Georgia Tech's Maria Pastorelli on Purpose, Values, and Looking Sideways

By Julia Gamolina

Maria Pastorelli is an architectural designer who received both her B.S. in Architecture and Master of Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Originally from Brazil, she moved to Atlanta in 2014 to pursue her studies. Since then, she has been consistently involved in school leadership positions as a member of the Advisory Board and a Teaching Assistant.

Aside from her coursework, Maria was the Marketing Director of student-led organization Equity in Architecture, while also completing internships at Perkins and Will and Miller Hull. Most of her experience has been in healthcare and community-driven initiatives. She has recently graduated from her Masters in 2020. She volunteers as a mentor with the Brazilian Student Association (BRASA) for students pursuing architecture studies in the United States. During these crazy months, she started a podcast on architecture with her best friend hoping to help aspiring and current students through the industry.

JG: Why did you decide to study architecture? 

MP: I had been a ballerina for almost twelve years by the time I was in high school, so I was very interested in pursuing an artistic discipline as a career. However, coming from Brazil, my high school didn’t have any classes outside of the basic curriculum. Math and physics were my best subjects, and although my dad encouraged me to go into engineering, we found a happy medium in architecture.

The first seed though was planted when Oscar Niemeyer proposed a design for the Bolshoi Theater School I grew up dreaming about. The Ballet only has one other location outside Russia, which happened to be in the city I grew up in, in the southern part of Brazil. It was the first time I saw my ballet world collide with a tangible profession. Like many others, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but I wasn’t really intrigued by any of the other options, so I’m glad it worked out!

Backstage with my biggest supporter aka mom.

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

The semester that made me realize, finally, that I had the skills to succeed in this field was the semester my class went through the Portman Prize Competition, a studio-wide exercise that happens every year and is known to be a pretty tough semester. The project was a marketplace and micro-housing mass timber building located in Boston, MA. We hadn’t learned much about mass timber in school, but our class had the privilege of taking a research trip to Boston guided by our collaborator, Alan Organschi, who was so attentive and passionate about the entire process he made me eager to learn more. I had never worked so hard than during that semester, both in studio and other demanding classes I had to take at the same time. I was so proud of the result and getting the 2nd Place recognition gave me the confidence to finish grad school with so much pride and gratitude.

My favorite extracurricular was definitely being part of the Flourishing Communities Collaborative. This is an initiative created by Julie Kim, one of my biggest mentors and a great inspiration. I got to participate during both my undergraduate and graduate years, but it was in the most recent class that I really found purpose in the work we were doing. Our client was a shrinking church congregation that owns a large campus with four buildings that were underutilized. We visited them, heard their concerns and their goals, and proposed some changes that could be made to make use of the space they have, generate revenue to keep it running, and provide a place for the community to come together regardless of their religion. Sometimes it’s not about the coolest drawing or some new technology, but rather simple and careful interventions that responded directly to the issues we identified together. We really listened to them. The impact we had on the community could be seen in their faces from miles away. It was then that I realized the power and responsibility that comes with being an architect and designer. You will always have a choice to do the right thing.

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

One of the benefits of going to the same school for Undergrad and Grad, and not taking a break in between, is that you get six years to get involved! The first couple of years were very difficult, both the studio aspect as well as finding myself and my group of people. But, I began getting involved as a school ambassador, joined a few organizations, got elected to the student advisory board, and ended up finding myself extremely fulfilled by everything I was doing outside of regular classes. For the first few years I began to think my personally was changing because I became so shy and afraid, but my involvement in the school gave me the confidence I needed to perform better in studio as well.

