A Day in New York City with SOM's Design Architect Marti Gottsch

Marti Gottsch is a Design Architect at architecture, design, engineering, and planning firm SOM. As an Associate in the Civic and Government practice, she balances projects that are public-facing, client-focused, program-driven, and complex. She creates space and practice that blurs the lines between interior and exterior, integrating landscapes across many scales. Outside of her role at SOM, Marti devotes time to cycling, mom-ing, and leading the Women’s Initiative at SOM to promote female voices in design. Marti hails from Omaha, Nebraska, and later moved to Texas to teach architecture at Texas Tech University. In 2009, she co-founded the student journal PLAT while completing her MArch at Rice University. Marti’s typical day involves a ferry and bike commute, multiple meetings in the material library, reviewing construction document sets, and FaceTime celebrations to end the day.

5:45am: My alarm beeps, and I wake up to the twinkling lights of Long Island City from our 38th-floor apartment. I am catching thirty minutes of peace before I hear the scurrying feet of my four-year-old. I do a quick floor workout while listening to some motivational jams — lately, Hot Snakes is in heavy rotation.

I love to multitask in the morning; it is my most productive time. I double up cooking breakfast and prepping dinner while checking Slacks. Agnes runs out of her room, and the morning switches gears. We quickly get ready, make the bed, eat, brush our teeth, pack, and find the Tiara to complete her outfit.

8:00am: We all leave together to get our bikes from the garage. Hubby and Agnes go to school; I get on my bike and ride to the Ferry Terminal. I love to bike, but I also love being near the Ferry, a great perk to living near the East River. The boat takes me one stop to 34th Street, and I am back on it, riding down the East side. I have been biking in this city since I moved here in 2011. Initially, I biked from my old home in Gowanus to MOS’s office in Harlem. It is incredible to see the city at a biker's pace. This is my moment of zen and my way of unplugging. My new route includes the sites of the East Village and Chinatown; I land downtown in an SOM sandwich between WTC 7 and WTC 1.

9:00am: I make an espresso on the 28th floor of the SOM office and enjoy the view south out to the New York Harbor. I circumnavigate the entire floor and end up next to my favorite model of the soon-to-open USDOT Volpe Center, a former project baby.

9:15am: My typical day is packed with meetings. I am one of the lead designers on a sizeable civic government project and work with many talented people in both the New York and DC offices. You must be nimble every day, fluidly moving from Zoom meetings to desk crits to pinups. This morning, I am starting with a small team huddle about the millwork on our project. Afterward, I quickly switched to tracking the project palette and updating our Master Materials List.

10:00am: My next few meetings happen in the materials library, another place of zen for me. I was on the design team for our new NY Office, a tiny project baby. My work on it started with the design of the materials library, so I love that projects have me visiting this space daily. Today, we are narrowing down our project grays and greens and coordinating with Robert Bolesta of our graphics team. On my past two government projects, I have collaborated with this group led by Lonny Israel in SOM San Francisco. I believe this collaboration was meant to be since we both grew up in Omaha, NE.

Marti and Rob Bolesta in the material library. Photo by Lucas Blair Simpson.

11:00am: Another materials library meeting is about our project bathrooms — we are debating fixtures paired with terrazzo or porcelain tile, countertops, and partitions. My job involves designing through so many scales. Judy Betts, a mentor, drilled into me the importance of designing from the inside out. She said this as an interior designer but knew it was essential for a design architect to practice it. The smallest spaces have a narrative that must work within the project's design parameters.

12:00pm: Noontime around SOM is very social. Today, there is an Employee Resource Group event On Self-Representation. This event is a collaboration between all the office ERGs — Asian Alliance, Arquitectos, SOM NOMA, Pride, and Women’s Initiative — and is geared towards self-advocacy in the workplace. This past year, I have been leading the global efforts of our Women’s Initiative and am dedicated to mentorship at the firm, especially building up women's voices at SOM.

12:45pm: I walk over to have a quick coffee with a good architect friend of mine, Maja Paklar. She is a fantastic project architect at the nearby Beyer Blinder Belle. We chat about recent trips and home renovations and laugh about our crazy, cute kids.

A few team members meet in a small conference room to walk through our 80% Construction Document Set, issued a few days prior. Towards the end, I catch up with a mountain of Slack messages and put out any immediate design fires. This may involve a quick sketch or two to communicate design intent quickly. I have two hours to dive deeper into Revit drawings before leaving.

5:20pm: I grab my bike from the Tower 7 loading dock and hustle to the 34th Street Ferry Terminal. I put in one air pod, turn on Björk's Post, and head towards 1st Avenue. I have been a bit nostalgic lately, thinking of those first years in Brooklyn, going to shows in Bushwick, and remembering that one time meeting Björk! I deboard the boat in LIC and quickly ride through the beautiful Hunter's Point South Park. I walk in to find the family reading on my kiddo's bed; it's so cute.

6:30pm: These days, Agnes loves having dinner on the 6th-floor shared terrace. I heat the lemon-roasted chicken, couscous, and cauliflower in the oven, place it on a carved black walnut platter, and find a cozy spot.

A terrace dinner for Marti and her family.

8:00pm: My favorite hour; it includes reading time with my primary baby. She is no longer a baby at four though; she is reading now! We read Amelia Bedelia Chalks One Up and Little Golden Books Frozen tonight. Then, it’s time for lights out.

9:00pm: After catching up with the hubby about our days, there is an impromptu FaceTime celebration with two architect mama’s that I love — Lindsay Harkema (the cheers are for her birthday) and Seanna Walsh. This always make me smile. A great day for me includes a lot of laughing. This one was excellent, and by 11:30pm, it’s good night and lights out.