Celebrating New Architects: Vera Baranova

Vera Baranova recently joined the firm’s ranks of registered architects. Today we celebrate her accomplishments.

Since joining PAYETTE in 2014, Vera has worked on a number of science projects, including the Amherst College New Science Center. Vera is also contributed to our Glazing and Winter Comfort Research Project and presented our research at the 2017 Laboratory Design Conference. She earned her Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 2013 and her Bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning in 2008.

What inspires you?
Idiosyncrasies in design. Architecture, objects and systems that make you think why they stand apart from the rest.

What is the best part of your job?
Generating design ideas on a daily basis to find the best solution for the project. On a single project, understanding the concept for the building produces a decision making process that is at work through the end of the job. I find it rewarding to challenge the design discourse and evaluate the results to make a project better, developing a solution that not only makes us happy, but the client as well. 

What is the most important thing you’ve learned so far?
The sky is the limit, but with a lot of restraints. Architecture is a fine balance between our aesthetic desires, legal constraints, budget and schedule. Despite the fact that we want to have a beautiful finished product, there are a lot of challenges to overcome, including the ability to work and think outside of the box, pushing the industry past its limits and learning something new every day. Being able to problem-solve on a daily basis to learn something new, remember it and learn something new tomorrow is not only the way to improve, but also the way to innovate.

The sky is the limit: if you could design or redesign anything, what would it be?
A museum for Anish Kapoor.