Hi! I’m Julia Gamolina. I founded and run Madame Architect, an online destination about, for, and by the extraordinary people that are transforming our built world. Trained as an architect myself, I remain grounded in professional practice as an Associate Principal at Ennead Architects. I also teach a graduate-level Professional Practice seminar at Pratt Institute.

After graduating with a B.Arch from Cornell AAP, I started out as a designer while cultivating two parallel tracks — one focused on mentorship and sharing the advice I was receiving, and the other on exploring the inner workings of an architectural business. These tracks developed into my current full-time focuses in media, practice, and academia:

Editorial Direction & Writing

For the past five years, I’ve been honing my skills as an editor to putting forward the voices and stories of extraordinary change makers in architecture that weren’t typically heard. Additionally, I’ve written for various outlets about women’s work and influence in the industry, as well as what could be done to further advancement, retention, and engagement. You can read this here. Finally, this year I launched Madame Architect Presents, our very own event series where we interview architects in the spaces they designed.

 

Professional Practice

In my work in professional practice, I developed a focus on the strategic growth and evolution of an architecture and design firm. Blending together training and expertise in design, communications and public relations, as well as marketing and business development efforts, I assess what a studio needs at their current moment of evolution, and bring together the various professionals in the studio’s ecosystem to make it happen.

 

Teaching

I’m currently teaching a graduate-level Professional Practice Seminar with co-professors Carisima Koenig, Kimberlae Saul, and Rayna Ehrlich. This course examines the profession of architecture. What is an architect? What is the process of licensing? What are the contractual responsibilities of an architect? What are the stages of an architectural project? These and other questions regarding the practice of architecture are raised and answeredhe, and the tools for starting, maintaining and evolving an architectural practice are presented.

I also often speak on the subject of women’s advancement, mentorship, and the ecosystem of professionals transforming our industry. I try to engage with students as much as possible, from participating on juries, to visiting and speaking to classes. So many wonderful people have given me guidance, that I take every chance that I can to pay it forward! One of my favorite things was a workshop I led for Kids Worldwide and the River Fund to introduce little ones to architecture. From time to time, I also take part in projects such as the Rosie Reborn campaign, and Autodesk’s documentary, “Voices of Change: Women in Architecture in Design”.