REBECCA GIROD
ABOUT ME
I was born and raised in the southern Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago. For as long as I can remember, art has been a passion of mine, and drawing my favorite pastime. As I grew older, I continued developing my talent through enrollment in Fine Arts classes outside of school. Within school however, I began discovering my love for Math and Science, excelling in these areas. desired a career that allowed me freedom to express my creative and artistic side but also heavily engage my love for mathematical and technical problem solving. An opportunity to intern at a local Architecture firm arose after I graduated high school, and I dove in. Through that invaluable experience architecture was solidified as the career path for me, and has been integral to my success in architecture school. I am deeply inspired by the natural environment and my strong connection to my Caribbean roots and culture. This drives my work and fuels me to be constantly learning, and honing my skills so that can add value to the lives of those around me.
WORK EXPERIENCE SKILLS
VMDO DC |Washington, DC
Architectural Summer Intern
May 2023- August 2023
Parsons Corporation |Arlington, VA
Architectural Summer Intern
May 2022- August 2022
JAH-P Design LLC | Washington, DC
Woodworking Assistant
October 2022- present
Robert A.M. Stern Architects | New York City, NY
Architectural Summer Intern
July 2021-August 2021
NASA | Washington, D.C.
Student Researcher
September 2021- present
&Access | Washington, D.C.
Data mining internship
January 2021-March 2021
ATL Architects Ltd. | Trinidad and Tobago
Architectural Design Intern
August 2017-July 2018
EXTRACURRICULAR
Member of the Trinidad and Tobago Art Society Treasurer of the Caribbean Students Association 2021-22 Graphic Designer for the Howard NOMAS Chapter
EDUCATION
2023- 2024 Howard University- Master of Architecture
2019- 2023 Howard University- B.Sc. Architecture and Design Studies
2018- 2019 University of the West Indies, St. AugustinePhysics N-1Pre-Science Program
AWARDS
People’s Choice Award Recipient for the 2022 Interschool Student Design Competition
NOMA Prescott Reavis 2022 Grant Recipient
McMillan Student Housing Project
Through critical analysis and innovative design, this thesis seeks to revitalize Port of Spain, Trinidad's cultural landscape by prioritizing the visual, performing, and culinary arts, while creating accessible art and community spaces to empower aspiring artists and enthusiasts and foster a renewed appreciation for creativity and cultural expression among the populace.
M. Arch Thesis 5th Year Studio
Collage of African Contributions to the Culture
Collage of Indigenous People’s Contributions to the Culture
Collage of East Indian Contributions to the Culture
The Queen’s Park Savannah
The port of Port of Spain
The “Veranda” is an elevated walkway that unifies the program areas of the cultural site. Inspired by Caribbean architecture, it acts as an interstitial space, welcoming guests and facilitating informal gatherings. This outdoor public space serves as a crucial link between the site’s key areas. Its slight elevation provides excellent views of the entire site and surrounding neighborhood. The Veranda is not just a physical connection but a symbolic one, embodying the warmth and community spirit of Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural heritage while enhancing the site’s visual and experiential connectivity.
Section of Veranda through ‘Hill’
Aerial View of Veranda from Visual Arts Building
View of Veranda and Mixed-Use Residential Building
The Welcome Centre serves as the primary entry point for newcomers to the cultural site, strategically positioned to encourage exploration before formal engagement. It includes a reception/information desk, lounge, café, bookstore/gift shop, and public restrooms. The semi-circular main entrance to the south of the building greets visitors with brise-soleil blocks, a nod to Caribbean vernacular architecture commonly found in residential buildings throughout the region. This design decision aims to evoke a sense of home and familiarity. The reinforced concrete columns and beams not only support the structure but also create a grand atmosphere with framed views throughout the center. Despite its welcoming and relaxed ambiance, the 2,762 square feet of interior space can host approximately 250 people for smaller events, making it a versatile and multi-functional area.
The parti acts as an organizational strategy by framing views and pointing to the other program buildings on the site from the Southern point of entry.
Parti Diagram
West Elevation
NS Cross Section
EW Longitudinal Section
South Elevation
Welcome Centre Main Entrance Perspective
Welcome Centre Interior Perspective
Visual Arts Exterior From Veranda
Visual Arts Studio Interior View
Performing Arts Building Exterior View
Performing Arts Music Studio Interior View
This project focused on student housing for Howard University students on the decommissioned McMillan Sand Filtration site. I designed a 5 story dormitory building consisting of 188 single rooms, focusing on a comfortable and flexible living experience.
