Design Voice Podcast

Lauren Schmidt is a Principal at KPF in New York City. The youngest woman in KPF's history to be named Principal, Lauren is invaluable to projects of all types, coordinating with multiple stakeholders, consultants and design teams, and overseeing projects through all phases.

Lauren has served as designer and manager for some of KPF's most notable and complex New York City projects. She collaborated to develop the design for One Jackson Square, a national AIA award-winning residential building situated over several active subway lines. Lauren managed 55 Hudson Yards, a large-scale, transit-oriented office building that features a unique, finely-crafted wall system. The building's irregular structure incorporates a ventilation building for the subway station below, requiring detailed coordination with the MTA and city stakeholders.

Much of Lauren's work focuses on maximizing the potential of underutilized or outdated buildings through repositioning. She has contributed management expertise to adaptive reuse projects such as Hudson Commons, which adds 17 stories above a former warehouse creating state-of-the-art office space; 175 Park, a reimagining of a traditional suburban office building in New Jersey; and 660 Fifth Avenue, for which a new, custom glass curtain wall façade maximizes occupant comfort while reducing energy consumption.

Lauren also plays an integral role in the operations of the firm itself overseeing recruitment, staffing, and mentorship alongside KPF's senior leadership. She holds a board seat on the Design Futures Council, and was named one of PWC's 20 Under 40 Outstanding Women in Construction. Lauren helped launch KPF's Educational Program, actively participates in the ACE mentorship program, and has taught Architect Registration Examination courses at the New York Center for Architecture.

In this episode, Lauren talks about her experience of moving up through the ranks at KPF, how architecture is a group effort, and the importance of communication and collaboration. She shares some great advice on what makes someone a good leader, how to develop and hone their leadership skills, and how one can differentiate themselves at a larger, international firm. Lauren also talks about how being an athlete has informed who she is as a person and the importance of having an outlet in your life that isn't architecture related.

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J. Meejin Yoon, AIA FAAR, is the Gale and Ira Drukier Dean at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University and cofounder of Höweler + Yoon, an award-winning design studio engaged in projects across the U.S. and around the world. An architect, designer, and educator, Meejin is committed to advancing pedagogy, research, and practice to expand new knowledge across fields and disciplines, and to bringing deep expertise to the urgent environmental and social challenges facing our cities and communities.

In this episode, Meejin talks about her journey to becoming Dean at Cornell AAP, why she always wanted to maintain a creative practice alongside teaching, and what qualities she thinks makes someone a good architecture professor. Meejin also talks about how making the architecture discipline more accessible will make it more impactful, and how our disciplines in the built environment have to step up at this moment to address climate change, justice and equity in ways we haven't before.

Visit the Cornell AAP website here: https://aap.cornell.edu/

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Saakshi Terway is a Designer at Wiencek + Associates in Washington DC. She is especially interested in responsible and sustainable architecture that has a social impact on local and global communities, and seeks to produce work that allows architecture and design to become a tool in empowering communities.

In this episode, we talk about job search advice for recent grads, finding a mentor (and why you need multiple mentors), figuring out what you want to do, and advocating for yourself. Saakshi also talks about the challenges and biases many immigrants face in the AEC profession, and why speaking out and sharing your story is so important.

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We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designvoicepodcast.

Christine Williamson is the founder of the Building Science Fight Club, an Instagram community dedicated to teaching building science and construction to architects and other building professionals. She also provides technical design consulting services to architects, developers, and contractors, assisting with design development and reviewing details and specifications to improve durability, comfort, and energy efficiency.

In this episode, Christine and I talk about how building science is design, pushing through the painful early years of your career where you feel like you don't know anything yet, how Christine ended up teaching architects about building science and creating an online course. Christine also shares why she started the Building Science Fight Club, and gives a behind the scenes look at how she creates content for account.

