Getting to Know You

September – October 2020

NEWLY LICENSED: Ann E. Charleston, AIA

NEW MEMBERS:

Ana M. Cajiao, Assoc. AIA Dante Baldassin, Assoc. AIA Loretta Choi, Assoc. AIA Jose A. Cipher, Assoc. AIA John P. Cunningham, AIA Raj S. Deshpande, Assoc. AIA Kevin W. Garcia, Assoc. AIA Zariah T. Griffith, Assoc. AIA Wonne Ickx, Int’l Assoc. AIA Max Isakov, Assoc. AIA Gunes Kurtulan, Assoc. AIA Jaime Leonard, Assoc. AIA Aasiya Maaviah, Assoc. AIA Matthew Mitchell, Assoc. AIA Pablo A. Salcedo, Int’l Assoc. AIA Canan G. Sevim, Assoc. AIA Dann Tollett, Assoc. AIA Dominyka Voelkle, AIA Quinn Waites, Assoc. AIA Hao Zheng, Assoc. AIA GETTING TO KNOW YOU The Membership Committee asked AIA Brooklyn members to answer 10 questions in order to Get to Know Them Better. Here’s what they had to say!

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Daniel Blanc

Aquarius

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? Tough question, but I’d say my favorite part of the profession has to be that moment where you solved an issue. The solution is so fruitful it inspires you to tackle bigger challenges; architecture is problem solving after all.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE? The sounds of rain, lightning, and thunder!

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS?

Since having the ability to manipulate gravity is highly unrealistic, I would say having the ability to win people over merely by my words. I like to sympathize with others, but it isn’t always easy when they put up a barrier between them and everyone else.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART? My least favorite part is how severely underrepresented or respected designers are that make up this profession.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY? Creativity what turns me on is seeing other creative individuals produce amazing things; it makes me want to do something too. Spiritually: being in nature surrounded by its sounds and thanking God for His wonderful creation. Emotionally: Well played instrumental music.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT? Well, I always had a love for film, photography, drawing, and graphic design, but it’s hard for me to really imagine doing that outside of it being a hobby. So, I would say Structural Engineering.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE? I feel like too many people are pressured to have a favorite designer in this profession, but truthful I do not have any. Rather there are projects done by different individuals which I find fascinating.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER, OR ARTIST (LIVING OR NOT), WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU TALK ABOUT? Another tough question, but I’ve always been curious how designers centuries designed and build magnificent pieces of architecture without technology. I know a thing or two about drafting by hand, but it certainly won’t add up to the Florence Cathedral. I’d love to ask someone like Michelangelo if I could just shadow him and watch the whole thing come together. Hopefully time traveling fits the criteria for this question too.

arrow-up DID YOU KNOW? Words, through labeling, writing, and reading have power over people’s well-being, physically and mentally. Labels allow people to recognize their feelings, leading them to be more mindful and aware of their emotions. Writing reduces the stress of unspoken pain and reorganizes people’s experiences to bring a greater perspective and understanding. Lastly, research has proved that reading poetry and stories about people’s lives can be therapeutic.

According to neuroscientist, Daniel Siegel, “poetry can make people more mindful, enabling them to see themselves and their world in a new light.”

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Lucy Navarro

My name is Angelica Navarro but my preferred name is Lucy. I’m a taurus.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? My favorite part of the profession is working together with my colleagues to solve problems, whether big or small.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? I’m currently starting my ARE exams and the red tape to be able to test was exhausting, so right now all of the bureaucracy is my least favorite.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST (LIVING OR NOT) WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? Luis Barragan, i’d like to ask him the recipe for his famous pink paint! his famous pink paint!

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY? Films and reading!

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT? Film critic

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE? My favorite place is Brooklyn is Prospect Park

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST? Weirdly I don’t have one, but i’m from Arizona so Frank Lloyd Wright will always hold a place in my heart.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE? I love the way the city sounds at night.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS? Being able to time travel would be amazing.

arrow-right DID YOU KNOW? Many studies demonstrate that fostering silence in your daily lives is crucial. There are many advantages to incorporating science in your daily routines such as increasing creativity and awareness. You will be less inclined to distraction when you are in silence. As a result, you can improve your focus and concentration levels to accomplish any of your goals. Silence permits reflections, better decision-making, and peace.

arrow-left DID YOU KNOW? According to David Lewis,

“an object time travels if and only if the difference between its departure and arrival times as measured in the surrounding world does not equal the duration of the journey undergone by the object.” Even though there isn’t a time machine to physically move back in time, telescopes allow one to see stars and galaxies. In a way, one experiences time travel when one looks through a telescope. Thtrough a telescope, one sees what stars and galaxies looked like a long time ago; hence, time travel.

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Caitlin Masley-Charlet

Sagitarius

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? The people

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART? The construct

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY? Hard to answer, usually all of that is spontaneous.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT? I’ve already had a previous profession, so I’m going to stick with this one for a bit.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE? Outdoors.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST? No one specific, I don’t do favorites. :)

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE? Sounds of Nature, water, wind, silence.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS? Ah who says I don’t have one already? ;)

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST (LIVING OR NOT) WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? No one specifically as that seems to change frequently.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU CONTINUED

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Peter Zuspan

Aries

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? Designing in collaboration with people I care about.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART? The AIA and NCARB, to be honest, and the problematic power structure that they hold in the industry, maintaining a stifling status quo and not working to radically reimagine a more supportive, inclusive, and productive future for our discipline. My issues with these institutions include topics from not fighting for changing licensing practices that hold down women, people of color, and lower income individuals from achieving licensure, to the AIA’s litigious attitude towards its contract language, to the words of its national leadership supporting Donald Trump’s wall. I feel both institutions have generally abdicated their job of advocating for contemporary architects striving to create sustainable futures for their practices within an antiquated system — one which these institutions have actually helped to create and maintain. (I joined the AIA to see if I can contribute to fixing some of these things from the inside.)

