As part of Architecture Week, edmSTUDIO is spotlighting emerging designers and the paths that led them to the profession.
What inspired you to get into architecture? How did you know architecture was something you were passionate about?
Architecture was a passion that had always been in my life but snuck up on me as a career option. For most of high school, I was in an accelerated biomedical science program that added an additional science class to my schedule. My freshman year, I had an open elective spot open that I fulfilled with Architecture, thinking it would be a fun break from my heavier courses. I was the only girl in my class, which was a bit intimidating at first, but I looked forward to it every day; so much so that over the next three years, I took my gym classes during summer just to make room for more architecture courses.
By junior year, we were given our biggest project: design a residential home and submit it to a statewide competition. I poured everything into that project: late nights, constant revisions, obsessing over every detail. When I found out I had placed first in the state, it felt surreal. But more than that, it was a bit of a wake-up call to how much I genuinely enjoyed the process. That’s when I started to realize this passion had been there all along. I had always been able to visualize spatial relationships in my head, and looking back at childhood sketches and drawings, I realized I drew floorplans to most places I visited. I was also fascinated with the family house on the TV show Full House, spending hours drawing floor plans to try to figure out why the upstairs layout never matched the downstairs (I didn’t grasp what a TV show set was at this time).
At that point, I had been touring and applying to colleges solely for biomedical science. Once this shift happened, the decision felt obvious. I changed my major to architecture and never looked back. Seven years later, I can confidently say it was the right choice.
What has been your favorite project or project type to work on so far, and why?
After my experience in high school, I entered college like most other students, convinced I only wanted to be a residential architect. I am pleased to say that mindset has since shifted after years of exposure to different projects. One of my favorite project types I have worked on so far has been senior centers. They fulfill the excitement of designing a cultural center but also require an added layer of research and empathy to be truly successful.
I’ve now spent a fair amount of time learning how seniors experience and interact with architecture. I was fortunate to be involved in the design of the Center for Active Living in Hingham, MA from the very beginning. On one of my first days as an intern, we visited the existing center and spent the entire day with its users, listening to their experiences, understanding their preferences, and identifying what wasn’t working for them. Every design decision after had been more intentional and well thought out. Projects like this challenge you to prioritize a part of the design process that can sometimes be overlooked in other projects where the standard user is imagined to be an able-bodied average adult.
What advice would you give to students who are interested in architecture but aren’t completely sure if it’s the right path for them?
I always encourage any student who’s on the fence about architecture to give it a try. You’ll never know if it’s the right fit unless you give it a fair shot, and this is the time in your life to take those kinds of risks.
If committing to architecture as a college major feels too intimidating, there are plenty of low-pressure ways to explore it on your own. Watch videos, sketch floor plans, visit local buildings on a day trip, and pay attention to how those spaces make you feel. Sometimes that curiosity is all it takes to spark something bigger.
Architecture is both a technical discipline and an art form, which means it can adapt to your individual interests and strengths. There’s no single path you have to follow, and no perfect balance of creativity and logic required to succeed. For example, I can’t draw well, and many of my friends aren’t particularly strong in math, but we’ve all found our own way within the field. There isn’t just one way to “be an architect,” and that’s what makes it so exciting.
