Meet Our Women in Design Co-Chairs

Women in Design (WiD) serves to promote the professional development and advancement of women at PAYETTE through regular dialogues that encourage teamwork, collaboration and learning in an atmosphere of collegiality. The group includes women professionals with all levels of experience, in all roles, who come together for discussion, fellowship and exchange of design and professional ideas. The primary goal of the group is to provide a forum for professional interests and common concerns in order to advance the professional careers of women in the firm.

Our WiD group is led by two people, co-chairs, with alternating two-year term periods to ensure an easy transition between leadership that we feel helps keep our group thriving. Today, we wanted to introduce and learn a little more about our current co-chairs – Mali Ouzts-Gusenleitner and Nicoletta Kyverniti.

What drew you to become a WiD co-chair?
I have always relished mentorship roles – either being mentored or mentoring others. I find there is something to be learned from those around you and I am open to the possibility to hearing a new way to think about work, life and architecture. Being a co-chair for WiD has allowed me to meet new people that have different strengths and discuss how they developed them and what I can do to get there.

What is one of your favorite WiD events?
There have been a couple that have stuck out in my mind as great, but my favorite was one we titled Permission to Screw Up after the title of a book I had recently finished.  We opened the discussion with a Podcast by Mike Rowe where he tells a story about a famous woman in history without saying her name until the end. This episode was about the bravery of Bertha Benz who knew her husband had a great invention but needed to prove it to the world, so she drove to her mother’s house. What is so simple to us, at that time was the first trip of its kind and took an entire day and it changed the world.  From there the discussion in the room moved from her courage to do something to momentous and to take on the risk of screwing up which is described in the book by Kristen Hadeed Permission to Screw Up. What I liked most about this event was how engaged everyone was.  We had a really good turnout of people both in terms of number but also skill sets.

If you could eat lunch with one architect, living or deceased, who would it be?
Carlo Scarpa, I am not sure if that answer dates me slightly, but he encompasses gesamtkustwerk to me.  He is an architect that focused not only on how a person sees architecture but also considers that humans have multiple senses and that how we hear a space or feel it tactilely is also extremely important. My favorite modern architect that accomplishes this is Peter Zumthor.  And while I would not say no to a lunch with him either especially after spending a day in the Therme Vals it is how Scarpa worked that intrigues me. It is rumored that Scarpa would draw his floor plans and then draw the section over the floor plan and then the elevations over the sections. If true, this is so telling to how he saw his spaces and I would love to ask him about that.

The sky is the limit: what would you redesign?
Boston Government Center

What do you do in your free time?
My free time is usually filled with video games and reading. I read a lot of non-fiction mostly about English medieval history, currently my favorite non-fiction author is Dan Jones but I also like Norman F. Cantor. I just finished reading The Dictators Handbook which I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in why the world is the way it is as it discusses the different government structures and the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. And given that happy topic I decided to start Why Nations Fail as a follow up. For my break from reality a person can never go wrong with Douglas Adams! You can learn a lot about life when zooming through the highly improbable in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

What drew you to become an WiD co-chair?                     
Being involved within the practice of architecture, you witness many different perspectives that show how multicultural, in all aspects, it is. Acknowledging that, I find the voice of committees such as WiD very powerful and give people the opportunity to work together. This is why I wanted to be involved. It gives anyone and everyone the opportunity to have a voice so that we can evolve together as a practice and community. Not just as women, but as people developing together. 

If you could eat lunch with one architect, living or deceased, who would it be?
The name that comes to mind is Carlo Scarpa. After touring his work in Italy, there was an art to his architecture that went beyond the realm of design. There is an experience to his spaces that make you focus on the mesmerizing details of each element that was so inspiring. His work was not just building, exterior, interior, landscape or details, it was everything combined. This way of perceiving our work gives a beauty like a true artist and I would love to ask him what inspired him. Who/what fueled his passions? He reminded me of the first time I went to see Michelangelo’s or Bernini’s classical sites, just pure talent and love of art. If I could have lunch with all three at the Villa la Rotonda … I would be complete!

The sky is the limit: what would you redesign?
I would re-design every modern emerging city.                          

What do you do in your free time?                                         
Drawing and painting is what you will find me doing while I meet new people. I go almost every Wednesday to the MFA sketch nights and I tour the city of Boston to sketch buildings, parks and people. I thoroughly enjoy exploring cities and countries as it drives me to keep learning. No matter what activity I’m doing, I believe if you don’t say hi you’ll never know. Each person has a different passion to share with you and by just grabbing a coffee and meeting with friends you appreciate your free time – the  simple joy of community in the city. There is so much to gain from keeping yourself open to new experiences and it helps you evolve – “Never say no to a road trip!”