Conversations
Principal and Director of Integration at HKS, Julie Hiromoto FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP combines sustainability, design excellence, and business acumen to enhance the performance and impact of our projects. Julie’s experience has spanned the disciplines of architecture, interiors, urban design and research in practice. She served as the 2020 Chair for the AIA COTE Advisory Group; she chaired the AIA Large Firm Roundtable Sustainability Group and volunteers as a Living Future Ambassador Presenter. Julie taught sustainability courses at NYU and received AIA’s 2019 Young Architect Award.
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As Principal, Director of Building Science at Payette, Andrea Love pushes the boundaries of sustainability in practice and in policy. With a Master of Science in Architecture Studies in Building Technology from MIT and Bachelor of Architecture from Carnegie Mellon, Andrea brings rigor and focus to the performance of projects. She serves on the Board of Directors for the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter as well as the national USGBC Chapter Steering Committee and Education Steering Committee, and is a member of the COTE Advisory Group to the Board. Over a delightful lunch zoom, Andrea shared her unique path and purpose in design.
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Sarah M. Whiting is Dean and Josep Lluis Sert Professor of Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) and Co-Founder of WW Architecture. Sarah has worked at OMA in Rotterdam, Peter Eisenman in New York, and Michael Graves in Princeton. Prior to joining GSD, Sarah was Dean of Architecture at Rice University; she has also taught at Princeton University, the University of Kentucky, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the University of Florida. Her work has been widely published. An advocate for culture change in academia and practice, Sarah shared some insights with us.
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Kelly Haigh is a Partner at designLAB architects, an advocate, and an educator. She is an active collaborator with Boston Society of Architects and served as past Chair of BSA Women in Design. She has helped launch a number of programs that support mid-career women, including a program that pairs participants with senior-level mentors for nine-month mentorships. Kelly is a 2018 AIA Young Architect Award recipient. We love our occasional chats with Kelly, whether over coffee or recently on zoom. They always bring a new perspective and thoughts to reflect on for the future. Take a look below.
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Co-Founder of CO-G and Design Critic in Architecture at Harvard GSD, Elle Gerdeman is a talented architect, thinker, and educator with a long list of accolades including the 2018 Rotch Fellowship. Prior to CO–G, she was an Associate at Höweler+Yoon where she led architecture and public art projects in Dubai, Shanghai, and the US. This included FloatLab, a submersible ring designed to experience a contaminated river, which won a Progressive Architecture Award, and the 2020 Empathy Pavilion in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab. Elle worked in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Rotterdam. She has taught studios at MIT exploring design through alternate forms of representation and authorship. Over a morning zoom, we chatted about thoughts on architecture and academia.
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Janet Echelman is an internationally renown artist, who sculpts at the scale of buildings and city blocks. Her experimental work bridges across various disciplines such as Sculpture, Architecture, Urban Design, Material Science, Structural & Aeronautical Engineer, and Computer Science. Her TED talk “Taking Imagination Seriously” has inspired many. Echelman received the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Visual Arts along with multiple Fellowships such as the Guggenheim Fellowship, Harvard Loeb Fellowship, and Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship. She has taught at MIT, Harvard University, and Princeton University. Her project in Boston is one of our personal favorites! We were thrilled to speak with Janet and learn about her path, process, collaborations, and lessons learned. Take a look below.
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Over an inspirational virtual call, we talked to Anda and Jenny French, Principals of French 2D on their hybrid models of practice and academia. Their work ranges from housing and mixed-use projects to civic installations and exhibitions. French 2D recently received the 2020 P/A Award from Architect Magazine and was named a 2019 Architectural Record Magazine Design Vanguard winner. Anda currently serves as the Director-at-Large on the board for the Boston Society of Architects where she organized the Now Practice Now Series and works on the BSA’s EDI efforts. Jenny is an Assistant Professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and is also the Coordinating Faculty in Architecture for the GSD Discovery Program. As active members in the field and academia, Jenny and Anda have pushed the boundaries on the traditional models of practice and education. Read about how they are changing the narrative here.
Read MoreGina Ford, FASLA is a landscape architect and Co-Founder of Agency Landscape + Planning. She is a thought leader, educator, writer and activist for women in the profession. With two decades of practice under her belt, Gina highlights the value of landscape architecture and public spaces. Her work has been awarded by American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Planning Association and AIA, among others. She is also the recipient of BSA’s 2019 Women in Design Award. We met Gina for morning tea to chat about her multitude of experiences as well as what keeps her up at night these days. Take a look at what Gina shared with us below.
Read MorePJ Glasco is a woman of many talents. As CannonDesign’s Houston Health Market Leader, PJ helps leading healthcare institutions create landmark facilities and critical strategies for the future. She is the co-leader of the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative at CannonDesign and has shared her personal experiences and strategies on D&I initiatives at conferences such as the Houston AIA’s Women in Architecture and Texas Society of Architects. She is the recipient of 40 under 40 awards from Building Design + Construction, ENR Texas & Louisiana Region and the Houston Business Journal. She’s also a mentor, a leader, a teammate, a planner, a mother to twin girls, a medal-winning martial artist, an occasional rock climber, and a constant source of positive energy. PJ shared with us her unique career path, challenges, and ideas for the future of the profession.
