Emerald Smith // Herzog & De Meuron

Tell us about your PRP firm. Where are you working?
I’m working at Herzog & de Meuron, a large international firm based in Basel, Switzerland. I sit in the firm’s largest office, called Campus, on the banks of the Rhine.

What is currently on your desk? What are you working on?
On my desk there are a lot of pieces of trace paper clipped to printed site plans of my current project. I’m working on a masterplan for one of the firm’s U.S. projects. The site we’re working on is very steep, so the planning includes a lot of earthwork. I’ve only worked on U.S. projects during my internship, so I’ve stayed in the imperial measurement system and have avoided the switch to metric!

There is also a cup of coffee, some pieces of foam from a site model, my notebook, and a cup full of colored pencils (for drawing on the trace paper). I went swimming in the Rhine during lunch, so my swimsuit and towel are drying on the back of my chair.

Describe the firm culture? The office atmosphere?
There are about 150 people who sit at the Campus office, so the office feels very lively. At the heart of Campus is the cafeteria, and there are two scheduled breaks during the workday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when everyone convenes there for a snack and some tea. These breaks are a great way to get away from your screen and meet some people working on other projects in the office.

What is the first thing you'll tell your classmates upon your return to UT?
I’m definitely going to tell them about floating down the Rhine with my Wickelfish! I’ll also tell them about the amazing design culture at Herzog & de Meuron, and how a professional design process can feel just as creative and considered as the process of designing a studio project.

As you’re finishing up the week, what are your plans for this weekend?
I’m meeting my sister up in the Swiss Alps this weekend to go hiking! We’re staying in a small town called Leysin, and she is trying to convince me to climb a Via Ferrata.