I truly found purpose in joining Equity in Architecture, formerly Women in Architecture. During my time at Georgia Tech, the organization grew from five to over fifty members, but it wasn’t until my grad school years that I decided to join the executive board as Marketing Chair and contribute a lot more than I had as a member. Part of our mission is to give a voice to women and minorities, and maybe more importantly, be heard by the people who have the power to make changes. We also host various events like a Student Art Exhibition and the annual Forum, where we focused the conversation on how to conduct equitable practice in the architecture field, which is so ingrained in a “status quo”.  It was through this organization I was able to attend the AIA Women’s Leadership Summit, an experience I will not forget. Picture 700 women in architecture all in one room - my brain explodes!

EQIA GT Exec Board (Anna Kiningham, Kathi Tran, Julie Kim, Maria Pastorelli, Amy Stone, Dani Marquez) and Julia Gamolina, 2019.

FlourishingCommunities: Final presentation of the reprogramming for the church, 2019.

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

Some of the non-negotiables for me are honesty, transparency and respect. The ideal firm, at its core, should have values that align with your own. That might come through in the way they conduct business, in the kinds of projects they work on, or in the people that work there.

I believe I perform at my best when I am surrounded by people who are really invested in the projects. Of course, there are ups and downs, but it’s your passion and drive that will continue to motivate you through whatever the project - or life - throws at you. A team that is truly working together, all hands-on-deck, contributes the most to great design and has more fun along the way. The first time I experienced this was in an externship I did at Miller Hull in Seattle. I was surrounded by extremely talented people who shared a passion for sustainable design and were willing to go to great lengths to achieve the project goals.

What’s important to you? What inspires you?

It’s important for me to find a sense of purpose in whatever I am working on. Looking back at my education and internships, I now understand that the classes and projects I was most dedicated and passionate about were the ones that had the potential to really impact a group of people. I’m inspired by people who are passionate about something, especially in architecture. There’s also something I take away from medicine, the famous “do no harm” concept can be applied to architecture as well. There is enough abrasive architecture already, throughout my career I want to do my best to only make choices and work on projects that will satisfy the client without harming the local community or the environment.

What do you hope to do in your career?

I am currently pursuing licensure and will continue to gain as much experience as I can, on a variety of projects. I’d like to be part of projects that push the status quo of what architecture “should be” and what architects can and cannot do. Our education is so flexible, there are so many things you can do with this degree. I still want to become a project architect and go the “traditional” route, but that will hopefully put me in a position to push the boundaries of what that path means. I want to be proud to call myself an architect and be able to say that I’ve made a positive impact in the world.

PortmanPrize: Axonometric showing mass timber structure, units and façade, 2019.

Rendering for a Future of Retail project, 2017. (In collaboration with Danny Griffin and Skylar Royal).

Who do you look up to?

First and foremost, I look up to my parents. I credit my ambition and drive to them completely. They built an incredible life and gave me the most unconditional support in every new thing I wanted to pursue. That piece of the puzzle was essential for me to get to where I am today, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

In terms of architecture, I look up to anyone who does something out of the ordinary. We are so accustomed to the status quo, especially in the professional world. The amount of times we hear “this is just how it’s always been done” both in school and in firms is pretty depressing. Anyone who disrupts our very automatic way of going about practice and architecture education is an inspiration to me. And I used to think “looking up to” meant to find someone who had it all, who got to where I want to get. But lately I’ve also been looking “sideways”, I’m extremely inspired by women close to me in age who are making real waves in the profession, and not being tied down by the stereotypes forced upon interns and students.

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

Practical advice would be to try and experience the kinds of jobs you might be interested in having. Try shadowing an architect for a day, or reach out to some current students in the fields you are thinking of choosing, and just ask about their day, their struggles, what motivates them…And know that you can always change your mind. You are too young to really know what you want to do for the rest of your life, so don’t treat it like an end all be all decision.

Not-so-practical advice, do something you are passionate and that you care about. I wasn’t sure what kind of architect I wanted to be, but I was so inspired by certain projects and extremely bothered by others, which made me feel responsible to do great work. Like I said before, people perform their absolute best work when they care deeply about something, whatever that is. That will always be my motivation.