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY? Seeing any work that makes my world view seem limited.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT? I used to be an opera singer, maybe that counts?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE? swimming in a warm ocean.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST? I am a huge fan of the work of Mustafa Faruki.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE? Night-time summer bug drones.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS? Flight.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST (LIVING OR NOT) WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? I’d want to talk to Nina Simone about finesse.

arrow-right DID YOU KNOW? Kyle recommends B+H

Dairy, the diner, not the photo store, over in

East Village. He imagines comparing notes with Donald Judd about places that still existed when he started spending time in the city around 2008. He also liked Cheeps on 7th Street and 2nd Avenue for falafel, and the new and improved Mamoun’s on Saint

Marks is still a good option.

arrow-left DID YOU KNOW? Mustafa Faruki is an architectural designer, educator, and the director of theLab-lab for architecture, a New

York-based practice “dedicated to completely re-inventing the potential outputs of architectural design.” The firm concentrates on architectures that are driven by clients’ emotions or lifestyles such as humor, desire, memory, and loss. In one of his projects,

Celebatorium is a “housing proposal aimed to shelter individuals who are alone” for the “zoneAlone NYC: Housing for Alone-ness initiative.” The proposal presents a typology of pod-like dwellings with automated utilities to support each occupant.

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Kyle Keene

Pisces Sun, Capricorn Rising

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? I enjoy the old buildings and the history.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART? Market instability. I’m currently looking for work!

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY? Understanding where people are coming from with their creative expressions.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT? Tour guide

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE? Barcelona

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST? I.M Pei

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE? Bird songs

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS? Painting

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST (LIVING OR NOT) WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? I would meet Donald Judd. and I hope we could talk about falafel places and diners in New York City- past and present.

WHAT’S YOUR NAME, WHAT’S YOUR SIGN? Nadeen Hassan

Pisces

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? My favorite part about the architecture profession is the fact that we have the opportunity to improve the quality of life for people through space. Every single decision we make affects every person that uses the space along with the overall community. The time we invest to make certain design decisions will dictate whether people will feel comfortable, safe, and valuable. It’s truly a rewarding feeling how your design is used and how it’s wonderfully impacting the users.

WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE PART ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE PROFESSION? The education system. There are heavy biases in schools in terms of who is recognized and why they are recognized. There is this expectation that students need to pull all-nighters to succeed. I think, unfortunately, many schools do not care for the students themselves or design justice but more about designs. Architecture school is stressful and intense, but when you witness how you are treated as a minority and a woman versus a white male, you can’t blame the curriculum but rather the people who are building it.

WHAT TURNS YOU ON CREATIVELY, SPIRITUALLY OR EMOTIONALLY? Nature, beaches, and books pretty much sum up what turns me on creatively. There is something special about making time for yourself and just reflecting. That is when creative ideas come in.

WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOUR OWN WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEMPT? I would say Medical school, but I am not too sure if I even trust that. I think it’s because I enjoy the show, Grey’s Anatomy. Then again, my first studio professor did say some people who left architecture became good surgeons.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE OR SPACE? My favorite place is home in Alexandria, Egypt. The blue sea, the vibrant culture, the people, everything about it is remarkably unique and special. Every time I receive an opportunity to travel there, I learn more about its rich cultures, traditions, people, and architecture that form parts of me that I try to bring here.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST? I wish it were easy to select one, but I have a list of favorite architects and designers. Some of my favorable architects are leading change in today’s design industry to create a more equitable environment spatially, but also for emerging professionals. These individuals are giving voices to whoever wants to be heard, which has been so inspiring to me, such as Pascale Sablan, Venesa Alicea-Chuqui, Danei Cesario, Talisha Sainvil, Samantha Josaphat, and Julie Nelson, the list can go on and on.

WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE? I am a morning person; so, there’s something lovely about waking up to the sound of birds chirping. It’s a reminder of a new day, a fresh slate.

WHAT NATURAL GIFT OR MAGIC POWER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO POSSESS? I would love to be able to read people’s minds.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANY ARCHITECT, DESIGNER OR ARTIST (LIVING OR NOT) WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? It’s pretty hard to select just one; but I guess someone I wish I could meet is Zaha Hadid. I would’ve loved to talk to her about how she kept pushing forward to bring her imagination and “unnatural” designs to life, how she stayed strong despite strong criticism, how she began to gain some respect as a woman in architecture, and how she felt when winning a Pritzker prize.

arrow-left DID YOU KNOW? The birdsong that can be heard in the early mornings is called a

‘dawn chorus.’ The dawn chorus is mostly made up of male birds attempting to attract a mate and is often louder, livelier and more frequent than normal bird chirping. While there are a few unproven theories as to birdsong occurs early in the morning, according to The Huffington

Post, morning people are: happier, get better grades, have lots of energy, are more productive, more conscientious, at lower risk for depression and are generally nicer.

QUESTIONS INSPIRED BY Brooklyn’s own Notorious B.I.G.; James Lipton, Bernard Pivot and Marcel Proust

WANT US TO GET TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BETTER? Send an email to secretary@aiabrooklyn.org to be featured in an upcoming issue of PYLON.