painting and photography.

Who's a living architect/designer/firm you like?
Herzog & de Meuron or Kengo Kuma.

Who's a dead architect/designer/firm you like?
Corbu.

Who's the most influential person in your life?
My parents.

What place/space do you most enjoy?
The beach.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
A Kingfisher beer and running shoes.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
The retired kind.


Christian (Steven) Christian
Middle name?
Ross Blake.

Where were you born?
Dayton, OH.

What was your background before architecture school?
Have an AA in Farsi from the Navy's Defense Language Institute. Did some grad work at University of Texas. B.S. in Architecture with a community development minor from Portland State University. Going to Pratt in N.Y. in the fall for grad school in Architecture. Formerly worked as a paper boy, landscaper, dishwasher, waiter, firefighter for 2 years, and in the Navy's military intelligence for 6 years.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
Research into the wind belt technology, height, and the cheese.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Motorcycles, skydiving, traveling, sailing, rafting, volleyball, camping, hiking, people watching.

Who's a living architect/designer/firm you like?
Kundig

Who's a dead architect/designer/firm you like?
William Van Allen

Who's the most influential person in your life?
My grandfather, but not in a positive way.

What place/space do you most enjoy?
Anywhere on the ocean as long as it's two miles or less from land.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
A sturdy cricket bat and a Walkman with a never-ending supply of good rock music.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Scary Spice.


Sergio Palleroni
Middle name?
Oh, no, really? My full name is Sergio Alexander Palleroni Macon.

Where were you born?
Berkley, CA.

What was your background before architecture school?
Educated at Berkeley for Math, B.Arch from University of Oregon, M.Arch from M.I.T. with an emphasis in history, theory, and criticism.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Spend time with my children, farming, biking.

Who's a living architect/designer/firm you like?
Alvaro Siza.

Who's a dead architect/designer/firm you like?
Goya – the 18th century Spanish painter.

Who's the most influential person in your life?
My mother.

What place/space do you most enjoy?
Favorite built place is Alhambra. Favorite natural place is the Fitzroy range in Patagonia.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
Painkillers and a good novel.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
I don't even know what flavors they come in.


Jake (Jacob) Almitage
Middle name?
Oliver.

Where were you born?
Blackpool, England.

What was your background before architecture school?
Architecture school at Manchester, then 6 years working – the last 5 with Arup.

What do you think you bring to the Ladakh design/build program?
Brought the CADD files.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Outdoor sports.

Who's the most influential person in your life?
My dad.

What place/space do you most enjoy?
The lake district in the U.K.

What two items would you bring to a zombie apocalypse?
A shotgun (sawed off) and a spade.

If you were a Spice Girl, which one would you be?
Ginger.