McMillan Student Housing Project: Howard University
Spring Semester 3rd Year Studio
Borrowing from the neighboring building typologies I want to have pushing and pulling elements on my building facade similar to the protruding sections of surrounding row houses.
The site is located on the abandoned McMillan Sand Filtration facility currently under redevelopment.
Overlapping Existing Site Conditions
South Elevation
EW Section
View of Interior Green Space
Third Floor Green Space
Aerial View
The Shaw Community Museum will revitalize the corner of Florida and Georgia Ave. NW by being a space for black and brown visual artists in DC, telling their story through time. My concept derives from passage of time and how the past, and present, build upon each other to create the future. The exhibits begin in the past on the ground floor, present on the first floor and future on the second floor. The past is a permanent exhibition space, while the present and future are temporary. The present will also host artists-in-residents studios.
Fall Semester 3rd Year Studio
Existing Site Conditions
The site located on the corner of Florida and Georgia Avenue, Washington, DC formerly hosted a CVS Pharmacy that has since been closed, and remains abandoned, creating an opportunity for community development.
The parti used the layering of time as an organizational strategy, with the past acting as foundation to the present and present transforming to the future. The parti in ‘plan’ demonstrates the manner in which those time frames overlap in the present.
South Elevation
East Elevation
The Memory Pavilion began as a translation of a special memory; I was fishing ‘down the islands’ in my country, Trinidad, with family and watching the morning sun bathe the water and mountains.
Fall Semester 3rd Year Studio
I used that memory of calm, joy, and safety to inform the action words of nesting and weaving that would be translated into physical parti models. Iterations of these models developed into the final pavilion that nests in bundles connected by ‘ribbons’ using an acrylic facade that mimics translucent paper. Sited at the Georgetown Waterfront Park, the pavilion takes advantage of the eastern and western sun to create that warm light effect evocative of my memory.
Final Model
My woodworking projects began as part of a Design Thinking and Making class I took in my first year of school, continuing with my part time work with a professor’s woodworking business assisting on various scales of project types from cutting boards to the AIA 2024 Expo booth for Howard University.
AIA 2024 CONFERENCE
I was a member of the fabrication team for the Howard University’s Housing in Crisis booth that exhibited in the AIA ‘24 Expo. I was personally responsible for the design and construction of the rotating, interactive, panels, while also helping fabricate the lattice wall pictured below.
Mortising of the lattice wall
Aerial view of the constructed booth
Interactive panels that I fabricated
Close up view of rotating panels to the lattice wall.
Interior view of booth
I created a cutting board as part of my Design Thinking and Making class from February to March 2020. These images show the stages within my design and fabrication process.
Overall the project was aimed at giving a greater appreciation for craftsmanship and understanding of the material and tools used.
Pieces being glued and joined.
The finished board after being sanded and oiled.
Redheart wood I cut using a table saw that would make up the center of my design
Assembled pieces of cut wood as per design prior to the gluing and joining stage.
Initial sketches of design
My creative works spanning a decade show my experimentation with various media such as graphite, acrylic, oil, and watercolor painting , as well as marker capturing various subject matters from architectural sketching to portraiture.
2015- 2024
Graphite on 8.5inx 11in sketch of Barry Flanagan’s ‘Thinker on a Rock’ sculpture from field trip to the National Sculpture Garden. 2019.
Graphite on 16inx 24in self portrait. First year studio assignment. 2019.
Details of Classical Greek Moldings and Greek Corinthian Order Column
Plan of an apple sketch. Graphite on 8.5”x11”
Plan of Queen’s House by Inigo Jones. Archival Ink pen and marker on 8.5”x11”
Plan of the Medici Palace. Archival Ink pen and marker on 8.5”x11”
Elevation of the House of Raphael. Archival Ink pen and marker on 8.5”x11”
Oil painting on 16”x20” canvas board. Done entirely with use of a palette knife. 2015
Acrylic on 16”x20” Canvas. The hands of my mother embracing me as a child. 2023
Acrylic on 16”x20” Canvas sheet. Reference photo was black and white I imposed my own colors in painting. 2015
Prismacolor marker sketch of Laventille, Trinidad. 2024
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