Intuitive Evolution: Our Own Julia Gamolina Takes Your Questions
By Julia Gamolina
Since I started Madame Architect a little over three years ago in 2018, I’ve gotten countless wonderful and thoughtful questions from our readers - ranging from curiosity about Madame Architect, to advice for their own careers, to fun travel recommendations and more. So, to close out this year on a fun note, I thought I’d take a stab in answering some of the ones that I’ve seen the most often.
One of my favorite things about Madame Architect is the incredible community that has been built with it. Maintaining constant dialogue with this community is something that I’ve prioritized, as it's important to know what content to provide and what stories to put forward. I also know that the industry could do much better in mentoring its young professionals, and especially those that don’t fall into the traditional mold, and so if I can provide any guidance in the way that many have provided for me, that is the ultimate goal of Madame Architect. Please keep the questions coming, and the conversation going in 2022, and also please visit our Ask the Editors page for other questions we receive, and our responses to them. In the meantime, here we go:
How did you evolve Madame Architect from its inception to where it is today?
A slow, steady, and thoughtful evolution for Madame Architect has been most important to me. I always wanted the destination’s purpose to be very clear, and as a result, we focused almost exclusively on the core feature interviews for almost a year. Then, once we had momentum with these stories, and once readers all around the world started to understand why the platform exists and what it does, that’s when we launched the “Days With” pieces, to be a complement to the holistic way we were talking about life in our feature interviews by focusing on the same themes, but on the scale of a day. Then came The Expert, so that women could not only talk about themselves, but about their research and practice interests. The Next Generation interviews came organically out of the conversation, wanting those just starting their careers to share their thoughts and experiences with us, and also out of the moment when students were graduating in a pandemic. Throughout all of this, Amy Stone, Gail Kutac, and Nashwah Ahmed came on board to help tell many of these stories.
As Madame Architect evolved, I realized that we needed to expand where we provide a female perspective. Our historical column by Kate Reggev was born out of that, to tell the stories of the women of yesteryear. Kate Mazade joined as our in-house critic, and what is most interesting to me about Kate’s writing is that she comments on how architecture and design are presented to the public and how the disciplines communicate. Finally, Nina Cooke John writes about her various experiences and identities in the field. Such a mix of many stories, combined with distinct voices that focus on certain topics has made Madame Architect an incredible resource and destination in so many ways, and I can’t wait to continue to expand it!
How do you balance it all? Your work in professional practice and Madame Architect?
The question of managing it all is probably the one I get the most often. There is no secret to it - I work a lot, and managing both is tough! I’ve also evolved my schedule as Madame Architect evolved. At first, I was working on it exclusively on the weekends, but then I couldn’t do that anymore because I love people, and actual quality time with the people I love on the weekends is very important to me. So then, I tried to do a little work on Madame Architect each morning and each evening, which was also tough because you can’t keep up that kind of consistency daily with everything else going on. Nowadays, I dedicate a few mornings each week to Madame Architect, as well as a few nights - usually early in the week before the social engagements pick up. I answer emails at lunchtime and this is the catch also - I am pretty slow to respond these days, but this is necessary for me to be able to keep it going. I will also say that I have a lot of energy and just keep the momentum going - this does however affect my sleep. I do have trouble winding down and wish I got to bed, and fell asleep, earlier than I do. It’s a work in progress.
There are a few other factors in managing my work in practice, and my work with Madame Architect. We are now a team of seven, so I am no longer the only one conducting, transcribing, and editing interviews (thank you Amy, Gail, Nashwah, and Kate M!). Then, because I’ve been doing this for over three years, and even longer since I started interviewing sporadically in 2015, I am very fast at what I do. While my first transcript was almost seventeen pages, and the editing process took a few weekends, I now edit as I transcribe. Finally, I am quite disciplined about making time for whatever I need to do for Madame Architect, and if I need to wake up at 5am or stay up until midnight - this is not a common occurrence, but certainly a necessary one sometimes - I do it! And how is that possible? I remember once I came back from a fantastic tropical vacation, only to realize that a certain piece needed to go up on the site and out via newsletter the next day to align with a special celebratory day. Once I got to my apartment from the airport, I got to work and worked until 1am. But, when the newsletter and piece went out in the morning, I remember thinking, “I love this so much, I am so proud!” When you love what you do, and are self-motivated by it, you do what needs to be done with pleasure and momentum.
What interview has had the most profound impact on you?
The honest answer is all of them. There is something unique, interesting, and inspiring about every person - I wholeheartedly believe that everyone has something brilliant to contribute and that everyone has gone through something tough, the lessons from which are always wonderful to pass on. If I had to choose where to point my readers to though, I would say that my interviews with architect-turned-doula Kimberly Holden and architect-turned-tech founder Jean Brownhill are amazing in that they all talk about how to make your mark in the world of architecture, and then to take those skills and lessons and make your mark beyond.
