08/18/2026
Today we celebrate our intern Amajay “Jay” Smith! 😎 Jay has been involved in a variety of projects, from Hotel Florence community engagement to documentation of existing conditions to organizing many documents in our archives. To name a few!
Jay will begin his civil engineering studies at Vanderbilt University this fall! We sat down with him to reflect on his Farrside journey, which began through the internship program at Bennett Day School:
“Starting as a high schooler, I would come in for only a few hours of the day, working with the team to help with the marketing side of their projects while still taking time to shadow the architects. I got unique insight into the architecture world, learning Revit and how to design architecture models. I also got to learn about the firm’s previous and current projects, and how interconnected the office is with the city and its sustainability.
I was offered the opportunity to come back as a summer intern, taking on more hands-on tasks with the team. It felt different working in the summer than in the school year. I had more flexible hours and more projects to work on. I also traveled to the Pullman area of Chicago to put up flyers for a community meeting to gather resident perspectives, and to the Indiana Dunes homes with Mercedes to take measurements, mark-ups, and photos of existing conditions.
This summer, I felt like I was truly getting a sense of architecture work. While I could only take on so much without the proper experience and education, I’m grateful that the team found ways to include me and let me learn, even in small ways.
The most rewarding part of my time here in the studio was the connections I made. I got to meet some of the most innovative architects in Chicago, and listening to their projects and overall lives made me very happy… it showed me this is something that I’d want to do in the future, or something closely adjacent. Each architect here is unique, and I can tell by the different assignments and projects that they get detailed on. It’s been amazing to listen and learn from them and analyze the way that they conduct themselves.”
Congrats, Jay! ✨✨ The future is bright with you in it!
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Milestone photos compiled by Jay. Captions by Breanne:
1: Jay with Governor JB Pritzker and Farrside President Mercedes Miley at the press conference announcing the public-private partnership for Pullman’s Hotel Florence & Annex. The governor speaking at the podium. Farrside designer Mark Melvin with TERRA Engineering, Ltd.’s Dustin Erickson in the commercial kitchen of the Hotel Florence.
2: Flyer for community engagement with Hotel Florence in the background with an inset photo of the clock tower at Pullman National Historical Park.
3: Wooden ironing board covered with signatures and a piece of blue painters tape that reads “house”.
4: Empty interior residential space with wood paneling and floors, and fireplace.
5: Sunset office sailboat outing with Doug, Beckett, Len, Mark, Jay, and Breanne. Not pictured: Moid, Mercedes, Aaron, and Justin.
