Career Design: Karen Gravel on Historic Preservation and Creative Problem-Solving
By Amy Stone
Karen Mahoney Gravel, AIA, is a principal at Lord Aeck Sargent where she leads the Historic Preservation Studio. She grew up in Cynthiana, Kentucky and attended Centre College (B.A. History 1993) and Georgia Tech (M.Arch 1999). She studied Art History as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany (1993-1994). Karen loves the intersection of culture, history, ecology, sustainability and design in her work. Helping clients shepherd their wonderful buildings into the future is her passion. She currently serves on the board of the Georgia Trust and lives with her husband, Ryan and their two children, Lucia and Jonas, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Karen talks to Amy Stone about her love for reinvigorating historic spaces and figuring out what works for her both professionally and personally, advising those just starting their careers to find what they love.
AS: How did your interest in architecture first develop?
KG: I was born and raised in a small town in central Kentucky called Cynthiana. In 1984 Walmart was built and it killed the life and businesses of the downtown moving a lot of the bustle to Harrison Square Shopping Center. Seeing this transformation made me want to work towards reviving old buildings and beautiful places.
I don’t know if I’ve ever heard about how a Walmart helped someone develop an interest in architecture!
It totally influenced my life. Simultaneously, when I was 15, I was taking geometry and art and I loved both and at some point realized the two could go together in architecture. I could have a job where I drew pretty pictures [laughs]. I enjoyed history and it all clicked; I knew I wanted to work on old buildings and that architecture school could allow me to do that. My mom didn't want me to go to architecture school right out of high school because she assumed it was too technical so I went to a small liberal arts college in Kentucky called Center College. After graduating I was awarded a Fulbright Grant to go to Germany and study art history for a year.
While in Erlangen, I participated in a seminar studying a small group of German Renaissance painters, which was the topic for the Fulbright Grant and sat in on wonderful art history classes and lectures. It was during that year that I debated about what to do., “I do love art history. Do I get a PhD in art history? Do I get a planning degree? Historic Preservation degree? Or an architecture degree to be able to do what I want to do?” That year helped me decide to come back to the United States and apply to architecture school.
I came home and worked as a general laborer for a contractor for a year in Lexington, Kentucky and applied to Princeton, UVA, Texas, and Georgia Tech. Tech was the only place that accepted me. So, I said, “Well, my decision is made!” [laughs]
This image shows the completed Marquee Club and how this 10,000 s.f. rehabilitation/addition was very deferential to the fabulous Fox Theatre. Photography by Eric Laignel Photography.
Working on this project was like earning a second Master’s degree. I’m proud of this image because I convinced the team to just reuse the existing overhead door and add glass to it instead of a complicated design move – and it works! Photography by Jonathan Hillyer.
That narrows it down! You knew you wanted to work on old buildings. How did that become an interest so early?
Because of their history, beauty and desire to reuse them. It came from a lot of different values: it’s environmentally responsible -- it’s not sprawl and Walmart and paving out beyond cities; it’s ecologically responsible -- you aren’t putting things in a landfill, you are reusing them; they are already beautiful with such rich stories that you can play off and design against. I wanted to focus on existing buildings for all those reasons. I haven’t really worked on a new building in twenty years. That is by choice. It’s led by all those components converging together. We need to understand the history and understand why things happened. Then we make decisions about what you keep and what you don’t, about what you highlight and don’t highlight.
You’re right. That sounds very thoughtful and robust.
Tell me about grad school. What did you learn about yourself when you were studying architecture?
I learned that I was more creative than I thought I was. I thought I was a technically good drawer, but actually, I can think out of the box. It taught me how a studio works when people have different ideas and you see how different professors push ideas in different ways. It gave me a clear road to what creativity could be like. You see different ways to solve a problem. I felt like I had a really rigorous education in undergrad -- synthesizing material, understanding ideas, reading, and writing. Architecture really gave a focus on how to think creatively. That was helpful.
Besides working with a general contractor, how did you get your start in the field?
I started at KPS group out of Birmingham, Alabama, because they had a lot of historic projects in their portfolio. After about three years, I was encouraged to apply to Lord Aeck Sargent (LAS). I filled a position here as an intern but then stayed on and have been here since!
“We need to understand the history and understand why things happened. Then we make decisions about what you keep and what you don’t, about what you highlight and don’t highlight.”
Walk me through your big milestones in your career.
Coming to LAS was a big milestone. I agreed to come here and work in the science studio until there was something in preservation. After a month, we started working on the Ebenezer Baptist Church. It just took off. Over the years, projects have been major milestones: MLK Federal Building, Hinman, Ennis, Patterson Hall, Terrell, and more. Working on the Fox was one of the hardest things I’ve worked on. The projects and the clients are what keep me invigorated about it all. Being able to work in Kentucky was a huge one because I started doing work at home.
What have been your other life milestones?
Getting married and having kids! I have a daughter who is 16 and a son who is 13. Trying to navigate work and their lives has been a challenge, but I have been able to design how that works, so it’s been doable.
You gave me that advice early on: you are designing your career and you should look at your career like a design challenge that you have to be creative with.
It’s your career! It's your life! You need to do what you love. You need to figure out what is important at different stages of your life and figure out how your life can support that. Prioritize things daily like you would for a project or at work. What’s more important today? What do I need to focus on to make this work?
Paint that picture for me. How has that worked out for you along the way?
