Quy Thanh Le

I have been waiting for a long time to write this summary about myself and my objectives. Four years ago, when I was a freshmen at Georgia Institute of Technology, my career path was still a vague and my own definition about architecture was only about " building design". I could not even answer many questions about which building type I want to focus on when I am an architect. Until now, when I recently graduated with a BS in Architecture, and got accepted to Columbia University - GSAPP to pursue my Master of Architecture, I start to think about what I am going to be in the future, and how I , as an architect, can possibly do something meaningful not only for myself but also for other people. At the beginning of my undergraduate portfolio, I have stated that architecture is a manmade cocoon where human metamorphosis takes place. As powerful as the knowledge and technology that we has invented and applied to form a building, that building also has the power to shape our experience, emotions, and "build" us to a better person. Therefore, in my opinion, architecture should not be constrained by the norms just because it is "different". Instead, the divergence should be encouraged. Because in a flat world as we are in now, architecture as well as culture, technology, and knowledge are what drives us forwards. Just like a worm would not become a butterfly without a cocoon. Therefore, I go to GSAPP to not only grow more as a person, but also expose myself with different perspectives coming from different people around the globe. I also want to obtain the courage to be different, to test new ideas.