![]() Now, that was fun.Īcross the three years’ post graduating I had been privy to the ugliest side to architecture, the most beautiful and everything in between. In my darkest hour there, I was head hunted and jumped across to a boutique interiors firm, at the top of their game decking out hotels and celebrity homes. Strip malls and seafood chain restaurants were the norm at this new studio, not that it really mattered as I fell into an illustrator role, coz I could build models and hand render. After a 12 month stint, I was forced to jump ship to another architectural practice due to unfortunate changes in work visas. I still remember the scream I made when I heard ‘you got the job’ for a position at a major local architectural firm. I spent my breaks hunting on line for my next move, it was slim pickings. My first ‘paid’ job was at a carpet showroom. After graduating in 2004, I drove across the country to Portland Oregon, a rainy city on the west coast and one in the middle of a mini recession I couch surfed between my car and friends places for the better half of a year and worked with an architect for 6 months whilst I painted an Agnes Martin mural in his office for free. So when I finally made it to the States after graduating high school, I was pretty darn chuffed my childhood dream had come to fruition. After years of growing up in the very brown desert, colour in the everyday was extremely attractive. A country where everyone was equal and dreams really could come true. It was a childhood dream of mine to make it to the ‘melting pot’ which was ‘A m r i k a ” – aka America. Yasmine, how did your early experience working in design in the USA shape your practice today? It wasn’t until we both happened to be back on home turf in Sydney in 2013 that we took the plunge into making our dream a reality….the rest is history! An unexpected coincidence for us both, as although of the same mother, we grew up on different sides of the globe!. Standing on top of a historical fort that was in fact the subject of Yasmine’s final design project, our dreams and passions in regards to design and the building of community united the seed of having a studio together was planted. In regards to starting my own practice, the idea had not really crossed my mind until having completed my degree in Landscape Architecture and notched up a couple of years professional experience, I embarked on a round the world travel adventure and made a stop in to see Yasmine, who was at the time finishing up her degree in Interior Architecture at Savannah College of Design in The States. Working closely on all facets of the growing studio gave me immense insight into how a business runs from all angles. At the outset we were a team of three, which meant that everything was hands on and every task and project a tremendous learning curve. On the flip side, post my professional debut at Hassell, I joined Aspect Studios in Sydney in 1999 when it was just setting sail on the local scene. Tony McCormick, my boss at the time was also a stickler for spelling, so for all of you out there that are not aware… Car Park is two words! This was critical in the context of that particular project as many of the spaces and places that were dreamt up during the Master Planning phase of the project were not to be realised until well into the future. I learnt to appreciate the importance of setting up rigorous frameworks and concepts to inform the ongoing evolution of a site. ![]() ![]() Additionally, working in this office in the years leading up to the Sydney Olympic Games afforded me the privilege of working on projects as vast and complex as the Master Plan for the Parklands surrounding the Olympic Village at Homebush. Katy: Indeed, my work experience at both Hassell and Aspect Studios had a profound impact on how I, and our studio as a whole practices.īeing multidisciplinary, Hassell, my first work place, gave me firsthand experience in the art of collaboration and working across disciplines. What did they teach you and when did you decide to found your own practice in Amber Road? Katy, you’ve worked with some big names in the Australian design scene.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |