COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN

Naomi Mareschal

Bachelor of Architecture

Naomi Mareschal became interested in design at a young age, and under unlikely circumstances. Originally from New Orleans, she became intrigued with architecture after her family’s home flooded from Hurricane Katrina.

“After Hurricane Katrina, I lived in a FEMA trailer on my front yard,” she shared. “Over those two years, I watched my house get rebuilt from the ground up. Having been amidst all the design decisions of the house I now inhabit, I have ever since then been fascinated with all things architecture and its related professions (construction, interior design, etc.)”

“Architecture draws from all of the subjects I’m most interested by: art, science, technology and environmental awareness,” she said. “You have to constantly consider so many factors to be able to successfully design and create architecture, which has been a welcomed challenge.”

Naomi said architecture is the ideal field for her, since she prefers experiential learning rather than just I studying from a textbook. “I’m much better suited to a more hands-on approach as I deal with mostly drawing, model-making, and rendering,” she explained. “In addition, I am very much a social learner so I take advantage of the collaborative atmosphere in the studio and our little architecture community.”

Studying architecture has been different than what she initially imagined. “Coming into the architecture program at LSU, I expected to have to deal with math and physics a lot more than I actually have,” she said. “While basic math concepts are in integral part of practicing architecture, the math involving numeric equations doesn’t play much of a role in design. However, being that math isn’t my strongest subject, having the School of Architecture within the College of Art & Design has turned out to be the best fit for me. I get to truly focus on designing.”

Naomi has enjoyed each of her studio classes so far. “Each has had such a different focus, getting more and more detailed with each class, and I have truly seen my skills develop. I do also enjoy the history and technical classes that come with the major, but I’m pulled to the hands-on approach found only in the studio.”

This past summer she had the chance to intern at Brown University for the architect of the university. “The experience confirmed that I am much more interested in the design aspect of architecture rather than the technical logistics of it,” she said. “That being said, I would love the opportunity to intern in many different fields (interior design, set design…) as well as architecture, and be able to do so in different places around the world.”

She has also particularly enjoyed traveling on class field trips. So far, she has traveled to Atlanta, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois. “There is something so awe-inspiring about being able to finally visit and experience the buildings and structures you have been studying in class,” she shared. “Both trips strengthened relationships within our studio community, both amongst the students and with the professors.”

In addition to the major field trips, architecture students have the opportunity to go on site visits each semester. “These day field trips are integral to the success of our designs, as experience is such an important factor to the project,” Naomi said.

She’s ready to explore the world: “With all of my travel experiences having been so enjoyable, I’m very much looking forward to my semester abroad in Paris next fall!”