Chicago Mobile Makers: Maya Bird-Murphy on Firm Culture, Alternative Paths, and Practicing Change Daily
By Caitlin Dashiell
Maya Bird-Murphy is an architectural designer, educator, and maker from Oak Park, Illinois. She is also the founder and Executive Director of Chicago Mobile Makers, an award-winning nonprofit organization bringing design-focused skill-building workshops to underrepresented communities.
Maya believes that architecture should not be a privilege and must expand to accommodate more people through teaching and community engagement. She loves Chicago and hopes to make her mark by making it a more equitable place to live. In her interview with Caitlin, Maya talks about her eye-opening beginnings in the field and starting Chicago Mobile Makers, advising those just starting their careers to push through the tough times to find the right path.
CD: How did your interest in architecture first develop?
MBM: There are many people out there that say, “I've wanted to do this forever.” I was not like that. I was exposed to architecture really early though, because I grew up in Oak Park, so I must have taken it in subconsciously. I didn’t know much about architecture outside of doing camps around Oak Park growing up. When I did the Ball State high school summer program, that's when I really decided that I wanted to go into architecture.
What did you learn about yourself, studying at Ball State?
A lot about architecture, but a lot about social issues as well, and I wasn’t expecting that [laughs]. There were maybe three black kids in my year. Coming from Oak Park, which is ridiculously diverse, going to Indiana was a culture shock for me - to be in Muncie and in the architecture program. I was living and learning around almost all white people. That’s when I decided that I wanted to do social architecture. In school I was uncomfortable a lot, but that guided what I actually want to do in this field.
Designing social architecture was looked down upon when we were in school, which was really unfortunate. By now, we’ve matured and understand the value of this kind of design, but it should have been taught. We shouldn't have been expected to find that out on our own.
I appreciate you talking about the importance of teaching social justice within architectural education.
I’m glad that I ignored the people who didn’t value the kinds of projects I was putting forth. I was doing good work in undergrad, but it was respected only by a select few.
High school students presenting their design proposals. Courtesy of Maya Bird-Murphy
Small group critique during a summer course at Marwen Arts. Courtesy of Maya Bird-Murphy
And the select few who do engage carry the load for everyone else. Let’s talk about how you got started in the field.
I worked to graduate a semester early because I was ready to get out. I started at a firm in Chicago right out of school and it felt really great at the beginning - I wanted to do social architecture, and they were some of the only people authentically doing this work. I remember thinking that this was so crazy – with my first job, I had seemingly already made it to where I wanted to be.
I held this firm in such high esteem when I started, but as time went on, my experience there did not go well. In fact, after a while, it was the lowest I’d ever been, and I knew other people of color who had similar experiences. Realizing that you think a place is doing great work but then that starts not to matter because they’re not treating their employees right, is really hard. If you do social housing, how can you also treat black people badly?
I was there for two years and shouldn’t have stayed that long. I quit without having a plan. I became a nanny for a few weeks because I just needed to leave. Eventually, I found a job at another firm in Chicago, a firm that didn’t fit what I was looking for in terms of the work they focused on, but my experience there ended up being so great! I figured out that I don’t need to be treated badly. Previously, I assumed that that’s just how first jobs are. No! The culture there was much better, and I’ve realized that for me, the office culture is more important than the work.
We’re taught that in the beginnings of our career we have to “pay our dues”...
No. You don’t. Yes, you’re working a full-time job and someone is paying you to come in every day - you don’t want to complain about that - but this way of thinking is the problem.
A year before I left my first job, I started my M.Arch at the Boston Architectural College as a means of escape. My office was not supportive of me going back to school while I was there, even though the online program was made for people working professionally. But I did it anyway! When I then moved to my next firm, they didn’t mind my schoolwork and I finished up my final year of the program there.
“I was living and learning around almost all white people...I was uncomfortable a lot, but that guided what I actually want to do in this field.”
Walk me through that process of working, finishing your M.Arch, and then starting Chicago Mobile Makers
That first year of working for this new firm was also my thesis year. My professor, Jack Cochran, was business-oriented and really pushed me to make Chicago Mobile Makers a reality. I knew I wanted my thesis to continue on after school, and he helped me realize what it could become. He sent me business plan information, and I went to a law clinic and got incorporated in September of 2017.
How did this expand once you graduated?
Not much happened while I was in school because I was working full-time, but I did the background work of getting the website put together, things like that. My first workshop was before I graduated, and shortly after that I was on Chicago Tonight. We were a Fast Company “World Changing Ideas” Finalist in 2018, so I had to be on live TV very quickly after incorporating. After that, a few people reached out wanting workshops, and was the beginning of us regularly holding programs in schools.
How have you grown since this spark?
Just from those initial people, so many others reached out. Our Instagram was populated and people saw we were active; we were more easily hired. In 2019, we engaged 670+ youth!
Last fall, we were invited to do a couple Chicago Architecture Biennale events. We did a joint workshop, as well as collaborated with Could Be Architecture for an architectural run. We also did an activity called “Interlocking Visions” where we laser cut acrylic pieces that could lock together and asked people to write what they would change in their neighborhood.
We’ve quickly blossomed and have been completely booked since Spring 2019 with consistent workshop sessions. This spring, I was busy making multiple calendars with levels of availability each day to fit in as much workshop programming as possible. We had one week planned with twelve workshops between four sessions on five days. I didn’t have any clue how that was going to happen, but this all changed with the pandemic.
This is a question everyone's grappling with now. How do we adjust to this new normal of working, living, and getting an education during a pandemic? What are the ways this has affected your organization?
