Q. What motivated you to choose the field of architecture?
A. I was seeking a way to use my skills in math and logic combined with a job that allowed me to draw every day.
Q. What type of work are you most interested in?
A. I am open to any work that creates unique solutions for nice people.
Q. What has been your biggest challenge since obtaining your architecture degree?
A. Working as a woman of color, the ongoing presence of racism and sexism in the architecture and construction industries is the largest challenge of being in the field.
Q. What did you like about architecture school?
A. I enjoyed the connections with other students and seeing diverse ways of thinking and problem solving.
Q. Any criticisms of the architecture education experience?
A. At the time I went to school, it lacked enough focus on practice and how that work evolves throughout your career.
Q. What are your professional goals?
A. I would like to continue to evolve my firm (Solk Architecture) to take on even more complex and thoughtful work. I also seek to bring a greater transparency and understanding of the field to the general public – I cohost a podcast called “Bad Words Good Buildings”, check it out!
Q. Who do you consider to be some of your favorite architects?
A. Eileen Gray, Charlotte Perriand, Kazuyo Sejima
Q. Do you have a favorite building or city?
A. Two seemingly very different buildings that both share the quality of harnessing formal and material simplicity: CCCB (Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona) and Donald Judd’s 101 Spring Street
Q. What do you hope to get out of your AIA Brooklyn Chapter membership?
A. I look forward to evening lectures on sustainability and urban climate resilience.
