Christopher Owen Sauvageot

Hometown: Saint Petersburg, Florida
Education Background: B. Arch from Florida Atlantic University

How did you get interested in your field?
I always had a vision that I would help the change the way we live on this planet but had no solid vision for how I wanted to do so. When the Covid-19 lockdowns began I actually got really re-invested in Minecraft with my childhood friends. At that time I was a Biology major and hated it, one of my friends suggested I look into switching majors to architecture and I never looked back.

What was your background prior to coming to Penn?
I was an International Baccalaureate student in High School who was actually a below average student in comparison to the students in my program. I did relatively well when compared to the average high school student but nothing exceptional. I ended up at Florida Atlantic University due to some external medical factors that impacted my enrollment at other more prestigious universities in my state; however, this helped me tremendously in the long run. The school of architecture relied very heavily on student involvement and this environment encouraged me to find ways to engage with extracurricular activities throughout my undergraduate studies. I was on our AIAS board and even served as president during my final year at FAU, as was also a 1^st year design studio TA.

Why did you choose Penn?
I chose Penn mostly because of the many Faculty who have research that I respect tremendously, and the student work that these faculty have produced in their Studios.

What has been your favorite class so far?
So far my favorite class has been Barry Wark’s Vibrant Artifacts.

What are you learning right now that will help you in the future?
We are currently learning Architectural Theory from the 1990s- the present (2025 at the time of writing) and I think this is essential to being a forward-thinking architect. Many other schools are stuck in Bahaus ways of design thinking with strong ties to modernism. The things we are learning in theory go hand in hand with our design studio work and the current standings of the architectural discipline.

What do you like best about Philadelphia?
For me the history is the best part of Philadelphia and another large reason I chose to move here instead of other states.

What kinds of activities and/or organizations are you involved in?
I enjoy working out at the Campus Rec when I have time and attending Weitzman Happy Hours with my peers from MSD-AAD.

What are your career ambitions?
When I first started studying architecture I wanted to be “the Best”, but as I’ve gotten older I have realized that will ultimately set me down a never-ending path of unfulfillment. I think now my carer ambitions are just as intense but much more focused. I wish to work for a great architecture firm upon graduating from the MSD-AAD for maybe 3-5 years and start working towards a teaching career at this time. In the long run I’d like to move back to the West Coast of Florida and establish my own practice that has a direct response to the rising sea levels in my state and hope that my work can be studied by future generations of architects as an example of how to design with ecological sensibilities and in harmony with the environment we find ourselves living in,