Architectette Caitlin Brady

We have a very special guest on today’s episode of Architectette, Denise Scott Brown.

Denise Scott Brown is an architect; planner & urban designer; and a theorist, writer and educator whose projects, research, and writing have influenced designers and architects since the 1960s. Her writings have changed the practice of architecture as we know it and her built work spans several continents. Some of her notable writings include Learning from Las Vegas, Having Words, and Architecture as Signs and Systems. She was a long-standing principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates.

Many of the topics we cover are influenced from the recently published book, Denise Scott Brown in Other Eyes: Portraits of an Architect edited by Frida Grahn.  

I had the pleasure of chatting with Denise for two and a half hours (please remember, Denise is in her 90s!) - so this conversation will be divided into two episodes.



In part 1 we talk about: 

- We start with the iconic theory: Duck vs Decorated Shed. How did Denise come up with the idea? Why a duck? And did she anticipate her theories’ on academia? 

- We next explore Denise’s early teaching days. She shares stories from Penn, UCLA, and Berkeley and we walk about late-night crits and ‘Functions of a Table’. 

- We dive into the origin story of Learning from Las Vegas and then hear some stories you might not read in your history books: how Denise met Robert Venturi and started working with him and I also ask where she got her bold, graphic wedding dress (see an image in Grahn's book!)

- Next, we cover the political and social complexities of growing up as a Jewish immigrant in Africa and draw parallels to her teaching during the free speech movement and more recent eras of social reform.

- Denise expresses the importance of creativity in childhood and she shares her earliest memory- from age two!

- If you’re listening closely, you’ll also hear a few shoutouts to the Drexel Community- Paul Hirshorn and John Fry and more unexpectedly, Denise draws a few parallels to Trevor Noah. 



I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed interviewing Denise. (Denise, Emma, and Nyma - THANK YOU!)



Please join us for next week’s Part 2 episode where we will discuss Sexism and the Star System, Philadelphia’s South Street, the Provincial Capitol Building in Toulouse, and more!



Links:

Studio Architecture's Gift to Academe

Denise Scott Brown in Other Eyes: Portraits of an Architect

Venturi Scott Brown Website

Learning from Las Vegas (article summary)

Photo: Denise Scott Brown, 2023, photograph by Nyamsuren Erdenebayar 



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Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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On today’s episode of Architectette we’re traveling to the Metaverse with Fatemeh Monfared.

Fatemeh started her journey with a degree in architecture, but soon established a specialty crafting virtual worlds and experiences. She is currently the Chief Metaverse Architect at her company, Spaces.

This is a great episode for folks in architecture and design who want to know a bit more about the metaverse without all the jargon and complexity.



We talk about:

- The opportunity that took Fatemeh’s career from a from a traditional path in architecture to focusing on creating metaverse environments.

- The limitations and creative freedoms within different metaverse platforms. Fatemeh touches on the architectural considerations, design processes, and tools required for creating immersive experiences.

- The technical aspects of her job- the software, coding, and how design elements like shopping experiences, teleportation, music, and education function in the metaverse.

- We also dive into entrepreneurship. Fatemeh shares how her focus on a niche has helped her to build a successful company and expertise.

- We end by chatting about Metaverse trends post-pandemic. We talk about the buzz about the metaverse, virtual and augmented reality, and how clients today express more genuine interest potential projects.



Links:

Connect with Fatemeh on LinkedIn

Connect with Fatemeh on Instagram

Spaces DAO

Spacial.io

Decentraland



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Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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On today’s episode of Architectette we welcome Hosts of the Open Plan Podcast- Maria Pastorelli and Emily Khalid.

Maria and Emily met during grad school at Georgia Tech and have continued their friendship and podcast collaboration despite working in Atlanta and Philadelphia respectively.

Emily is a Lead Architect and Project Manager at WSP, Maria is an architectural designer with a background in marketing. Their podcast conversationally bridges the gap between professional development, licensure, and lifestyle.



We talk about: 

- The origins of Maria and Emily’s friendship and how the podcast developed from their conversations about school, work, and exam prep. 

- We next chat about a huge focus of the podcast: the AREs. Emily talks about the highs and lows of her recent experience taking and passing all of the architecture registration examinations and Maria shares insights into her study process and exam strategy.

- Maria discusses her transition from architecture to marketing and the skills she developed along the way, emphasizing the value of exploring different career avenues within the field.

- Emily reflects on the challenges of teaching first year architecture students and how she encourages them to build creative problem-solving skills within an architectural toolkit.