Other really stand out pieces are our “Days With” with Brandt Knapp, where she talks about fertility and conception in a raw and honest way that I haven’t seen anywhere else in architecture, Stephanie Cheung who talks about overcoming depression, which was very important to do as so many have gone through this and don’t feel like they can talk about it. Finally, our team interviews with RAY and with WIP, that focused on new models of collaboration, are really interesting. I commend everyone who has shared their story with us though and who has dared to go there and be vulnerable and honest about their experiences in a very fascinating and stimulating, but challenging industry.
Tell us about your research process - both how to identify women and how you prep for interviews.
There is no formula for who we select, but I will say that our ultimate goal is for the variety and uniqueness of stories. Also, a lot of the line up depends on a month’s group of interviews holistically - we want to make sure that each month, we speak to someone that has had a long and fulfilling career, someone that might be in the trenches of running a burgeoning firm, someone in the industry that is key to the industry and the business of architecture but that isn’t necessarily an architect, and someone that may not be in the industry at all but is helpful to our readers in other ways, for example, like legendary graphic designer Paula Scher giving her advice on design and creation. We also look for those who have done something new in the profession and have been able to forge a path for others. There are a lot of other factors in editorial direction as well - for example, what is happening in the world at a current moment and a story that is closely tied to that. Some of these things you can’t possibly anticipate or control! We always welcome recommendations and keep track of all the people that come our way!
In terms of prep for interviews, I read up on whoever I will be speaking with, but ultimately, I want everyone to tell me about their own story, in their own words, and to highlight the things that are significant to them about their lives, and not necessarily things that are interesting to me. If there’s something about the person I’m speaking with that makes sense to touch on because of the larger zeitgeist in the industry, I will ask about this, but generally, I ask what the significant things have been for them, and to tell me about what’s important to them.
What’s the actual interview process like?
Before the pandemic, meeting in person for the interview was important to me - nothing beats face to face interaction, both in business development, which is what I focus on in my work in professional practice at Ennead Architects, and in interviews. One rule I came up with early on is also not to interview at the person’s workplace. I found that the interviews conducted over a meal, a coffee, a coworking space I used to belong to, or just anywhere that is cozier and heartier, these interviews were always more personal and relaxed. Otherwise, the interviews are what you read! Those are the questions that I ask. I have in my editing though, started to keep in a lot of my responses to their responses and this is because our readers were asking for this! It does make for a better read though, as the interview becomes truly personal and conversational and you hear two perspectives on a nugget or topic.
What do women say in Madame Architect interviews that you don’t see them talk about on other platforms?
Their relationships! I hardly ever saw architects talk about their spouses, their children, or even things like their struggles with fertility in other design magazines. And the truth is, the quality of our relationships determine the quality of our lives and thus our work! Ultimately, our way in the world is our interaction with other people and I can’t stress this enough: nurture your relationships, and with integrity.
Also, we talk a lot about business! Starting a firm, hiring people, finding new work. I really appreciated Susannah Drake sharing that she would get business just by interacting with people in her daily context. And, I really love a question we started asking in the pandemic, which is, “Who are you admiring most right now?” I love seeing brilliant people give shout outs to other brilliant people and spread the word about their work and impact.
What’s your favorite advice for portfolios?
I love this question! My number one advice is to focus on the projects which you truly loved working on - that engagement and motivation on your part no doubt produced your best work. Then, I would show a variety of skills - things that were made by hand, in AutoCAD, in Rhino, in Illustrator, in InDesign…if all your drawings look very similar, your reviewer may not make it through your whole portfolio. Of course, you will also have a personal style, but that style can be expressed through various media.
Also, one amazing piece of advice that my former professor Neeraj Bhatia gave me was that, if your portfolio is printed, the reviewer may turn to any random page instead of looking through it chronologically - which means every page needs to have the same level of care and thoughtfulness put into it since you never know what someone will open to, like, or focus on. In general though, I would focus on the same elements I focus on for Madame Architect - uniqueness and variety. And then, take your portfolio to professors whose work you admire, or who are leading firms that you’d want to work for, and see what guidance they’ll give you.
What are resources you wish you had at the start of your career?
Thankfully all of the things I am about to list I’ve had the opportunity to be exposed to and learn from, but I certainly wish I had exposure to them earlier - it’s never too early! Presentation training with Carol Doscher of Graceworks is amazing - Carol really teaches you how to find what you love most about whatever you are to present about, and how to communicate that enthusiasm in a way that is really real, impactful, and authentic to you. The next I hear about a lot, but certainly the business of architecture is something so many of us realize we need to learn about, and the teachings come through experience and in some cases a bit later. I highly recommend for architecture students to consider a business minor if they are thinking of starting their own firms, and am super happy that my alma mater, Cornell, now offers this.
