My name is Victor Bahna. I am a recent graduate from the University of Oregon College of Design, with my degree in Architecture. My journey of learning, however, began far before this, and will continue as I keep growing. 

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My first serious exposure to architecture came after I became intensely interested in historical French, and later American, architecture from the late 19th century as a middle-schooler. I began to research and learn about such architecture in my free time, understanding some terminology and focusing deeply into particularly American Victorian single-family residential architecture. This led me to learn about the various architectural styles that fall under Victorian, and later other architectural styles of single-family homes from the 19th and early 20th century. An exciting trip for me was not to an amusement park or to a toy/game store, but rather to historical houses and antique shops. 

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By the time I was graduating high school, I was excitedly drawing historical houses, real and imagined, in both perspective and elevation; this led me to study architecture at college. From there, I learned more about what makes good design, and work in studios encouraged me to extend beyond my comfort zone and find my design style. Given all the ideas and history I have had with older buildings, many of my studio designs were historically informed. Unfortunately, by the end of 2021, when the world was finally coming out of the worst of the COVID pandemic and the brunt of the lockdowns, I was getting more fatigued. 

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​In 2022, I was given the life-changing opportunity to study Italian language and culture abroad in Siena, Italy.

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moment by a canal was the final burst of energy needed to fuel the rest of my schooling. That little moment itself became the inspiration for my final thesis. I loved Italy so much that, when given the opportunity to go again in 2023, I immediately jumped on the opportunity. Given that this time, the study abroad was all about architecture, I gained even more appreciation for the architecture of Italy. Despite that studio being an intense workload, I believe that my love of Italy and fascination with the architecture led to one of my strongest projects. Eventually, I would like to return to Italy once again, not to study but to live and work full-time on their many historical treasures.​​​​​​​

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I spent the summer of 2023, after returning from Italy, in the coastal town of Astoria, Oregon, where I got to gain some experience working on a handful of Victorian houses. This experience was especially valuable as it realized my first-ever project that was really built. It has been incredibly exciting to see a project that I put on paper become something that really exists.​​​​​​