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 write a biweekly newsletter — “Both, And”— on Substack.

After graduating with a B.Arch from Cornell AAP, I started out as a designer while cultivating two parallel tracks — one focused on writing to share 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 focus within media, practice, and academia:

Editorial Direction & Writing

I’ve overseen all of the editorial for Madame Architect since I founded the publication six years ago. 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 evolution of architecture and design firms. Synthesizing my training and expertise in design, communications, and business development, I assess what a studio needs at given their current goals and bring together the various professionals in the studio’s ecosystem to make it happen.

 

Teaching

I taught two graduate-level courses at Pratt Institute: the required professional practice course, as well as a seminar on architecture & design media.

I also often speak about how I built Madame Architect 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 (watch the video here!), and Autodesk’s documentary, “Voices of Change: Women in Architecture in Design”.