Replaying our episode with Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman.

Katrina is an urban anthropologist that specializes in human behavior in public spaces. In 2019, she was selected as one of the BBC's 100 Influential Women Around the World and currently works as a data fellow for the City of Philadelphia within the Smart Cities Department doing research on data equity and privacy. She is dedicated to the improvement of public space, with extensive experience teaching and researching the topics we speak about.

We talk about:

- What is urban anthropology and how did it grow from the work of Jane Jacobs and Holly Whyte?

- Surprising things you find in the city and what stories those items tell.

- How cities identify and address problems to improve life for residents.

- We discuss urban design improvements and lessons learned from the South Street Headhouse Square District, Barcelona, and Çatalhöyük.

- Katrina shines a light on the bias of cities and how these biases impact layout, function, and policy.

- We talk about strategies to invoke the spirit of urban anthropology in your professional and personal life.

- I ask Katrina her opinion regarding the rising trend of suburban "Fake Downtowns", public space, and decentralization.

Other Episodes You Might Like:

002: Martha Cross: Planners Build Trust and Communities

020: Dena Prastos: Pairing Architecture and Engineering for Resilient Waterfronts

014: Patrícia Akinaga: Impactful Landscape Architecture in the US and Brazil

040: Melissa Daniel: Why/ How Architecture is Political

038: Olivia Asuncion: Architect, Ramp Enthusiast, and Accessibility Advocate

Replaying our episode with architect Cynthia Muñoz, principal at Stoecker and Northway Architects (Santa Clara, California) and Chair of the Board of Directors of the ACE Mentor Program of the San Francisco Bay Area.

We talk about: - Cynthia's path to becoming an architect and other career paths she considered before she transferred to the architecture program at UC Berkeley. - Her working experiences as an intern, designer, and eventually- principal. - The significant impact of Cynthia's mentors (two female, senior architects) and the lessons they taught her. - Why good design is important, but how you treat your team is crucial. - Cynthia's experience during the 2008-2009 economic downturn and how she managed the "teenage years" of her career. - How, as a leader, Cynthia managed projects during the pandemic and how mentorship has changed in a hybrid work format. - What the ACE Mentor Program is, how it helps students, why you should get involved as a student or mentor!

More Episodes You Might Like: 045: Atelier Cho Thompson: Ming Thompson and Christina Cho Yoo on Diverse Strengths and Great Design

026: Angela Watson: Embracing Challenges, Fostering Connection as CEO

025: Yiselle Santos Rivera: Beyond her Role as Director of JEDI

024: Bolanle Williams-Olley: Leading Boldly as CFO

013: Erin Alley: Rising to Leadership in Architecture through Inquiry, Inclusivity, and Innovation

009: FIFTEEN: Ximena Valle, Mary Beth Di Figlia, and Jill Lavine on their Women-led Firm

003: Cynthia Kracauer: Speaking Up, Leading, and Connecting

Replaying our special episode featuring 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.

Replaying our interview with Eva Baker AIA, LEED AP BD+C. Eva is an architect who specializes in laboratory planning. She is currently a Senior Associate and Director of the Philadelphia Office of HERA Laboratory Planners.

We talk about:

- Eva's pairing of a Bachelor degree in Chemistry with a Master's degree in Architecture so that she could combine two of her passions.

- Whether she followed the advice of her mentors to focus on general architecture before diving into laboratory expertise.

- I ask Eva what are the important components to consider when designing a lab including structural modules, safety, flexibility, MEP, and equipment and then we also talk about emerging trends in laboratory design like the integration of automation.

- We discuss her long path to working at HERA and how consultancy functions differently than an architecture firm.

- We talk about her favorite types of projects, skills she looks for when hiring, and how long it takes (spoiler- two years!) to become a lab specialist.

- Eva also shares about the challenges she faced when she returned from maternity leave, had to balance office work and pumping, late nights working "parent hours", the constraints of childcare, and the societal and self-imposed stress of motherhood and career progression.

- We end by talking about the importance of sharing responsibilities at home so that she and her partner can pursue meaningful careers as well as a successful family life.

More Episodes You Might Like: 039: Morgan Chawaga: Burnout, Meditation, and Mental Health In Architecture

036: Jill Bergman: Specializing in Healthcare Architecture

19: Joann Lui: Mental Health, Architecture, and Building Community

(Bonus 009): Q&A with Architecture Graduates - Maithili Awasarikar