- We end by reminiscing about the challenges of job hunting during the pandemic. Both guests share their experiences transitioning into the job market during uncertain times and how it impacted their career paths. 



A bit more about our guests:
Emily Khalid, AIA, NCARB is a Philadelphia-based architect, project manager, and educator with 9+ years of experience working with buildings that are old, new, and everything in between. She currently is a Lead Architect and Project Manager at WSP, where she specializes in transportation and civic architecture across the public and private sectors. She is co-host of the Open Plan Podcast, where she is passionate about creating accessible education, licensure, and career content for architecture professionals. She was selected for the Emerging Leaders in Transportation 2023-2024 cohort, is a mentor for the Women in Transportation Student Chapter, and has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Temple University, Tyler School of Art and Architecture.



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 Chair of student-led organization Equity in Architecture, while also completing internships in Atlanta. Her early experience has been in healthcare and community-driven initiatives. She graduated with her Masters in 2020 and has been working on various multi-family, educational, and commercial projects. Additionally, Maria has gained valuable experience in Marketing and currently consults with small architecture practices.


Links:

Open Plan Podcast

Connect with Maria on LinkedIn

Connect with Emily on LinkedIn

Open Plan Podcast on Spotify



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Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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On today's BONUS episode of Architectette we welcome Claire Kern. Claire is a landscape architect and founder of Pass the LARE. We chat about her work experience in landscape architecture, the process and challenges of obtaining a license, parallels to architecture and the AREs, and her hopes to make the study and examination process a bit easier for candidates.



Links:

Connect with Claire on LinkedIn

More about the LARE/CLARB

Pass the LARE



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Connect with host Caitlin Brady on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠.



Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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On today’s episode of Architectette we feature a conversation with Julianne Peters. Julianne is an interior designer at Hellyer Lewis Smith, founder of Design Success Network, and is also a multi-term leader of her local PA/NJ/DE IIDA Chapter.



We talk about:

- Julianne’s early career experiences, how she navigated challenges during the pandemic, the roles and responsibilities of her current position, and the challenge of taking and passing the NCIDQ exams.

- The importance of legislation both on a national and a state level to protect the title of interior designers, the ability to sign drawings, and the advocacy efforts in various states to achieve recognition.

- Her extensive volunteerism with professional associations like IIDA and ASID. She reflects on the benefits of her involvement which extends far beyond the workplace.

- We finish with Julianne’s founder story! We talk about the idea for Design Success Network and how the platform works to ease the burden of the NCIDQ exams with study resources and tutoring to support designers preparing for exams or seeking professional development.



Links:

Learn more about Julianne

Connect with Julianne on LinkedIn

Design Success Network

NCIDQ Exam

IIDA

ASID



Architectette Podcast Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.architectette.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Connect with host Caitlin Brady on LinkedIn.



Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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On today’s episode of Architectette we meet with Patricia Ramallo. Patricia is the Assistant Vice President of International Relations at NCARB (National Council of Architectural Registration Boards).



We talk about:

- Patricia's journey to get her US architecture license after being licensed in Argentina. She offers insights into the challenges and rewards of navigating licensure requirements and how she applies those experiences to her work at NCARB today.

- We next chat about NCARB's response to changing industry needs and how implementing changes (transitioning from ARE version 4.0 to 5.0, modifying exam formats, switching to PSI, removing scrap paper, reintroducing reschedule fees, and eliminating the rolling clock) have impacted testing and licensure rates.

- We also talk about how NCARB addresses DEI issues within the architecture profession and tracks changes through the NCARB by the Numbers report.

- I also had to include a conversation about the cost of exams and maintenance fees! Patricia and I talk about NCARB as a non-profit, how they work to minimize costs, and what programming they offer above and beyond exam prep. (There are also a lot of ways to volunteer with NCARB)


Links:

Connect with Patricia on LinkedIn

More about Patricia

NCARB Website

NCARB By the Numbers

NCARB Foreign Architect Path

NCARB Practice Exams

Volunteer with NCARB

NCARB Futures Symposium

Baseline on Belonging 

Baseline on Belonging Action Plan   

NCARB LinkedIn, NCARB Instagram, NCARB YouTube

Patricia Akinaga Architectette Episode



Architectette Podcast Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.architectette.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Exclusive Content on our Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.architectette.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Connect with host Caitlin Brady on ⁠LinkedIn⁠.



Music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AlexGrohl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pixabay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.


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