What are some things you’ve noticed while you’ve been here for thirteen years, anything you find stays the same or something that’s changed?
“Well, mainly that there are a lot more students now then there were in the beginning. But it’s always been a smaller community, different from main campus. And every term we notice that there are new kinds of projects, new kinds of things we see hung up.”
Is there anything in particular that you love about this job?
“Mainly that wonderful sense of community — I often think of myself as a mom and you guys as all of my kids. It’s just being able to be there for the students, I mean if there’s anything you guys need, I’ll be there. Counselling, a shoulder to cry on, you know. You can really connect with the students. You get to watch them grow — when you guys come here, most of you are so young, right? 17, 18? Every once in a while I’ll come across some pictures of the younger versions of the older students and think ‘who the heck is that?’ Like a mom, I’m always watching and asking if anyone needs anything from hugs or some jokes to make them laugh. There actually used to be a prof who’d say ‘if you want to know anything about this school, just ask the custodians.’ Sometimes, during deadline times in particular, I could walk into a room here and cut the stress with a knife. That’s when you know to stay away from the students and let them be. I wish this school had some sort of communal kitchen — if there were, I’d probably be cooking for you guys.”
If you could go back and give some advice to your first year self, what would you say?
“I would say to focus on learning a larger variety of softwares.” “I would say to invest yourself more in newer technologies, discover different sciences and travel more, to immerse yourself in international environments with different societies, different people. Even do some international competitions.” “I would say to read more books. Now, I feel like I’m unable to find myself time to do it, but I would tell my younger self that has the energy to read all these books to not miss that chance.” “I would definitely say to explore our major a little bit, finding out more about different aspects of architecture. Architecture is not only design, it’s different things — you can explore photography, music, technology, the engineering side of it. That way, you can gather your information all together and try to be an architect that has all this interdisciplinary knowledge.” “Yes exactly, undergrad, especially first year, is really the best time to do this. You have a lot more time than you think since there’s a lot less pressure on you, and it’s the best time for your brain, thought process and personality to be growing.”
Have you guys reached any point in first year so far when something felt like too much of a challenge, too difficult?
“Well, not really. I just kind of deal with it. I just get my tasks done when I need to.” “Yeah, me too. I kinda just do my own thing.”
What drove you guys to come here and study architecture? And what do you guys think of it so far?
“I had applied to a couple of schools in Canada, but Waterloo is the best known for the program.” “I actually visited the school once, and I really liked it. I like that it’s small, with a better sense of community. When we visited main campus, I felt glad I didn’t go there — it’s much crazier than here. I prefer our smaller classes, in a small town like this one. I like that I never feel like I’m in a rush.”
“I’m going as Freida Kahlo for Halloween. I find her and her art very inspiring. She had been physically injured all over her body from a car accident, and she was able to express how she lived her life through her art. I actually only know all this ’cause I watched the movie on her life.”
What’s something you do or look at to get inspired, get your brain flowing with ideas?
“I usually look for something I can really connect with emotionally — I think everybody works differently, like some people approach their own creative process rationally, but I create through my feelings. That way, I can feel like I’m actually connecting to it. An example of something would be Freida Kahlo, with her colours and compositions, her self-portraits, the striking way she looks at you through them.”
Have there been moments yet when you’ve felt that you’ve made the right decision in coming here, finally feeling comfortable adjusting to this life?
“Well, the other day I got 40% on a quiz, and I wasn’t phased. I just looked at it and thought ‘true’. I kind of sometimes expect myself to fail and deal with it, ’cause I know it’s bound to happen here at some point. Others around me would be freaking out for me, and I’d just look at them and go ‘hey. Chill.’ Sometimes I think it might be a bad thing to react this way, but it just works for me. For my first crit ever, I got roasted — I went in as a raw chicken, and came out charred. I had slept on this chair the night before after working on it all night so it was a bit upsetting, but I hear that’s a thing that happens all the time in design. The profs always criticize you with a smile, even when pretty much just saying ‘so hey, this is shit.’ It’s pretty intimidating. But what can I do, right? I just only tell my mom the good things.” “I feel like there isn’t one specific moment, but for me it’s pretty amazing how talented everyone is here. You can just walk around, and all these different ideas just come out. It’s inspirational, but stressful at the same time. Sometimes I think ‘what am I compared to all these people? How did I get in here?'”
What’s something you like to do to help you destress?
