by: Yinery Baez
Deborah Berke, FAIA, is a preeminent member of the architecture industry as well as an extraordinary academic. On 11.01.13, Berke joined the AIANY Women in Architecture Committee for its November Breakfast Leadership session. After reflecting on different aspects of her career, she shared the lessons she’s learned running a successful architecture practice. She explained that the idea of establishing her own firm occurred to her only after she had taken an academic position at Yale University. But it was not easy. Before Deborah Berke & Partners blossomed into an architecture powerhouse with 50 employees, Berke said it took her 10 to 12 years to get any partners to join her. As for her growth and development as an architect, Berke explained that an architect has to think of every implication behind a design, including choosing a project’s materials. She always asks herself, “What meanings do we culturally associate with that material?” It’s no surprise that she has become a great inspiration for women and the architecture industry. And it’s no surprise that in 2012, Berke was awarded the inaugural $100,000 Berkeley-Rupp Architecture Professorship and Prize. She encourages women to follow her example and to become active participants in their societies and cultures. Yinery Baez, Assoc. AIA. currently a Junior Architect at STVinc working on the Bronx mental health Adult Facility, Graduated from the Spitzer School of Architecture (CCNY) Recipient of the CFA Design Scholarship 2011, presently serves on the Communications Board for the Women in Architecture AIANY Committee. Event: Breakfast Leadership with Deborah Berke, FAIA Speaker: Deborah Berke, FAIA Location: Center for Architecture, 11.01.13 Organizer: AIANY Women in Architecture Committee