Two young schoolgirls and a student from the twin town Leiria completed internships in Rheine and the surrounding area.
Rheine/IBBENBÜREN/STEINFURT. One of them now knows that a lifelong dream will come true when she starts studying architecture. Her colleague, on the other hand, has realized that design is “his thing” and – less so – architecture. And the third wants to do some practical training in an architectural office in her home region Leiria before deciding on the next steps in the demanding profession. The Portuguese pupils Catia Carraco, Mariana Gomes and Joel Rodrigues end in these days their ten-week Erasmus practical courses, which they made since at the beginning of January in architecture offices in Rheine and environment. This has been made possible by the town twinning association Rheine, the architectural firms Achterkamp and Möller (Steinfurt), agn (Ibbenbüren) and Terhechte & Höfker (Rheine) in cooperation with the Escola Secundaria Francisco Rodrigues Lobo (Leiria) and extremely hospitable landlords in Rheine.”We are delighted that this exchange has been such an outstanding success and that the young people from our twin town have received important impetus for their future careers,” Reiner Wellmann, chairman of the town twinning association, was also pleased to say.
“I want to become an architect. This internship helped me a lot in my decision,” says Catia Carraco, who spent her time in Rheine at the Terhechte & Höfker office. She says the internship was a very valuable experience outside of her own country. She praises the atmosphere in the Rheiner architecture office: “Everyone was incredibly friendly to me and helped me a lot.” “We were positively surprised that she was able to handle our software so quickly; she already had good basic knowledge,” said Dr. Dirk Terhechte. Her project was the visualization of an attic renovation in Ibbenbüren into three-dimensional representations. “She really helped us. We were able to use her in a very project-oriented way. She had a great sense of duty and always met us with a smile,” Terhechte praises the young Portuguese woman. Her immediate colleague, construction technician Samuel Criado, who as a Spaniard was able to communicate perfectly with the intern, also praised the young lady in conclusion: “That was top. She is mega nice and super hardworking. It worked out very well,” says Criado. Catia, who was able to admire snowflakes for the first time during her time at Rheine, wants to study in Lisbon or Coimbra.
Joel Rodrigues has dealt with the division in a historical baroque building in Münster into living space in the office Achterkamp/Möller. He also benefited from this for his final thesis in Portugal: “I got a lot of inspiration for my project. For the final exam, I will transform a house into a living space for people – from the exterior design to the interior.” “He is a very calm and balanced guy,” says architect Christoph Achterkamp. He has taken the young man from Leiria to lecture at Münster University of Applied Sciences a few times. At the Münster School of Architecture (MSA), Achterkamp currently holds a substitute professorship in building construction. “The internship was very useful from many perspectives. I learned a lot,” concludes Rodrigues, who took the bus from Rheine to Burgsteinfurt at 7 a.m. every morning. But he also decided during this internship that he will study design, namely at the Belas-Artes Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon.
“I got a lot of help here and an answer to every question,” concludes Mariana Gomes, who spent her time at agn headquarters in Ibbenbüren. Among other things, she worked independently on a lectern for a lecture hall and also helped design a kitchen for a university. “There were a lot of opportunities for feedback. I was taught a lot of conceptual thinking here,” Mariana says happily. She also received a lot of inspiration for her exam assignment in Leiria. She is developing a design concept for a house for her parents. “You’re sure to send us pictures when the house is finished,” says Oliver Langhammer from agn management in conversation. The agn team has given her many tips for her task. Among other things, she also built a model for her exam. These experiences have solidified her decision that she wants to apply to an architecture firm first, directly after school, in order to work there in a concrete and practical way. “I would like to specialize in interior design,” is Mariana’s conclusion after the internship.
The three likeable young people from Leiria are now being replaced by three other students who are gaining their experience in the field of tourism, cultural management and gastronomy in Rheine until the end of May. www. friendsineurope.com