Jennifer Diaz, an AIT II in our Boise office is continually learning and gaining knowledge as she assists the team. She has experience working on sections, site plan, floor plans, and designing; focusing on creating elevations, progressing to drawing redlines in the future. She also assists with various project related research and is skilled in Revit, AutoCAD, Sketchup, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lumion, Rhino and hand drafting. Jennifer was inspired to choose Architecture as her career because it gives her the ability to create what she imagines. “I love to see how one idea opens other possibilities and how one iteration to the next can be completely different. It is nice to see a project come together, fully be envisioned and then presented.”
Jennifer participated/was a finalist in the ICMU 49th Design Competition, designing with concrete masonry unit (CMU) as the main material. It was interesting to see the many ways people utilized CMU in their projects and how they were able to integrate and manipulate it. In her most recent class project the studio worked with SHE (She Her Empowered), an organization based in Togo, Africa. Jennifer was able to visit the site in Togo and meet people allowing for a better understanding of who they were designing for and what they would need/desire. They had to think realistically using items available in the area. They were not able to use wood because it was expensive, quantity was limited, and termites would eat it. Electricity was not guaranteed, so they needed to rely on natural light. Also, Togo has two monsoon seasons so a solution for off-site water storage was needed so that it did not flood. A large amount of time was spent researching and trying to find the best possible way to go about the project. The studio created conceptional designs for a dormitory, school, and a garment factory for the organization.
In her free time, Jennifer really enjoy sparring and took classes in jujitsu. To make sure she remembers some of the techniques she spars with friends regularly.
Education
BS, Architecture, University of Idaho