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In a captivating phone conversation with Hana Kassem, principal of KPF, we had the incredible opportunity of learning about her path, policies she would like to change, and lessons learned. With more than 20 years of experience, Hana has led design teams on local and international projects. She also serves as Director of Design Excellence in AIANY and has served as co-chair of the Global Dialogues committee. Hana is on the Van Alen Institute’s Board of Trustees, and is an active member in promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in the profession. She is also co‐editor of the collection of essays Architect d.b.a | On Re‐defining the Roles of the Architect Today.
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Yolande Daniels is a founding principal of the award-winning studio SUMO. Her work lies between practice and academia, grounded on a multi-disciplinary approach bridging between the physical, social, cultural, political and historical contexts. Yolande was a recipient of the Rome Prize in Architecture as well as a Helena Rubinstein Critical Studies Fellow at the Whitney American Museum of Art. In a candid conversation, Yolande shared with us her path and emphasized the importance of broadening one’s perspective. Take a look at her story.
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Amy Korte, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is the youngest President at Arrowstreet. She climbed the ladder quickly, jumping from Associate straight to Principal in just 6 years. Amy is an active member of the BSA, ULI, NAIOP, CREW Boston, and gives regular talks about resilience, technology and design. We chatted with Amy about the challenges and opportunities of being a leader to change the status quo and rethink ways to both practice architecture and reshape the work culture. Take a peak at Amy’s observations and tips.
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The co-director of CannonDesign’s global health practice, Abbie Clary always has her eyes on the future of healthcare. She’s overseen more than $2.5 billion in healthcare projects of the last 23 years, including projects that have amassed the full spectrum of design recognition. She’s also remarkably passionate about women’s issues and equity in the design profession, having founded Women’s Networking Dinners for working professional women within the healthcare industry, attended the 2017 Forbes Women’s summit, and presented at the 2018 Women in Design + Construction conference. Read here to learn more about Abbie’s path.
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We managed to catch Marilyn Moedinger, Principal at Runcible Studios, in between her teaching classes, visiting construction sites and meeting clients. She shared her unique path in starting her own architecture business, which includes being a construction manager, contractor and estimator prior to going back into full-time design mode. Marilyn has been an educator at WIT, Northeastern University and Boston Architectural College. She is the Chair of the Advisory Board for Northeastern University’s NuLawLab, servers on UVA’s Architecture Young Alumni Council and is a founding member of the Productive Collective. Marilyn was the 2010 recipient of the SOM Prize. Take a peak at her words of wisdom.
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A Senior Associate at Arrowstreet, Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA talked with us about making policy changes, being a woman in architecture, and observing challenges for emerging professionals. Emily served as Boston Society of Architects President in 2014 and is currently the Chair of the AIA Equity in Architecture Commission. She is the 2018-2020 Director at-large for the AIA Board of Directors and is a major advocate for equity and diversity in the field.
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During a pleasant afternoon over tea, we had an inspirational chat with Jane Weinzapfel, Principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates and incredible role model for the Girl UNinterrupted team. Jane is an award winning design leader, dedicated to craft and technology. She has been a visiting faculty member at MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning and at the University of Arizona College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and was also a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome. She is a board member for various organizations such as the Boston Society of Architects, the Boston Architectural College, and Boston by Foot. She has served on the Mayor’s Boston Transportation Advisory Committee and the Mayor’s Government Center Plaza Task Force in Boston, MA. as well as on the Massachusetts Executive Office of Community Development Designer Selection Board. Read on to find out the benefits of being different and how to embrace diversity.
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A personal inspiration for the Girl UNinterrupted project, Andrea Leers, Principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates shares how she created an award-winning women-lead studio. Andrea's design work has earned her the recognition from of the BSA Award of Honor. She is a Commissioner for the Mayor's Boston Civic Design Commission and a member of the University of Washington Architectural Commission. In parallel to practice, Andrea has had an extensive teaching career. She is the former Director of the Master in Urban Design Program at Harvard GSD and previous appointments were at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Virginia, Tokyo Institute of Technology, National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, and University of Paris, Sorbonne. Take a look at what Andrea has observed about women architects and young professionals during the years!
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In a candid early morning conversation, Diana Nicklaus, President and CEO of SAAM, shared with us her story of how she founded her own firm. Diana has practiced architecture in USA and Italy and her portfolio includes high-profile, large-scale institutional projects. Having worked in a diversity of architecture firms across the country, Diana has collected acute observations on the state of the design field. She is continuously pushing the envelope on office policies that are progressive towards flexibility and motherhood. Take a look at what Diana has to say!
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