Field Work Term Spotlight: Midad Alkhafaji
Midad Alkhafaji '28 studies Architecture, Design, and Sustainability at Bennington. For her summer 2026 Field Work Term, Alkhafaji is an architectural intern at Goldstone Architecture in Bennington, VT.
How does your Field Work Term relate to your studies at Bennington?
For me, sustainable architecture isn't just about building new "green" structures from scratch; it's about adaptive reuse and understanding vernacular architecture. My studies focus heavily on traditional regional design, and during this Field Work Term, I’ve been learning a lot about historic New England building materials and how they naturally adapt to the local climate.
Working at this architecture firm has been the perfect real-world extension of that philosophy, showing me how we can honor local building traditions while giving old structures a sustainable new life.
What does a typical day at your Field Work Term site look like?
It depends on the day-to-day; some days I produce hand-drawn sketches and learn how to use Autodesk Revit, which is the modeling program most architects use to produce models. I also help out with house measures and join client meetings and different logistics meetings. I have been learning a lot from organizing and sorting through the material library, which has been a fantastic, tactile way to learn firsthand about different New England building materials and their applications.
What has surprised you most about your Field Work Term position?
The most rewarding challenge has been learning how to navigate a professional, creative team dynamic, which requires being constantly open to feedback and asking questions. I often find myself surprised by the answers I receive because they challenge my initial assumptions.
Coming from an architectural background in Iraq, the design principles and building traditions are vastly different from those here. This position has challenged me to completely immerse myself in the vernacular architecture of New England, allowing me to bridge my past knowledge with an entirely new regional language of design.
What do you hope to do for your next Field Work Term?
Looking ahead, I hope to do the Museum Fellowship in New York City, which would allow me to explore design and curation within a larger, fast-paced urban context.
That said, this experience has been so rewarding that I would also jump at the chance to collaborate with Goldstone Architecture again in the future. Moving forward, I want to keep building on this momentum combining my passion for vernacular design and sustainable architecture across different scales and environments.