AIAS's and CCNY's Nicole Bass on Hope, the Public Sector, and Contributing to the Conversation
Photo by Salvador Delgado @salvadordelgado
By Julia Gamolina
Nicole Bass serves as the 2022-2023 National Vice President of the American Institute of Architecture Students. Born and raised in New York City, Nicole had an early interest in the built environment inspired by traveling to visit family. Throughout school, she pursued internships and classes related to architecture, planning, and policy. Nicole held various leadership positions to better understand the system of academia and advocate for the student's voice. She holds a Bachelor's degree in architecture from the City College of New York.
JG: Why did you decide to study architecture?
NB: When I was young, I always looked out the window whenever I was in a car, train, or bus. I remember thinking that some blocks seemed very similar, like one big family, and others looked like strangers sitting next to each other. My family's neighborhoods evolved over the years, ranging from zero scaffolding to blocks covered in green fencing. I became fascinated and curious by how places can change seemingly overnight from how they were when my family first migrated to New York City.
In middle school and high school, I had this crazy thought that architects had this insane ability to pick a location of their choosing and design or renovate it to their liking. I wanted to be that person who was in charge of it all so that I could make my neighborhood better for family and friends. This thought got me to apply to an arts high school, participate in Saturday programs, take certain classes over others, and attend architecture events that maybe I was a bit too young to understand. When the college application process started, architecture was the only major I considered pursuing seriously. Since I spent so much time staring out the window at buildings, I figured that studying architecture in NYC would be the way to find the answers I had for the buildings I passed by growing up.
Northeast Quad Conference in Boston with chapter leadership. Courtesy of Nicole Bass.
Zero Waste Team at Earth Matters on Governors Island, NY. Courtesy of Nicole Bass.
What was the most significant project to you that you worked on in school?
Thinking back and being mindful that I'm still a few months out of school, the most significant project I was grateful for was an adaptive reuse of iconic midtown commercial skyscrapers taught by John Cunningham. It was during the spring in the thick of the pandemic; there was so much chatter in mainstream and architecture news about all these empty, vacant office buildings in cities. Everyone was questioning things, thinking, “Are we just going to let these massive spaces stay empty for years?" And, "Who can benefit from these spaces?"
The studio was a direct response to this spatial residue of the pandemic and exploration of these questions. My partner Ahmed Helal and I choose the AT&T Building by Phillip Johnson. Going into it, we knew the architect had already faced protests over his fascist views, and the building was landmarked. So it was an interesting and exciting building to do a residential adaptive reuse project with all these layers attached to it. The project went amazingly well for an academic pandemic project solely over Zoom.
What are some of the initiatives you've focused on in school, and why?
In my first year, I luckily got roped into the AIAS because the chapter leaders Zara Tamton and Solomon Oh were hosting a Northeast Quad Conference in the Spring of 2018. It was a fantastic experience to see hundreds of architecture students flooding my school, see the upperclassmen take charge and be on the big stage, and meet as many people as I could. Since then, AIAS has always been one of the first things I did outside the studio.
As I continued to meet upperclassmen, Leslie Epps asked if I wanted to help restart and join the NOMAS chapter. I started the social media and podcast for the chapter to connect students and professionals for a few years. Seeing how willing people were to click through mentorship, podcast episodes, and events was astonishing. It gave me a lot of hope in the architecture community.
From my work with AIAS and NOMAS, my peers shoulder-tapped me to run for the Future Architects of the Middle East (FAME) board and work with President Hamees Gabr to advance Middle Eastern and West Asian voices and their designs. With each board I joined and learned from, I wanted to understand more about the school and CCNY to see how these organizations and clubs can better engage with faculty, staff, and administration. June Williamson, the department chair at the time, helped spearhead an architecture student advisory committee to bridge that gap, and I served as chair of the committee. It was an eventful five years with ups and downs. Still, I never regretted any position or experience I had at Spitzer. It truly shaped my education and what I want to pursue in architecture.
“Seeing how willing people were to click through mentorship, podcast episodes, and events was astonishing. It gave me a lot of hope in the architecture community.”
How did you end up as the National VP of AIAS full-time? Tell me about your role.
At my first national conference in Seattle, Washington, I met remarkable peers with strong voices in every room they entered. As I was talking with them, they made me promise to keep throwing my hat in the ring so more people like us could be in leadership roles in the AIAS. Over the years, I did precisely that and ran for several positions locally and nationally. Naturally, it came with wins and losses. So, when it came time to run for National Vice President, it was a no-brainer.