When I had my daughter, it was 2005 -- this is pre-recession -- there was a lot more flexibility. I took off 24 weeks for maternity leave. That was a long time. I came back four days a week, working part-time, but had great in-home care for 2.5 years of my babies’ lives. When I had my son, I kept the part-time schedule until he went to kindergarten. That for me -- being able to shift down gears to third or fourth gear rather than be in fifth gear all the time -- was helpful to get through and keep the sanity with small children. It also kept me in the profession. That was critical because I could see how easy it would be to quit. There were 2-3 years with both children in daycare that I barely made any money.
I also taught a class on women in architecture in 2011. That was really clarifying for me. It made me go through the statistics and see all these other women architects. It enabled me to do something academically that I hadn't done in a while and to also frame it for other people and let them see what that was all about.
Karen with Jonas (13) and Lucia (16).
Tell me where you are at in your career today?
I’m doing what I love to do. I’m the Director of Historic Preservation in LAS and I’m a principal. It comes with a lot of responsibilities. Sometimes I wish I could be on-site more. I miss being in there with the clients. I nudge my way into doing that when I can. I also spend a lot of time supporting others. That requires figuring out what to do and problem-solving – something I seem to be doing constantly right now.
That’s my favorite quote from Where’d You Go, Bernadette? It’s this fictional story about an architect and she says, “I never considered myself a great architect. I'm more of a creative problem solver with good taste and a soft spot for logistical nightmares.”
That’s perfect.
Looking back, what have been the biggest challenges?
I’ve been learning that I need to do what I need to do for my own life. I need to do the planning and designing of my own life.
The Fox Theater was also a big challenge. That was really hard; we had a lot of unforeseen conditions and I feel like it nearly broke me.
What made it so difficult?
It takes an hour to explain everything but it was a lot of problem-solving on a daily basis. The hardest part is when problems wake you up at night because you know your brain is trying to work through things. You wake up at the same time, 3:30 every morning for a week, and you aren’t sleeping because you can’t process it. I think learning how to process hard problems has been a real challenge for me. Being able to compartmentalize problems and let things go and be present for your family -- that’s hard.
You have to understand how your body works and you have to process that. I learned I have to exercise every two days. I know I get antsy and I‘ve got to work it out and take care of myself because nobody else is going to take care of me. I’m going to bed at 9:30 or I’m going to watch my House Hunters or whatever. Nobody else is doing it for you, so you have to make time for yourself first. Place the gold cup over your own nose and mouth before helping others.
“It’s your career! It’s your life! You need to do what you love. You need to figure out what is important at different stages of your life and figure out how your life can support that. Prioritize things daily like you would for a project or at work.”
Absolutely. The more responsibilities you take on, it’s easy to sideline your own health and your own priorities. What have been your biggest highlights?
The biggest highlights have been being able to work in Kentucky because I’ve been able to start things that I wanted to do for a long time. That, to me, is the best.
I have a little building in Cynthiana. I had a dream to buy a building on Pike Street. The widow of a former partner of my dad's law firm was selling three buildings where my father’s office had been on the top floor. She let me pick one of the buildings and so in 2014, I bought a building! I’m renovating the top floor and will be able to have a place there. To be able to contribute to Pike Street is so personally rewarding for me.
Do you have a goal when you started out of getting back to Kentucky and contributing in that way?
No, not really, but I miss it. This is my way of having pieces and parts of the family that I don’t have there anymore. Going there also lets me see the friends and the things that made me do what I’m doing now. It roots me in why I do this.
Tell me about who you are admiring right now.
Brene Brown. I love her. I just can’t get enough of her. Melinda Gates as well. I just read her book Moment of Lift. It's an incredible book about supporting women. The way she talks about it and what she’s doing in the world is so great. Those two to me are the rock stars right now.
I’m with you! I admire them so much. Do you have a core mission? What is the impact you hope to make in the world?
I think mine is pretty simple. I want to reuse and revitalize old buildings. Period. That’s it.
I’m here to take a crappy-looking building that nobody wants to pay attention to and turn it into something new and exciting. I feel like I can see it where other people can’t see it.
This is the Hill House Restoration project where we saved the tenant house on Andalusia Farm where Flannery O’Connor lived and wrote some of her most famous pieces. This house and its environs were the setting for several of her short stories. Photography by Gregg Willett.
This image has my son drawing on the chalk board of a school we helped to rehabilitate and add on to. Sometimes the kids come, too. Photography by Greg Willett.
I like that you found that very early on and it’s stayed core to what you are doing. That it's very fulfilling.
It’s my hedgehog.
What do you mean?
In that interview with Brene Brown and Jim Collins they talk about being a hedgehog, or in other words, finding the one thing you are good at and doing it over and over again – except every project is new and exciting!
What do you wish you had known starting out that you know now?
It’s going to be ok. When you start out, you don’t know if it’s going to be ok. I feel like I knew I could do anything I put my mind to but you just never know. There’s an uncertainty as to how things will go and how things will work out. I told that to other people but I didn't believe it myself.
What advice do you have for those who are just starting out?
Figure out what you love and do it. People say that all the time, but it is so true. If you are just doing it because of the money or because you think it’s cool, you don’t really love it, you aren’t going to be great. It takes a lot of hard work to do it right. If you don’t love it, you are going to be miserable. If you don’t like it, do something else. You make a lot of life decisions based on that commitment.