Getting to know Kaylie Jaquez

The recipient of the WRNS Studio Foundation 2022 Fall Scholarship, Kaylie Jaquez shares how architecture can have a spiritual impact, her interest in painting, and her goal to revitalize her hometown to better foster public gatherings.

What is your educational plan and describe any personal challenges that have impacted them?

I completed Princeton’s Arc Prep Program as a High School sophomore with exceptional ratings. I'm going to the New Jersey Institute of Technology with Architecture and Design as a major; Business Administration as a minor. After I graduate I plan to enroll in a real estate school to become licensed with hopes of becoming self-employed in the future.

Architects have the power to design environments that have a spiritual impact on people, encouraging us to slow down, take a moment to notice our surroundings, and cherish the present. That is what inspires me to explore the field. I have goals to make the world better, particularly by coming up with new innovative ideas for how to make our surroundings secure, beautiful, and comfortable. One of my goals is to turn many abandoned sites all around New Jersey into secure public gathering places where everyone can congregate, whether they are young or old, privileged or underprivileged. This goal stems from a lifelong dedication to service and civic involvement. It's depressing to live in Trenton, New Jersey, where there are over a thousand abandoned homes, especially knowing that there are no open spaces where I can be myself and create memories. I want to see change in my neighborhood because it has been really challenging for me to be born and raised in a place like mine. For the next generation, it is getting worse and more dangerous, and before things become any worse, my goal is to improve things by designing and constructing new communal spaces that will foster social contact under any circumstance.

How will your cultural background and lived experience help you — as a future architect or designer — to create a more beautiful, sustainable, equitable built environment?

By developing innovative strategies that make use of nature to reduce expenses and interacting with nature so that buildings use less energy. I want to improve the built environment to make it more appealing, sustainable, or equal. The use of design principles that lessen a built environment's harmful environmental effects is referred to as sustainable architecture. In order to effectively control daylighting, natural ventilation, and assist the building in using less energy, strategies include taking climate and sun exposure into account when sitting and being vigilant about window location and operation. This implies that the building will continue to operate rather effectively in terms of temperature, circulation, and illumination even if all active energy sources are turned off. Effective passive planning will effectively cause a building to revert to nature.

What is a creative interest or talent that brings you joy?

Painting is one of my favorite artistic activities. The skills and self-confidence can grow as you use your creativity freely. Art stands out from other works because it is a manifestation of your uniqueness and creativity. When determining how much pleasure painting is, the satisfaction of producing something spectacular on your own takes precedence above the painting's quality.

Getting to know Frank Obi

The recipient of the WRNS Studio Foundation 2022 Fall Scholarship, Frank Obi, shares his lived experience, interest in reusable materials, and why media’s portrayal of architecture must change.

What is your educational plan and describe any personal challenges that have impacted them?

After earning my Bachelor of Science in Interior Design at CSU Sacramento State, I worked for 5 years at a minority majority architectural firm, CHD Architects. I am currently pursuing a Master of Architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle.

I would say that my plan is to learn how to create better spaces for all people, no matter where they are from. Especially living in a world that is continuously changing thanks to global warming. I believe that being here at the University of Washington is the place that would help me achieve my goals. The challenge for me is that I put too much pressure on myself. This could be because I feel like I don't belong in the practice, I try so much to prove that I do belong. And with the fact that there isn't aren’t that many Black architects, adds on to my thinking that maybe I’m not cut out for it. However, from my past work, and how people and my classmates review it, I've been told that I do belong.

How will your cultural background and lived experience help you — as a future architect or designer — to create a more beautiful, sustainable, equitable built environment?

As a Nigerian, I was raised from an early age to be kind to my fellow human and the environment around me. I was taught that we are small pieces that will play a huge role in everyone and everything we get involved in. From throwing away the trash in the correct trash bin to helping someone in their time of need. We as humans were created to make the world better for the people in the present and for the future generation. Therefore, I have been interested in architecture from an early age. I’ve always wanted to play my part in helping my community. I believe that architects are obligated to better our communities and our planet due to the climate changing rapidly.

I would leverage my career as an architect by using my influence and knowledge to be a symbol to younger generations of African Americans who are interested in architecture. From TV shows and literature, we see architecture and architects in media being portrayed as white male occupation. Even when I was at high school I only saw architects in history classes and acclaimed buildings from white males. These experiences lead me to think and question if there is such a thing as Black architects. As I am in architecture school now, I’ve seeing people of color getting into the practice. I do hope that many people of color and I will use our influence to showcase to the younger generation and people like us that you can be in this profession and succeed.

What design or research interests do you plan to pursue during your studies?

Something I find interesting and will explore more in my studies is the use of material, especially reusable material. We are living in a world where we are trying to reduce our carbon footprint in the US and around the world. When it comes to what materials we use to express our ideas on the built environment, we need to know how the materials we chose will affect the environment. What are the environmental processes of the material? How is it transported? What will be the environmental benefit and sacrifices? Can we express our ideas of how the built environment should be carried on future generations? These questions have been in my mind since I’ve been at the University of Washington. As I learn and read from all the research and review articles, I am hoping to get these answers.