“Well, I’m not sure. I don’t feel like there’s much time to relax and have free time here. I like to watch TV shows while I work, though. I just watch whatever people recommend, and I love binge-watching, that’s why I never watch something that just came out — I hate waiting, and cliffhangers. Movies, too! Like the Studio Ghibli movies, those are my favourite. My favourites are always tied between Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Castle in the Sky. I love them so much. I really like the art, it actually inspired the art for my grade 12 art series. I like to doodle, but I’m worried now that since being here I haven’t been able to draw the same way I used to before architecture. Before, my doodles just sort of started to happen, I never had to think about it. Now I feel guilty when I doodle, I feel like I’m wasting time when I have to be working on something.”
Has there ever been a moment in school or life in general when you’ve felt really proud of something you’ve done?
“Well, it’s not something crazy impressive, but once in high school, I got Bronze in breaststroke for our swim team. It wasn’t a big deal, just the Northern Ontario regionals in Sudbury. It was kind of a funny moment, because I didn’t feel like I was super performing then, but I ended up doing okay. It was pretty big news to me when I got the results.”
What led you into swimming?
“My dad, probably. He swims for two hours everyday — he does it for destress. I actually haven’t swam in a while, I miss it. It’s super fun, and probably the best form of exercise. I love the rippling of the water, and you just kind of take note of WATER — it’s not something you really think about, even visually, most of the time. I took an extra year of high school and got myself into all sorts of sports, and I’m really thankful I did that. Athletics were never a big part of my high school life until the last two years. I think there’s a ton that you learn with athletics that you don’t learn elsewhere. I heard a coach who was advocating for physical education at our school say ‘where do you expect kids to learn courage? Do you think they’re gonna learn that sitting at desks?’ I feel like it’s essential for the cultivation of a person. A big aspect of it for me was interacting with people I wouldn’t normally socialize with, and I guess it’s also where I found my sense humour.”
What do you like to typically do to de-stress, from studio or life in general?
“De-stress? Uh, well, I like to lock myself in my room, disconnect from the Internet, and just listen to music that I have downloaded. I’ll just play that all day and chill out. I’m surrounded by people all the time, I’m hearing people’s voices all the time, and I find it calming when I don’t have to listen to people. So, I just turn to music until I feel that I’m good, that I can go back into the real world now. It’s how I re-energize. I’m an introvert, so being around people drains me. Like, after that Halloween party, I didn’t leave my room all day yesterday, except to go to the bathroom. That’s what I do when I’m stressed out — I just hide from people. I listen to a lot of different genres, but I guess my favourite genre is considered ‘trap music.’ It’s hard to describe, you have to listen to it to get it. It’s a pretty vague genre. No people, just instruments.”
We’ve been in school for over three years now. What are some moments that you consider highlights of your life here?
“Going to New York in first year — I enjoyed New York a lot. Going to Coffeehouses are always fun, because that’s when you get to see what everyone’s good at outside of this stuff. Chicago was really fun — I remember going out a few nights and just dumpster-diving, leaving paintings on the street on random pieces of wood that we found. However nervous everyone was for the very first crit compared to their very latest crits. I haven’t had a situation where I thought that I’d enjoy something more. I think about what I would do here versus what I would do at other universities, and I like that this school allows me to kinda do what I want — I love travelling, and with the system here I can dip when I get the itch.”
You’re known to have a very unique design process. How do you get your brain going for a project?
“It usually starts in a lot of different places. I’ve always been fascinated with Russian Avant-Garde Constructivists, the fact that they were able to peel away a lot of ideas — nothing’s about a finished project. It’s always about the mid-step, mid-construction. Everything from Morphosis, or Eric Owen Moss or Steven Holl — they’re always fascinated with buildings mid-construction. They always hate the building when it’s finished. I’m always wondering how I can incorporate that into a project. I always try to keep in mind that at some point, it’s going to become a page in someone’s book or a page in a portfolio. It’s always good to have in mind what it’s going to look like when I it looks finished to me. Keeping in mind that you’re not always going to be there to explain your project. I think it was Fiona (an adjunct in our first year studio) that told us to keep in mind that when you’re making a model, people rarely get to see the actual model — they’ll only be seeing a picture of that model. You always imagine what it’s going to look like when it’s up on a page. Soviet posters from the Constructivists are very inspiring, such as Tatlin, Kandinsky — those artists are big sources of inspiration. They always have a very strong sense of how shapes form two languages that are talking to each other. That moment can literally be the beginning of a project, right? That moment of a triangle meeting a square.”
(Bonus pic): Happy Halloween from Waterloo Architecture!
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