Aidan Williams

Hometown: Bar Harbor, Maine
Education Background: Bachelor of Science in Architecture at The Ohio State University

How did you get interested in your field?
I like to think I have a less than typical path towards my current interest, or obsession, in architecture. When researching schools for my undergraduate career, I took a shot in the dark by taking a tour through the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State. If you have ever seen or been inside the building, you may know where I am heading with this, but the impulse to study and design within those walls was automatic. The studio spaces, big stairs, and fabrication labs were where I wanted to spend all my time. Soon enough I found a legitimate passion for creating space that solves real world problems at my fingertips.

What was your background prior to coming to Penn?
Beyond receiving a B.S. in Architecture, I also minored in business and pursued Alzheimer's research related to architectural space, wayfinding, and memory during my time at Ohio State. Through internships and co-ops in Columbus, Ohio I have been taken under a few wings to gain practical experience outside the classroom.

Why did you choose Penn?
The opportunities provided by fellow Weitzman students, faculty, and alumni. Penn has such a deep, rich network of designers, planners, scholars, peers, and connections ready to assist in any way possible. It is not something that every school can provide and for me it made the decision easy.

What has been your favorite class so far?
Being able to balance the theoretical, research driven designs that we produce in studio with a practical course like construction is so key for the future and reality of our careers. With external sight visits and labs throughout the semester, being able to widen our understanding in the field and use our hands to build is such a unique skill to gain in school.

What are you learning right now that will help you in the future?
This may sound counterintuitive, but the topics we discuss in History and Theory consider legitimate, applicable issues that architects face in our present world from a historical context. For me, exploiting problems and looking at them from unique perspectives feeds creative thinking and makes my gears turn. How can we build a carbon neutral planet? What would a “utopia” look like? How has industrialization changed our definition of modernity? All of this and more is covered weekly and inspiring personal design thinking for the future trajectory of my career and its work.

What do you like best about Philadelphia?
As someone who grew up in a small town, Philadelphia and the network of neighboring cities have truly opened my eyes. Being able to hop on a train and find yourself in Brooklyn, Boston, Washington D.C. and so much more within a few hours is an opportunity unlike anything I could have imagined. There is so much to see and do here, I cannot wait to take advantage of it throughout my time at Penn.

What kinds of activities and/or organizations are you involved in?
Inside Meyerson Hall I am an active member of Wharton Rebuilding Together, a student-run volunteering organization which repairs homes across Philadelphia, and AIAS. Outside of this, the Penn Club Tennis Team, cooking, baking, interior and graphic design, working out and a call home are what I like to call my 5-9 after my 9-5.

What are your career ambitions?
After graduation I plan to stay on the east coast and become an apprentice to a practicing architect. While soaking up anything and everything at work, I intend to become a licensed architect myself, flip houses, and eventually open my own firm aimed at adaptive reuse, and sustainable, ecological design.