Pratt Institute's Onyi Egbochue on Bonding, Community, and Taking Risks

By Julia Gamolina

Nigerian-American and twenty-two years old, Onyi Egbochue was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. An ambitious, efficient, and relentless student, Onyi is inspired by intersectional architecture that starts with civic engagement, and is interested in the preservation of the environment, culture, and community through the means of sustainable architecture, material research, and community-based work. Onyi enjoys studying different languages, playing musical instruments, and gardening for leisure.

JG: Why did you decide to study architecture?

OE: Becoming an architect has been a dream of mine since I was thirteen. I spent much of my time in middle school hanging out with my Robotics Club advisor, and she often asked me what I wanted to be when I got older. When I wasn’t busy building solar cars or programming VEX robots, we’d spend a lot of our time having heart-to-heart conversations about what a future in STEM could look like for me. After several talks, “architect” stuck with me for almost a decade.

What was the favorite project you worked on in school? Favorite paper you wrote? Favorite extracurricular?

For my favorite project, it’s really a tiebreaker between my 2018 fall and spring projects, but that fall semester is something I’ll never forget. Fall 2018 was the first time I worked on a comprehensive design project with someone else. My design partner and I accomplished an incredible amount of work that semester and I’ve honestly never had so much fun in architecture school while transforming conceptual designs into practical and functioning architecture. Together, we generated a green dormitory that was driven by a matrix of sequential sectors for community interaction. I’m thankful for the inviting learning environment my professor created and for my partner’s enthusiasm, great sense of humor, and our compatibility with each other – especially design-wise. Matches like that are extremely rare.

As for my favorite paper, I conducted research on the spatial affordances of community gardens – specifically, a case study on Bedford-Stuyvesant’s community gardens. This paper was my first introduction to participatory action research and the dynamic relationship between people and places. In this paper, I was able to choose my own site to study how individual behavior and cultural values shape the built environment, how those surroundings affect us, and what role design plays in producing social spaces.

What are some of the initiatives you’ve focused on in school, and why?

I’ve worked at Pratt’s Summer PreCollege Program for two years, in both administrative and staff positions, and I enjoyed every second of it from working one-on-one with high school students to creating graphics for the program. However, establishing a National Organization of Minority Architecture Students chapter at Pratt Institute is an initiative I’ve focused a healthy amount of my energy on. My NOMAS chapter is extremely near and dear to my heart. I’ve met so many remarkable individuals, and the relationships that we’ve created feel as if we’re like family. It’s a feeling of community and belonging that I felt didn’t exist in my early years of architecture school, and I’m extremely grateful and proud to have that experience. I am glad to have created a safe space for students that come from backgrounds similar to mine.

“Sometimes, the lack of resolution will allow you to find yourself somewhere you’d never dream of. Be gentle and forgiving with yourself during these crucial moments.”

When searching for internships and jobs, what are you looking for?

Small studios and organizations with a focus on sustainable material research and creating resilient communities.

What’s important to you? What inspires you?

Bonding and community are essential to me, and then my younger siblings are my biggest inspirations. Anyone who knows me understands how important those three are to me; I wouldn’t be here without them.

What do you hope to do in your career?

I feel like I have a long way to go before I truly know what I want. There is still plenty for me to learn. I would just hope that my future career fosters dialogue and action between designers and the communities we so desperately need to protect and uplift.

Who do you look up to? Both in terms of women in architecture, and in general.

That’s such a tough question; that list is obviously ever-changing and quite long, and I tend to admire many creatives outside the field of architecture. However, I highly respect the works of Beyond the Built Environment, BlackSpace, Urban Design Forum, Thread Collective, Resilience Design Corps, and Territorial Empathy.

What advice would you give to those in high school now, choosing their field of study?

Do not let pride or fear stop you from taking risks! Welcome the unknown. Sometimes, the lack of resolution will allow you to find yourself somewhere you’d never dream of. Be gentle and forgiving with yourself during these crucial moments.