Today’s interns are tomorrow’s industry leaders. Help them along the path to licensure by rewarding their hard work with gadgets designed to distract them from their ever-pressing deadlines.
1. Travel Checkers, Fredericks & Mae
Picked by: Brooks Atwood, founder and principal of Brooks Atwood Design
Encourage reports to get away from their monitors and spend more time contemplating. “This is a classic, like you!” Atwood says. “Over time, all things will become clear. Just like chess!” (Or, err, checkers.) The portable game includes a silk-screened playing surface and 30 playing pieces. $160; fredericksandmae.com
2. A Cartoon History of Architecture, Osbert Lancaster
Picked by: Adam Zimmerman, AIA, Zimmerman Workshop
Zimmerman will be giving his reports—spoiler alert!—a copy of British cartoonist Osbert Lancaster’s A Cartoon History of Architecture. Playfully exploring the pretensions, aspirations, and details of architectural periods and styles, this witty classic is a must-read. Pair it with an Amazon gift card slipped inside “for something more recent,” he says. Various prices; amazon.com
3. Architect Plan Carrier, White Sycamore
Picked by: Colin Brice, cofounder of Mapos
“Even in this digital world, we still need to get drawings to a job site or meeting,” Brice says. This U.S.–made, oil-tanned leather carrier is “a huge step up from using a bunch of rubber bands” and “specifically created for architectural drawings.” $180; whitesycamore.com