Learn more about Christine at https://www.christine-williamson.com/

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We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/designvoicepodcast

Janet Tam is a founder and Principal of Noll and Tam Architects. Janet grew up in Richmond, California, and studied architecture at UC Berkeley in the 1970s and early 80's, when the university was a pioneer of socially responsible design. There, she encountered groundbreaking courses on social factors and user needs, and was drawn to the power of architecture to enrich people's lives by serving the public good.

Janet and her business partner, Chris Noll, founded their firm in 1992, to establish a talented studio of architects that pursued the ideal of active community involvement and environmentally responsive design. Since its founding, the Berkeley-based firm has become a leader in Bay Area public architecture, and is noted for championing women in leadership roles. Janet's work, and that of the firm, is regarded for its emphasis on recognizing and articulating shared community values with projects that bind people together in a common vision for the future.

In this episode, Janet talks about: her experience of starting a practice while raising two daughters; how introspection and surrounding yourself with experts is key to building a healthy firm; working with a firm therapist; how the strength of the firm's culture helped them get through the pandemic; what it means to stay "fresh" in the architecture profession; succession planning, letting things go, and passing on knowledge; and how architects never retire but morph into something else.

We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram @designvoicepodcast.

Primaverarch is an organization dedicated to stimulating change for the recognition of women in the architectural profession. Inspired by the renaissance era and the symbolic idea of spring, Primaverarch is a movement of rebirth, revival, and renewal.

Primaverarch was created by Nadeen Hassan, Chaerin Kim, and Soany Marquez, three minority-women who recently graduated from the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York. Throughout their studies, they experienced a lack of professional support, mentorship, and recognition, and so decided to start Primavera. Primaverarch is a catalyst movement that is dedicated to creating a seat at the table for all women in the field.

Learn more about Primaverarch at: https://www.primaverarch.org/

In this episode we talk about: why Nadeen, Chaerin, and Soany started Primaverarch; on giving their interviewees a space to feel empowered, and feel like they have a voice; Primaverarch's goal of showcasing diverse voices, and that white women do not represent all women; how amplifying black voices should not just be a trend, but is something you're supposed to be doing constantly; the long term goals for Primaverarch, and creating not just a platform but a space for opportunities and a support system for emerging professionals; on infiltrating national organizations like AIA to push for change; being conditioned in architecture school to just accept the status quo, and the need to push back and question who is being taught or amplified; why the lack of statistics on Middle Eastern or Arab architects is problematic; and how Nadeen, Chaerin, and Soany provide a support system for each other, have each others backs, and push each other forward

We want to hear from you! Please send your feedback to [email protected] and follow the show on Instagram @designvoicepodcast.

Kate Thatcher is the Chief Executive Officer of Architecture + Information (A+I), a strategy-led architecture and experience design agency based in New York.

As CEO, Thatcher drives the acceleration of innovation, collaboration between teams and subject areas, and further development of culture and inclusion initiatives within A+I.

Kate first began her career at A+I in 2004, returning again in 2011 upon completion of her Masters in Architecture degree from Yale University. At A+I, Kate has led design teams creating spaces for world-class companies like Equinox, Chanel, and Horizon Media. She became a principal at A+I in 2018 and was named the agency's first CEO in 2020. Her innovative project experience and unique perspective having worked up the ranks of the organization inform her leadership style.

A tireless advocate for equity within the architecture and design professions, Kate is responsible for the launch, in 2020, of the firm's +IMPACT initiative, a platform for A+I's employees to leverage their talents and expertise on opportunities at the intersection of design and social impact.

