A Peek Inside: The Architecture Studio
From a Polymer Penguin to Soccer Superfandom, Students Put Personal Pizazz in Shared Workspace
Architecture major Evelyne Sokhon '26 at one of the many wheeled desks in the Studio, a unique workspace open 24/7 to students as they pursue careers in design and construction.
Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle
Power cords curl like jungle vines from the ceilings, snaking between black metal dividers and miniature construction projects. Throughout the industrial space, with its concrete floors and cinderblock walls, lay stacks of drafting paper, laser-cut walls for model buildings and 3D-printed tiny cars, all created using machines in-house.
Welcome to the Studio, spread throughout the ground floor of the University of Maryland’s Architecture Building, where students hunker down to develop the skills needed to enter the field.
Inspirational messages on one of several movable whiteboards in the Studio.
Starting as sophomores, undergrads are assigned a desk. First, they share with a classmate, then they get one of their own for their junior and senior years (as do all graduate students). The wheeled workspaces can be arranged however they want; some are in rows, while others are grouped for easier collaboration.
“It’s such a small program, so you see the same people all four years, and we get to be very interactive,” said Evelyne Sokhon ’26. “It’s nice to be able to personalize our spaces and change it how we want.”
Some opt for flowing tendrils and greenery, both real and fake; others for in-jokes that could only work with this crowd (the head of a famed Swiss-French urban planner superimposed on Maryland’s famed crustacean: “Le Crabusier”); while others decorate with colorful characters and art pieces they’ve made.
Four students shared what they’ve brought from home to inspire them, the best parts of working alongside classmates all day long and the challenges of their latest projects.
String lights for late nights
The Studio is a unique place on campus that’s open 24/7 for students, so “it’s nice to have this safe space to come to,” said Sokhon, whose corner desk backs up to a makeshift coffee and snack station that fuels her and her classmates.
The strings of mini lanterns “bring the mood when I’m in here late at night,” she said, illuminating her collection of books on architecture and draft papers and models, including one made of concrete.
Her latest assignment is developing a concept to adapt an old warehouse in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard for modern use while incorporating a Navy ship artifact. It’s an echo of why she got into the field initially, she said, when she was inspired by asking her dad take on home renovation projects for friends and neighbors as a side hustle.
Creativity with clay
If Katelyn Bowman ’27 is getting overwhelmed designing her first building, all she has to do is look up at the some of the brightly colored polymer clay figurines she and desk mate Cindy Guo ’27 brought in to decorate—Pingu the penguin and a banana cat—as well as a couple of tiny easels and funny sticky notes from friends.
“I feel more motivated and encouraged,” she said. “Otherwise I’m just looking at floor plans, so these reminds me that I can also be creative outside of this space.”
The sophomore has always loved working with art, from photo and video editing to visual design. But when it came time to pick a major, she sought something more technical. Now, she’s in her first studio class, where students go from analyzing structures to actually designing and creating models of their own, like a riverwalk plaza and an adjacent building featuring a gallery, director’s office, storage and classrooms.
Katelyn Harewood '27 (left) and Cindy Guo ’27 say they enjoy sharing a desk and bringing in cute trinkets to decorate.
Soccer superfan
“Soccer is the main part of my life,” declared Ali Garmchi ’19, M. Arch. ’25, who played as a kid in Iran and still kicks around a ball to blow off steam with friends. His desk makes that clear: From the Manchester United beanie (for his favorite team) to “The Crew” scarf from Maryland men’s soccer to the poster showing “The Stadium of the Future,” he’s got the sport top of mind as he sits down to work each day.
“My professor said for my thesis, ‘You have to have a passion for your topic,’ so I’m exploring how soccer stadiums can be a shelter” in emergencies, he said. For example, the Louisiana Superdome was used during Hurricane Katrina as a last resort, but it was “a very chaotic environment.” Now, he’s examining how abandoned stadiums could be adapted and reused in a safe way, bringing in his civil engineering background.
Sustainability, Snoopy and steelpan
Soleila Harewood ’27 never understood why huge new developments would crop up just down the street from abandoned structures. “I wondered why they couldn’t just rebuild instead of taking down nature," she said. "That’s why I want to have a more sustainable outlook on architecture.”
To her left, black-and-white still life drawings hang on the wall at the end of a long row, sketched by a few of her friends, desk neighbor Chloe Aurelio ’27 and desk mate Tesnim Adamu ’27. The Snoopy collection hanging in front of her reflects Adamu’s love of the character, and the stickers are collected from Class520, a boba and ice cream shop they frequent just across the street.
“It’s very much community living,” Harewood said. “I like engaging with other people and showing them my work. I feel like I can grow here.”
Amid the papers on her desk is sheet music for the steelpan, an instrument from Trinidad and Tobago, where her family hails from. She plays in a group at UMD—it performed recently at Maryland Day—started by her childhood music teacher, UMD Steelbands Director Josanne Francis, who introduced the tradition to the university last year.
Soleila Harewood ’27, right, discusses a project with desk neighbor Chloe Aurelio '27, who drew one of the still life sketches hanging on the wall behind them.
This is part of an occasional series offering a look inside some of the most interesting faculty and staff offices around campus. Think you have a cool workspace—or know someone’s that you’d like to recommend? Email kshih@umd.edu.
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