Chicago Architecture Center features program for teens

Gabrielle Speller, 16, likes to look at skyscrapers.

She appreciates the diversity and beauty of structures in Chicagoland designed by architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The Kenwood Academy High School junior likes it so much that she’s seriously considering attending New York University to study urban planning.

“I like how you can see what you’ve created, and you can see it built,” the South Shore resident said about what speaks to her with architecture.

That’s why she decided to take part in the Teen Fellows program — a collaboration between the Chicago Architecture Center, City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools where high school students have the opportunity to do a deep dive in the architecture and design fields and see career possibilities firsthand.

“It is for students who have a vested interest in architecture, but also we’re seeing a lot of students who are interested in those STEM fields,” said Angela Esposito, senior director of learning and community engagement at the Chicago Architecture Center.

“When you join the fellows, our job is not to make sure that you become an architect, but maybe you understand and appreciate architecture a little bit more,” Esposito said. “You have efficacy in the built environment and agency in shaping the way our city visually and physically looks.”

The Teen Fellows program has seen hundreds of youths participate since its inception 10 years ago, Esposito said. The three-semester-long program allows students to learn basic skills surrounding architecture with free Saturday classes at Harold Washington College. The Chicago Architecture Center uses the mornings to talk about architecture concepts, design and history. After lunch, the classes shift to tactile skills like hand-drafting and renderings. As the program progresses, youth get into computer labs on campus to learn model-based building software like AutoCAD, Rhinoceros 3D, Revit and Illustrator — tools students will use to translate their work digitally and start building models.

Already in the middle of the second semester of the program, Speller said she and other members of her cohort are using their newfound knowledge to create a community center for a South Side urban farm.

“We’re learning about the basics of sketching in architecture to apply that for programming and floor planning and sketching our designs that we made over the summer for our community center,” Speller said.

Students will get to present their projects in a showcase at the end of the program in the spring. Speller, who is taking a sculpture class at Kenwood Academy, attended the presentation last year to see the physical models and portfolios of students. She said her friends and family think her interest in architecture is cool.

“I think it does fit me well, because I’m math-oriented and also very creative,” she said.

But Eleanor Gorski, chief executive and president at the Chicago Architecture Center, doesn’t want potential participants to think you have to be good in math to take part in the program. Gorski wanted to go into architecture but hated math. She says not to let that stop you: Math does not make or break entry into a program like this.

There is an application and an interview process, but once in, students earn college credit, engage with firms and industry professionals and earn a stipend through CAC’s partnership with After School Matters. There’s also an opportunity to participate in paid summer internships at an architecture or design firm. Gorski, whose son participated in the program, said she wants to expand the program.

“I have spoken to our team about creating something that is kind of a ‘taste of’ the program to get kids interested that may not be able to commit every Saturday,” she said. “I want to be able to provide different levels for different types of kids. … I think it’s important to reach more youth and offer different types of programs.”

Esposito agrees. She said over the last decade, fewer Chicago Public high schools have offered drafting and architecture-based skilled programs to students, and the Chicago Architecture Center has stepped in as an informal educator to fill that gap for students who are really interested.

“Ideally we would want every student to know about this program,” Esposito said.

She added that with the CAC’s working relationships with companies and organizations, there are ongoing talks within the industry about the programming and the design community coming together to serve students.

“All of the programs that we offer is what we would consider a pipeline,” Esposito said. “We are staying in very close contact with our graduating alumni, to not just see where did you go off to architecture school, but how did you use this information in your time with the fellows to shape the city you need, want and deserve. That’s really the basis of architecture in this program.”

Gorski envisions growth for more Chicago Architecture Center programming at the intersection of skilled trades and real estate development.

“These are all fields that we want to expose kids in Chicago neighborhoods to so they’re aware that those are other avenues,” she said. She said City Colleges of Chicago is responsive to CAC being a gateway and will provide opportunities for kids to take future classes for free.

The same goes for providing wraparound services for students. CAC’s connections with businesses can provide pathways to internships for students who need more flexibility with time and money. Employers who understand that and who may be able to help make them successful are key.

“That’s another stage of growing this program, providing those supports through the industry and through board and industry connections we have,” Gorski said. “These new additions to the program, we want to have in place by next fall at least at the City Colleges of Chicago and the wraparound services, that would probably be in place by 2026.”

As for Speller, she’s looking forward to making her portfolio for college next year and taking advantage of an internship over the summer with one of the firms involved with the program. She’s so engaged with architecture that she’s started an architecture club at Kenwood to get kids more interested.

At the moment there are 10 students in the club. Members are engaged with redesigning Kenwood to learn more about architecture. She’s also talking about Teen Fellows, trying to recruit others and spark their interest in their built environment.

“Basically, we’re getting paid to learn,” Speller said. “But I would still do the program even if we didn’t get paid.”

Interested in the next cohort? The application can be found at architecture.org.

drockett@chicagotribune.com