Six months later, I moved from NYC to DC to be a full-time in-person National VP. I get to wear three more hats as my role graciously encompasses also being the secretary and treasurer of the organization and sitting as the Student Director of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Board of Directors. I interact with our three hundred and plus chapters on a daily basis, from in-person and virtual chapter visits to chairing the Finance Committee and Membership Committee, to starting new chapters across the world from high schools to universities. Of course, managing across seven time zones isn't an easy feat. Still, chatting with students interested in architecture and design has been an incredible experience so far, and seeing how AIAS can be there for them.
Nicole at her first AIA Conference 2018 in NYC with peers. Courtesy of Nicole Bass.
Group photo at Grassroots 2022 with President Cooper Moore and attendees. Courtesy of Nicole Bass.
What have you learned in the last six months?
The past six months have been jam-packed with acclimating to DC, the organization, and learning how to be a Vice President externally to others and internally to our members and Board of Directors. Early on, I realized that it's OK to take things day-by-day so that I can be kind to myself when acclimating to a new job and place. The AIAS, which is by students for students, does a lot on all levels, from weekly programming and events to more than eight national committees and over four conferences.
I needed to pace myself accordingly to understand the process and formulate opinions and ideas since it was new to me. It's been a great experience to see what's behind the curtain of AIAS and exposure to allied organizations like AIA, ACSA, NAAB, NCARB, and NOMA. I'm still learning every day, which keeps the role fun, and I'm grateful for having a team that makes it safe to ask questions and offer ideas.
What do you hope to do in your career?
I've gotten this question a lot lately as the National President and Vice President are a one-year position. I'll say my gut response —I want to work for the public sector and continue to work on engaging with communities, having meaningful projects and programming, and slowly but surely making the environment we practice and live in a better one. I don't know if I'll strictly stay in one sector because I'm interested in buildings and the environment in which they’re designed, constructed, and occupied. Part of this journey is getting licensed, working in a traditional and non-traditional architecture firm, and exploring architecture in adjacent fields. We'll see what happens next.
“I want to work for the public sector and continue to work on engaging with communities, having meaningful projects and programming, and slowly but surely making the environment we practice and live in a better one.”
Who do you look up to? Both in terms of women in architecture, and in general.
The first woman I met in architecture was in a high school program ACE Greater Mentor, and her name was Nicole Lloyd. It was hilarious to me to meet another Nicole as one of the first architects to know. I'm always grateful for the authentic and honest conversations I had with her about applying to architecture school and what it's like to be in the studio versus the practice.
Thinking back now, it undoubtedly foreshadowed all the fantastic women I'll meet once I'm in school and the profession. I have been incredibly blessed to have met and created unique connections with women I studied with like Hajar Alrifai and Krystal Hernandez, shadowed under like Samatha Josphat and Ahu Aydogan, supported by like Martha Gutman and June Williamson, and inspired by alums like Venesa Alicea-Chuqui and Farah Ahmad Qadeer. The list can go on because the network and community I found in places like Spitzer School of Architecture, AIANY, and NYCOBA|NOMA kept me going through school and post-graduation.
Study Abroad Studio in Barcelona with studio partners. Courtesy of Nicole Bass.
Class picture with Independent Advance Studio Project at SSA. Courtesy of Nicole Bass.
What advice would you give to those in high school now, choosing their field of study?
My advice is twofold. Regarding pursuing a field, the world is more interdisciplinary and overlapping than it may seem. There are plenty of skills and knowledge you will learn that translate smoothly into different fields. Therefore, it will always be the right choice to pursue whatever topic or field you are interested in because the passion and curiosity you have for it will drive you.
If it's architecture, you can always hit me up at the AIAS! My second piece of advice I wish someone told me in high school, which is, "Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind – even if your voice shakes." Maggie Kuhn said this. There will be spaces you will walk into in school, work, and life where it is scary to say your opinion or thought, even if it's in a field you love. It is worth it every time to vocalize what's on your mind in a classroom or workplace and contribute to the conversation. All because your perspective and voice matter and can change the field for the better. Even my voice still shakes to this day in conferences, board meetings, and calls I'm on, but this quote helps me get through it.