Blogs

Kirsten is a senior in Preservation within the Architectural Studies program. Through Pitt she has had the wonderful opportunity to explore her passions through both a field school, in Bulgaria, and a study abroad in Istanbul. Her interest in research, specifically in Istanbul, experience in cities, and memory, has led her to take a non-traditional approach to the preservation track. As such, Kirsten is working on an honor’s thesis as well as taking the culminating preservation studio.

Grae Prickett is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in Architectural Studies. Grae’s passion for art and architecture comes from being raised by two parents, Douglas Prickett and Eunie Baird, who received Master Degrees in Graphic Design and Industrial Design and continued to pursue careers in the art world.

Chris Hunter is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in Architectural Studies. She spent the past summer interning at Front Studio in Pittsburgh and served as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for HAA 1913 Foundation Studio 1 during the Fall 2014 semester. Post graduation, Chris plans on taking a gap year before returning to school to pursue a master’s degree in architecture or a related field. In her spare time, Chris holds a manager position at American Apparel.

Marie Manske is a junior at Pitt. She was born in Lexington, KY, but was raised across the Eastern U.S. finally residing in Pennsylvania. She ismajoring in the History of Art and Architecture, as well as minoring in German and Museum Studies. Marie has chosen the German Nationality Room as her topic for this semester’s HAA 1010 course. Her research will illuminate how symbols were carefully chosen in order to define the concept of German identity during the 1920s and 1930s.

Sarah Gahr is a senior History of Art and Architecture/Business major also pursuing a certificate in Western European Studies focusing on French language and Modern British humanities. Sarah has worked at the University Art Gallery for the past two and a half years, and last year, she interned in both England and France. Outside of HAA, she enjoys musical theatre and is President of the Pitt Musical Theatre Club.

​Christopher Wimbrow is a junior majoring in Architectural Studies with minors in Studio Arts and Preservation.  Although Christopher is on the design track, he has had an increased interest in historic preservation since studying abroad in Central Europe and witnessing the adaptive reuse of the historic gas towers in Vienna.

Dylan Stein is a senior pursuing an Architectural Studies major and a Studio Arts minor. After coming to Pitt with the intention of seeking a degree in Computer Science, he quickly realized that a more creative and artistic education was necessary. Internationally, he studied furniture design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Simone D'Rosa is a junior Architectural Studies major with minors in Historic Preservation and Studio Arts.  Her passion for architecture was ​cultivated from a love of historic structures.  Simone has worked as a teaching assistant for HAA 1912: Architecture & Computer Applications as well as HAA 0940: Approaches to the Built Environment.  This past summer she studied architecture in Central Europe, visiting Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.