As a child, Hannah Scoggins would walk down streets with her father, compare houses, and explain which were better architecturally and why. Today she identifies her curiosity for architecture as a legitimate interest and passion.

“From a young age, I’ve had a critical thinking perspective toward architecture and a way of analyzing it that most people don’t,” Scoggins said. “I’m really interested in it because it’s something that I have always had a focus on whether I’m thinking about it or just appreciating it.”

In middle school, Scoggins moved to Frankfurt, Germany, and attended an international school. She said the school helped her to expand her interest in architecture with hands-on learning, and art classes that emphasized self-discovery and creativity.

“They had this class called ‘Design and Technology,’ which solidified my interest in design,” Scoggins said.
Scoggins said that she had an enjoyable experience in that class.

“I did really well with it,” Scoggins said. “It was probably my favorite class. And then in 9th grade, the class turned into engineering, because it goes in levels.”

Scoggins said that for a while, she thought she wanted to be an architectural engineer because she really enjoyed the drawings and the math.

“Then I realized I really enjoyed the creativity and design” Scoggins said. “It’s an art form, like dance and music; it’s a form of expression. It’s a way of communicating my ideas.”
In the summer of her junior year, Scoggins said she took a class at UC Berkeley called embARC, a four week summer Architecture intensive.

“I have never stayed up ‘til 4 a.m. and gotten up at 7 a.m. for a few weeks in a row just because I was drawing so much,” Scoggins said. “It was another really great learning environment for drawing. It was a lot more intense than the design and tech class from middle school.”

Senior and friend Sofia Barker said she has known about Scoggin’s interest in design ever since the beginning of their friendship.

“The fact that she got accepted [to embARC] is really incredible, and you can tell that she’s really passionate about it,” Barker said.

Scoggins said that she took a college class called Studio Art Fundamentals through UC Berkeley Extension during first semester of senior year, in order to spend more time drawing and to get firsthand experience with formal critiques of my work.

“As someone who is trying to pursue architecture as a major in college, drawing is a critical skill that’s needed,” Scoggins said. “Being in a professional academic environment, having my work critiqued by professors, is really helpful to me. It’s improved my work and helped me to create a strong portfolio.”

Scoggins is also president of the Architecture and Design Club. The club is working on designing a trellis that may be implemented in Piedmont if approved by the Piedmont City Council.

“We are working on designing a trellis for the entrance towards community hall,” Scoggins said. “Because it’s a ceremonial space, we are trying to achieve a grand entrance. I’ve been working with Nancy Ken who’s the Park Center and Projects Director in Piedmont, and she’s helped me come up with this task. We’ve had a few club meetings, and it’s really fun.”

The club consists of around 10 to 15 active members who show up and are actually interested in the subject, Scoggins said.

“I think it would be a really cool experience to have some kind of work that my club did to get implemented into Piedmont,” Scoggins said.

Senior Hallie Potterton said she joined the club because she enjoys architecture.

“I thought it would be fun to learn about,” Potterton said. “[And] a lot of my friends are in the group.”

Also in the club are some of Scoggin’s friends, who she said joke about her obsession with architecture.

“I always send my friend Sofia home remodel links that I am always seeing, and she’s like ‘classic Hannah.’ I read books in my free time about design,” Scoggins said. “My favorite website is Arch Digest. They post all of these pictures of designs in homes or of homes, and who the architect is and the style.”

Compared to her childhood years, Scoggins now has a clear since of the form her passion for architecture will be taking in the future. She has also invested time in reading books about interesting ways to think about a city, and the place that one lives in.

“I’m more interested in the design aspect, so that’s directly correlating with just architecture, rather than the architectural engineering or landscape architecture majors,” Scoggins said.