Finally, in the same way that colleges have career counseling, I wish they had financial counseling! I find that to have a financial counselor or planner, one needs to be in a position of privilege very early, which not many of us are in. There are of course online articles about it, but the way to really incorporate good habits into your life, whether its running an architectural business, or being financially savvy with your resources, is to practice and make time for these things regularly, which another person who you are accountable to could help significantly.
What advice do you have for someone that is looking to make a big career move?
You typically don’t make a big career move suddenly - there is a long incubation period, of the realization, the planning, and the action, that precedes the actual move. In my own transition from architectural design to business development and strategy, I first took some time to realize that maybe the production of documents wasn’t the most suitable outlet for me, I then balanced both communication and design work at a firm, and then made my way to focusing specifically on business development.
My advice would be to take your time and to continuously pay attention to what you like and don’t like. When you’re working on something, how do you feel? I experienced a lot of frustration when drafting for example, but a kind of euphoria when writing. Then, I would encourage you to experiment with what it is you are thinking of doing instead, whether that be on your own time before or after work, or whether that’s possible to do a little of as part of your job. Let those experiments organically develop into something bigger and bigger and bigger if they are meant to - and what I mean by that is if you are enjoying the experimentation, keep at it - and ultimately follow what makes you feel good and engaged and see where that takes you.
What do you do when faced with difficult situations in the workplace?
Difficult situations in the workplace can truly wear you down so much since so much of our time is spent at work. No matter what the situation is, I would say the first step is to lean into your networks of support outside of your workplace. I’m lucky to have so many mentors in the industry, that I would often go to them based on whatever I was experiencing myself. Then of course there are other systems of safety and support such as your partner, friends, or family. A career or leadership coach is always helpful too, but not something everyone can afford - I haven’t engaged one yet but am thinking about it.
If the situation is an isolated incident, I would harness your intuition- which is really your brain and body pointing you to directions based on all the life experiences you’ve collected - to see if this is resolvable and worth resolving. If it is, I would tap into resources that are specific to the situation, or talking to folks that have gone through something similar. If it’s something that is impacting you daily however, and causing significant disengagement, a feeling of a lack of safety, or any sort of hostility from those that you work with, I would say that those are really serious factors and I would consider if the place where you are is really a place that’s good for you.
How do you know if it’s time for a new path and how do you feel confidence in your decision?
In my experience, you know when it’s time when you think it’s time on a daily basis. When a thought pops into your head once a year, that may just be a fleeting thought. If it’s once a quarter, it may be something that is starting up. If it becomes weekly or daily, I would say that’s a significant sign.
You feel confident in your decision when you literally feel good about it in your body! Think about an interpersonal interaction you have - afterwards, do you feel good, literally feel good in your stomach, or is something feeling wrong? Or, once you’ve submitted something, or finished something, do you experience a sense of relief or a sense of dread? Pay attention to what your body tells you - your body as acting and feeling a certain way based on every experience you’ve had in your life leading up to this moment, and can truly be your guide.
If you could interview anyone, regardless of an AEC connection, who would it be?
I would love to interview Angela Ahrendts, the former CEO of Burberry and former Senior Vice President of Retail at Apple. I was fascinated with her during her Burberry tenure - she took a brand that was going downhill due to all the licensing of the check pattern they were doing, and turned it completely around to be one of the coolest brands, and best-in-class. In fact, because of her impact, my B.Arch thesis was a new headquarters for Burberry in London, based on a lot of her vision. The way she talks about leadership and relationships in the workplace is also really inspiring - her commencement address to a graduating class of Ball State, her alma mater, is one I would watch over and over while working on my thesis.
I would also really love to interview Anna Wintour. No one can deny that her impact not only on Vogue, but on Conde Nast, on the fashion industry, and on New York City is tremendous, as is her tenure at Vogue based on her continuously embracing change and the moment. She is also super real in her interviews, which I’ve always appreciated. Her MasterClass is wonderful!
What are you most excited about for 2022?
The new voices we are planning on bringing to Madame Architect, in all kinds of ways. We are planning several new columns, group interviews, and are expanding all of our advisory councils. Stay tuned!
What advice would you give those just starting their careers?
Hold on to the people that are good to you, be good to them too, and follow the things and people that make you feel good. The way to do what you are meant to be doing is to sincerely engage with what makes you most energized, enthusiastic, and excited, so forget about what everyone else is doing or thinks is cool, and trust yourself and your desired focus.