It’s difficult, because it’s impossible to plan ahead for workshops. That said, we have the Chicago Mobile Makerspace that just finished! We bought a van in May of 2019, fundraised summer of 2019, then starting construction in Fall 2019. Now that it’s completed, we’re going to try and utilize the truck for our work until groups can come; we can do virtual tours and eventually continue the workshops that were happening prior to the shutdown.
The future Chicago Mobile Makerspace - the team purchased a used delivery van in May 2019. Courtesy of Maya Bird-Murphy
Interior of the Chicago Mobile Makerspace. Courtesy of Maya Bird-Murphy.
This crisis really is something that happened all of a sudden. But congratulations on finishing the truck! A great milestone, and a space that you can hopefully use for workshops soon.
How do you think education can benefit from this kind of adaptability and mobility?
In architecture school, students have a good sense of how to work in studio and from home. I worked from home most of the time because I had a desktop and was most comfortable there. That kind of flexibility set students up for this current crisis. When I went to get my online M.Arch, people looked down on that, questioning how I would do architecture work online [laughs]. It didn’t feel different than what I was doing before.
Students get into the workforce and for some reason, the architecture world is against remote work. I imagine this is driven by a lack of trust and being stuck in old ways, but I hope that this crisis shows employers that it’s not hard to adjust for better flexibility for employees.
You bring up a good point with this theory of lacking trust, because this seems like an issue of employers resisting giving people flexibility out of the fear that it could manifest poorly for them.
It would probably be good for them and the company. Work-life balance is not a thing we should be afraid of. It’s a good thing!
“Architecture used to move slowly, but times are changing and I’m one of many, many people talking about that change and practicing it on a daily basis.”
I completely agree. Where do you feel like you're at in your career today?
I feel like I’ve fought my way professionally to where I am now. I needed to go through traditional practice before, but I’m finally in a better place. It’s a newer feeling, and I’m grateful that I figured out what I wanted to do so quickly. I’m still planning to take my exams, but I’ve realized that I have different ideas of success than some others in the field. For me, success is being happy and doing what I love every single day, and being in control of my own time. At my first firm, the biggest thing that I wanted back was control of my life. It feels good to know that now I make my own decisions. I don’t know where that puts me in my career, but I’m on the right path.
You're also teaching kids, who may not have known about architecture before, that many kinds of design careers are possible, and that they have agency
That is true. Architecture used to move slowly, but times are changing and I’m one of many, many people talking about that change and practicing it on a daily basis. We need people to speak about this, as well as worker rights, labor rights, and equal pay.
“Interlocking Visions” in Logan Square Chicago. Courtesy of Maya Bird-Murphy
Summer camp participants in Englewood Chicago. Courtesy of Maya Bird-Murphy
What have been some of your biggest challenges?
There are expectations set forth in school about the professional world that support one type of career path. I didn’t find myself wanting to follow that path. I discovered sitting in an office for forty hours a week didn’t work from week one. So trying to figure out what you’re supposed to do when you’ve been told to follow one track the entire time you’re in school and then it doesn’t work out - figuring out what to do instead - that’s the hardest thing.
Now that I know more people with alternative paths and it’s easier to see architecture in many different ways. But when you’re right out of school and someone has been telling you exactly what you’re supposed to be doing for over four years, it feels overwhelming, to know that you can or should be doing something else.
I’m with you on that. Now that you’ve found your calling, what have been the highlights?
Starting Chicago Mobile Makers is the highlight. Even though it’s a lot of work, it doesn’t feel that way. This work feels like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, and that’s a highlight every single day. When I have a hard day, I look at what I get to do - going into classrooms and doing fun design activities with kids – and that’s so rewarding.
Who are you admiring right now?
I don’t have an up-to-date list, but Emily Pillotin is one. She first started Project H, which is now Girl’s Garage. She went to SAIC for architecture, and is out in California now. She’s started her own non-profit with design and construction workshops for girls. I found her when I was in undergrad and she’s been the inspiration for Chicago Mobile Makers, as someone without a traditional architecture job [laughs].
When I was doing my thesis, I called her once and she goes, “I’m at the steel yard, can I call you back?” She was picking up steel for her nine-year-old kids to weld in their class. I wanted to be doing this! She created this path for herself out of an architecture degree, and that’s inspirational.
I’m grateful for the women everywhere who are investing in mentoring and expanding the world for younger generations of girls. As you mention Emily, I also think about a woman like Judaline Cassidy of Tools & Tiaras. You’re all teaching skills and motivating the kids you engage.
There has been an increase of these types of programs recently. Teaching girls to code became popular but I haven’t heard of as many for the trades or construction. I’m glad that’s changing!
“My work is about empowering kids to look in their own neighborhoods for the change they can create.”
What is your mission - what is impact would you like to have in the world?
I want to educate and expose kids to careers that they might not have known about otherwise. My work is about empowering kids to look in their own neighborhoods for the change they can create. It’s about helping people learn how to problem solve.
Our work is architectural, but it’s more about communities and skill-building. I see a future world where communities of color have the skill sets to become self-sustainable because people share skills and knowledge about how to build and maintain their surroundings. Eventually there will be more architects, designers, and makers who know the trades. I hope that I facilitate that sharing of skills.
What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
I wish that academia prepared students better for what practice would actually be like. There was a lot of sugar-coating and acting like we would all be designers in school. And I’m sure schools do it on purpose to keep people coming [laughs], because if they told us the truth right away, would we have stayed? I don’t know. I wish there was more preparation in school.
I agree, and don’t know either. We need more education on all the alternative routes available with an architecture degree. With this in mind, what advice would you have for those that are starting a career in architecture?
To know what you're getting into [laughs]. It’s not easy to find out that information in school. If I was giving myself advice, I would say that it’s going to take you a while to find your path, and even though it will take going through hard times to do so, you’ll find it.