Parson's Ruth Grigorov on Architectural Drawing, Collaboration in Design, and Creative Channels
Portrait by Zeffi Walsh.
By Julia Gamolina
Ruth Grigorov is in her final semester of undergraduate study at Parsons School of Design where she will graduate with a BFA in Architectural Design. She has been in Parsons' advanced placement program, having taken architecture courses in the graduate school while completing her undergraduate coursework. Two of her studio projects have been selected for the university archive and she is a senior representative on the student council.
Prior to entering architecture school she was a project manager at PM Contracting Company for three years. She has also worked at the New York based firm Fogarty Finger. Her interests include the generative potential of architectural drawing and expanding the role representation plays within architecture. The goal of her thesis project this semester is to architecturally represent the seven archetypes of femininity and the spaces associated with them.
JG: Why did you decide to study architecture?
RG: The path that led me to study architecture was very circuitous. When I was graduating high school I had no idea I would end up in this field, and it has been quite a journey to get here. I did not start my architecture undergraduate degree until I was 24 and had spent a long time exploring other art forms as well as developing some professional experience.
My childhood was defined by my interest in the visual arts, my weekly music lessons and exposure to my father's Scandinavian furniture store. So, I've always considered myself an artist and designer but it simply just did not occur to me earlier in life that architecture could possibly be something I was suited for. I began to study fine arts and photography at Pratt Institute, which was a wonderful experience, but I left that program because part of me was still unsure about the direction I wanted to pursue.
During the couple of years I was not in school I worked at a general contractor in New York City where I learned the painstaking, exhausting yet very rewarding process of seeing huge construction projects through to completion. It taught me so much about the construction and design industries and it also gave me a lot of discipline. I got to work at 7am and often stayed until 6pm. It was a real New York hustle. I learned how to assert myself within a male-dominated environment, manage large teams of people, and manage money. I also learned how buildings are made! These were all skills I did not have previously in life. It was after holding this job that I realized my aptitude for architecture; I was inherently creative and I now had all this knowledge about how buildings are constructed, and the fearlessness to work very long hours. It seemed so absolutely perfect and exciting, and that is when I enrolled at Parsons.
"Fluidity: In Between Spaces" thematic concept drawing.
What was the favorite project you worked on in school? Favorite paper you wrote? Favorite extracurricular?
There are two projects I've gained the most from in terms of creative development. The first was what I called "Subdivisions of Brick" which was an experiment in translating a musical composition into an architectural one. Ever since this project I have been captivated with drawing music using architectural representation techniques. This is one aspect of the thesis I am working on right now. '
The other project I loved was called "Fluidity: In Between Spaces" because it's where I experienced the beautiful power of collaboration in design. This was a joint project with my best friend Gianell and we also had a wonderful female professor that semester. We empowered each other throughout the process and each came out of the project more confident in our capabilities and with deep respect for eachother. I would never trade that experience for anything. I also wrote a very theoretical paper about voyeurism in architecture during a period in which I read a lot of Beatriz Colomina's work. That was an extremely exciting research project.
“The universal language of architectural drawing has its place for the construction of buildings, but I am really quite fascinated by the idea of developing new languages for the expression of architecture.”
What are some of the initiatives you’ve focused on in school, and why?
My work has organically evolved to focus on the role and use of representation in architecture. I read and study a lot of other architects whose work is focused on this. The universal language of architectural drawing has its place for the construction of buildings, but I am really quite fascinated by the idea of developing new languages for the expression of architecture.
Drawing and image making have always been my greatest source of creative pleasure - I've always liked to work in a very flat way - pen on paper, photography, for example - but to capture dimension at the same time through the use of layers and light. All my projects have had a heavy emphasis on either the generative potential of drawing or the development of new representational languages. I like to experiment with representation techniques that are atypical to architecture and am building my own language library to use in the future.
“Playing the piano for my grandfather. The 14 years I spent learning piano has greatly informed my architecture practice.”
When searching for internships and jobs, what are you looking for?
It's very important to me to work with women and have female mentors. I've had so many wonderful female professors who have created the space for my creative expansion. To be guided by a woman who has already walked the path I am on is a most treasured gift. My ideal work environment would be a very small experimental firm where I can have a hand in the creative side of the projects. I'd like the work to exist on the border between art and architecture and have a large research component to it as well.
What’s important to you? What inspires you?
I've learned from periods of self-examination that it is important to maintain a very clear channel for my creative energy. That involves taking an occasional deep dive into the psychic sea and fishing out things that are clouding its waters. That water needs to be crystal clear, pure, fresh, and moving. When it is stagnant and murky, my work suffers and then I suffer as a result. I really think of myself as an instrument. The work I make comes through me but it is not mine. I think it's important to pay attention to what my hands want to do and listen to them.
Witnessing my friends work on their own projects gives me a lot of inspiration. There is a lot of power in watching someone you know unfold creatively because it is accessible. Getting to know the work of known artists inspires me too, but it takes a longer period of time to feel intimately connected to the artist that way. Watching someone make a model or write a song in an hour is profound and puts you in close contact with the source of all creativity. If you're perceptive to that you can absorb it.
“You can create a career you didn’t even know existed if you dedicate your time to understanding yourself, arming yourself with knowledge, having a wide range of people in your circle, and always feeding yourself inspiration.”
What do you hope to do in your career?
I want to do what I'm meant to do and in order to find that I have to listen intently and follow instinctual guidance. I think it has been working well for me so far. I have been thinking lately about drawing architecture from the road. I'm curious to know what that would generate.
Who do you look up to? Both in terms of women in architecture, and in general.
My female professors at Parsons - Sandra Arndt, Clementina Ruggieri and Eva Perez de Vega - have given me more than they probably know. I admire the work of Diana Agrest of The Cooper Union, particularly the research in her book Architecture of Nature: Nature of Architecture. Some male architects I admire are John Hejduk and Perry Kulper. I love the work of John Cage - his notations and drawings of music are exquisite and have informed my own pursuit of drawing music. I respect my parents and grandparents eternally because they've given me the conditions to be where I am today. I currently listen to Adrianne Lenker's album songs and instrumentals daily and have been drawing it for thesis research.
Thesis research: representation studies from Adrianne Lenker's album 'songs and instrumentals'. A warm up, one, three, five minute drawings visually capturing layers of sound and layers of rhythm.
Finally, what advice would you give to those in high school now, choosing their field of study?
I hope that by sharing my own experience of spending nearly six years exploring what it was I wanted to commit myself to can be living proof that you do not need to know what you want to "do" at the age of 18. For anyone who is graduating high school and might feel confused about what's next - that is more than okay. Spend time doing what brings you joy and learn about the people who have already done what it is you are passionate about. Go to school for something that excites you. You can create a career you didn't even know existed if you dedicate your time to understanding yourself, arming yourself with knowledge, having a wide range of people in your circle, and always feeding yourself inspiration.