In this episode we talk about:

• How Kate became the first ever CEO of A+I, what she did to prepare for the role, and her advice for younger professionals on how to develop their leadership skills
• Challenging the status quo narrative of the lone starchitect
• Nonlinear career paths, and not regretting the forks in the road
• Why it can be difficult to leave things behind as you advance in your career, but not being afraid of the new opportunities it may bring
• How her role as CEO is like a design exercise
• What a strategy-led integrated design agency is, and how A+I is different from traditional architecture firms
• The alignment of an institution's vision, the space they occupy, and the people that inhabit that space
• What a strategist does, and how they are equal parts data scientist and spatial storyteller
• Kate's experience as a parent during the pandemic, and her hope for what the future post-pandemic work-life might be like

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Sylvia Kwan, FAIA is a principal based out of DLR Group's San Francisco office. She has practiced in San Francisco for more than 40 years and her past and present designs continue to impact the built environment in the Bay Area. Sylvia founded Kwan Henmi Architecture in 1980, and in 2017 Kwan Henmi joined DLR Group, where Sylvia continues to focus on the transportation and higher education sectors. She takes great pride in building relationships with clients and exceeding their expectations.

Sylvia is an AIA Fellow, and has served on AIA boards at both national and local chapter levels. She has received numerous awards and personal recognitions for her design and business achievements, including the San Francisco Business Times' 75 Most Influential Women in Business.

In this episode we talk about:

• Sylvia's experience of starting her own firm in her 20's, and what she attributes to her success
• On relinquishing control as the size of your firm grows
• Going into full rainmaker mode, and how Sylvia honed her business development skills over the years
• Business development tips, and advice for public speaking
• On building relationships with decision makers and developing your reputation
• Sylvia's experience of running her practice while raising two sons
• Kwan Henmi's merger with DLR Group
• Sylvia's goals for this next phase of her career after being in the profession for 40+ years
• Her career highlight
• How Sylvia ended up being cast on Survivor Fiji!

Special thanks to Drew Henmi for this episode's intro song. Check out the full version of the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4K7uFzRNNk

LISTEN to other episodes at www.designvoicepodcast.com

FOLLOW the show on Instagram @designvoicepodcast

EMAIL us at [email protected]

Liz Brack is a structural engineer based out of DLR Group's Phoenix office, where she is actively involved in a diverse range of building types with a focus on K through 12 projects. Liz is active in the community through the organization and participation of multiple STEM outreach with the local schools. She is also the active Philanthropy chair of the Structural Engineers of Arizona Young Member Group. In addition to her work with DLR Group, Liz teaches an intro to structural engineering course at Arizona State University.

In this episode we talk about

• Mentorship programs, and what qualities an ideal mentor has
• What Liz finds most compelling about working on K-12 projects
• The percentage of women engineers in the AEC field, and what the profession could do to encourage more girls to pursue the career
• How every structural engineer has a favorite type of structural system
• The career trajectories of structural engineers
• Design challenges in projects, and the crazy things architects ask for
• Advice for engineers newer to the profession
• Leaning on your mentors

Elaine Molinar is a Partner and Managing Director at Snøhetta. She began her career as a designer of the Alexandria Library in Egypt after participating in the initial conception for Snøhetta's winning competition entry. Throughout her time with Snøhetta, Elaine has held key positions in major cultural projects and competitions in Canada, the Middle East, Europe and the United States including the award-winning Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and James B. Hunt Jr Library at NCSU. In 2005, she helped found Snøhetta's New York office after the firm was awarded the National September 11th Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in 2004, the office's first commission in the Americas. Elaine currently leads the general management of Snøhetta's US practice.

Elaine's commitment to the issues of social and physical well-being influences her work not only as a design leader but also as an employer and cultivator of Snøhetta's growing practice. Her early training in classical dance and performance brings an insightful understanding of ergonomics, perception, and comfort to the environments we design and inhabit. Her experience in the design of theaters, libraries, and the workplace has given Elaine an in-depth understanding of complex programmatic issues and has positioned her well to champion design from the user's point of view.

Elaine's work has led to numerous international awards and recognition including the Stanford Prize for Innovation in Research Libraries, AIA/ALA American Library Award, and an AIA Presidential citation, among others. Elaine has served as guest lecturer, studio critic, and awards juror in addition to daily practice. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is a LEED accredited professional.