Harvard GSD's Remi McClain on Smaller Firms, Outreach, and Working Double Duty
By Julia Gamolina
Remi McClain is pursuing a post-professional Masters of Architecture at Harvard GSD. She received her B.Arch with honors from Syracuse SOA, receiving both the Dean’s Citation and Citation for Excellence in Thesis Design. Since then, Remi has been working with The LADG in Los Angeles, where she has been project lead on a variety of projects. She’s particularly excited about the near completion of House 05. Her research interests are focused on the relationship between normalcy and attention. Maybe this will be the year she learns Italian.
JG: Why did you decide to study architecture?
RM: While I love hearing about other people’s architecture “aha moments,” I never had one myself. Architecture has always been there quietly – and with no architect relatives, others found this quite confusing. My first strong memory was when I was eight, my grandparents moved to a retirement community in Florida, which I cheekily nicknamed “Disney World for Old People.” They were given catalogs of pre-designed houses to choose from and I brought out my graph paper to iterate adjustments to the most promising options. I would also like to thank the Sims video game for gifting me hours upon hours of modeling and code-hacking practice pre-Rhino.
“Reel Rocks” Outdoor Cinema competition for Geroskipou Beach on Cyprus with Jon Anthony. Hollow formed plastic rocks for lounging, watching, shading, and framing views.
“The Image Bank” Syracuse B.Arch Thesis presentation.
What was the favorite project you worked on in school?
My undergraduate thesis. To culminate four years of rather prescriptive work with a completely unrestricted free-for-all labor of love is both crippling and exhilarating. After a semester of research related to art networks, media, and attention, I spent my last semester at Syracuse designing a traveling “Image Bank” that temporarily occupied DMVs across the country. It was somehow both kitschy and completely earnest.
What are some of the initiatives you’ve focused on in school, and why?
I’ve been most interested in platforms that elevate casual conversations about architecture. A Syracuse professor said something like, “You should be able to name as many architects and buildings as you can musicians and songs that you’re listening to,” and for a while, that felt performative. Later on, a group of friends and I started a non-affiliated publication and event entity called POSIT. I was the “Creative Director” and spent most of my time interviewing people after lectures and curating conversation events in the atrium. Now I’m involved with the GSD Radio – which Michelle Chang started at the beginning of the pandemic to fill the void of Gund’s lively chatter.
“A Syracuse professor said something like, ‘You should be able to name as many architects and buildings as you can musicians and songs that you’re listening to.’”
When searching for internships and jobs, what are you looking for?
If all goes well, I’d like to start a firm in my early thirties, so for now I’m more interested in learning how smaller firms function. I’d rather have a hand in everything than be designated to one type of task. Smaller teams typically mean more exposure. Though, I do think it’s sort of a right of passage to work at one of the big guns, so I might try for that after the GSD.
“A Shotgun House” GSD 7 week module option studio with Toshiko Mori. Scrappy pandemic WFH model, 8.5x11” printer paper and tape.
“A Shotgun House” GSD 7 week module option studio with Toshiko Mori. Plan - sited on the Ash St. House (Philip Johnson’s Thesis House).
What’s important to you? What inspires you?
Young people struggling to make their mark. I have epic friends across all kinds of industries and many have to work their passions after work. As a young professional there is so much pressure to find your niche, and my friends are constantly working double duty – all in devotion to their creativity. Ultimately, my relationships with these people and my family are most important (*insert angel halo emoji*).
“As a young professional there is so much pressure to find your niche, and my friends are constantly working double duty – all in devotion to their creativity.”
What do you hope to do in your career?
Down the line, I want to start a studio with some friends in the back of a retail space. In high school, I worked for interior designers with a similar setup – and it was brilliant. There’s something promising about the exposure that consumerism offers. This future firm will challenge constructions of normalcy, indebted to banality for the sake of attention.
Who do you look up to? Both in terms of women in architecture, and in general.
My interest in normalcy makes me particularly grateful for Denise Scott Brown. Her struggle for authorship versus Venturi should be a tired story, but it’s still shamefully relevant today. I’m also unapologetically obsessed with Linda Zhang’s work. Her ability to translate the ephemeral or affect into her work consistently challenges the established means of making and thinking - which is both refreshing and exceptionally challenging. And of course, my mom. Last year she started working in Florida real estate and is seriously kicking ass.
“House 05” with the LADG, under construction. View from the backyard.
“House 05” with the LADG, under construction. View of the central double-height kitchen.
What advice would you give to those in high school now, choosing their field of study?
Reach out to anyone whose work interests you for informal conversations – get in the habit of sending the intimidating emails sooner rather than later. Plus, people are more willing to give you some time when they know that you’re not really asking for anything. But most importantly, these quick encounters can be sustained into long lasting relationships.