BSU/Penn Student uses IAF Scholarship to explore architectural theory

Megan York was a recipient of the IAF scholarship in 2017, 2018 , and 2019. She continues to shine in her architectural education pursuits and her burgeoning professional career.

Megan York is currently an architecture graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her studies and work primarily focus on the integration between design aesthetics and its relevance to architectural history, philosophy, and advanced technologies today.

Undergraduate Studies:

Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, York attended Ball State University’s College of Architecture & Planning from 2014-2018 for her undergraduate education. While in college, York explored innovative architectural design studies and was also interested in historic preservation.

While attending Ball State, York was exposed to an array of influential professors who later helped her narrow her path to her current position at the University of Pennsylvania, including professors like Sean Burns, Josh Coggeshall, and James Kerestes – among many others.

In 2018, York graduated from Ball State University summa cum laude in 2018 with the highest GPA of her graduating class at the College of Architecture & Planning.

Summer Internships in Indiana:

While attending undergraduate school, York was also exposed to many diverse architecture firms for internships over her summers, including Cripe Architects + Engineers, Rowland Design, and DkGr Architects. She has practiced on a vast array of projects, delving into all disciplines of architecture – varying from construction work, interior design, small-scale installations, housing developments, large-scale hospital renovations, and everything in between.

Graduate Education:

York’s architectural education continued when attending University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design; the school’s advanced resources, world-renowned faculty, and contemporary design pedagogy attracted her regarding graduate programs.

She took architecture studios that primarily focused on artificial and natural environments, advanced design technologies, and aesthetic theory, having professors like Maya Alam, Hina Jamelle, and Kutan Ayata. York is also currently a graduate assistant for master’s students at UPenn, working for studio professors Maya Alam, Nate Hume, Kutan Ayata, and Brian DeLuna.

Summer Internships in New York City & Los Angeles:

After her first year at UPenn, York interned for Mark Foster Gage Architects in New York City during the summer of 2019, a firm dedicated to aesthetic theory, emerging technologies, and object-oriented ontology. Her work included research into aesthetic theory among architectural projects such as an installation for Virtual Reality World, a private residence, as well as an international design competition. This upcoming summer, she will be working for Tom Wiscombe Architecture in Los Angeles, a design studio that also explores aesthetic theory, powerful massing, and tectonic ingenuity.

Awards, Competitions, Publications, & Exhibitions:

In addition to life as a student, York has been dedicated to furthering herself personally as a designer, registering for several competitions, publications, and exhibitions on top of her coursework at UPenn. Most recently, this year alone she received the first place prize for the Dales Travel Fellowship at UPenn (anonymous portfolio-based competition among the class of 2021), second place for HOK Design Futures Competition (in collaboration with Ball State University alumnus Eric Anderson), and was a finalist in the Kenneth Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition through AIA Dallas (for student work submission under the Digital/Mixed Media category).