I grew up in the countryside of New York where I was exposed to family members’ trades of construction, masonry, painting, and architecture. As a child, I was inspired by the abundance of electric transmission towers located throughout our town. The form of these structures influenced my desire to become a licensed architect and design buildings.
I began my architectural studies at Hudson Valley Community College, where I gained the skills of hand drafting, model making, and using drawing software. This positive experience motivated me to continue my journey into a career in architecture and obtain my Bachelor of Architecture degree at New York Institute of Technology and relocate to Old Westbury, Long Island. I started my internship after enjoying several academic projects that I worked on which placed my focus on public housing, educational facilities, Fire stations, and community centers. As an intern I took on the responsibilities of organizing and maintaining the studio material library, which furthered my interest in construction materials, color pallets, and finishes.
After completing my internship, I took a position as an assistant project engineer, where I designed ramps for homes that required lifting due to hurricane damages. This was inspired by an academic project where I explored elevated tensile structures that created a safe place for the community to take shelter during major storms. I also explored weather resistant materials that could hold structure during heavy natural forces.
My thesis project at NYIT was to utilize methods of sensory design to construct an art institute that would also aid the nearby elderly community, some of whom struggled with Alzheimer’s disease. To continue this research I relocated to Brooklyn, New York, to attend Pratt Institute and obtain my Master of Science in Architecture graduate degree. I continued my sensory research at Pratt Institute through material explorations where I created recipes for biomaterials that could grow vegetation and act as an acoustic absorber for sound. Each studio that I attended tested the different scales of architecture, such as designing a renovated acoustic interior shell, a biophilic sound exhibit within a preserved existing staircase, and an urban planning vegetation extension.
As a Junior Architect, I continued my design interests of preservation architecture and gained opportunities of drawing and modeling preservation projects such as hotels, art centers, and educational music facilities. I took on the responsibility of job shadowing a NYC zoning standard expert and developing NYC zoning standards for an office training seminar.
After working on a music suite for a K-12 school, I decided to continue my studies in acoustics. As the lead designer on various recording studio projects, I began dedicating time to expanding my material studies in developing interior design standards that contained materials that specifically aided acoustics and natural elements. I became inspired after completing renderings for a biophilic recording studio to continue my studies in sustainable architecture.