A Day in New York City with Julia van den Hout

Julia van den Hout is the Architecture Curator / Program Director at Art Omi and the founder of Original Copy, a Brooklyn-based communications studio that specializes in editorial and curatorial projects within architecture. Julia is currently a Visiting Assistant professor at Pratt Institute’s Graduate School of Architecture. She was previously the Press Director at Steven Holl Architects, and she was a founding editor of CLOG, an international publication that critically explores one topic at a time from as many perspectives as possible.

7:00am: These days it’s getting harder to get out of bed right away, but I normally wake up when it first starts to get light outside. In the summer I can usually turn off the alarm before it goes off, but in darker months it’s not so easy!

I’ve made it a rule not to check my phone when I first wake up. Before, I would automatically do a browse through my email inbox, check Instagram, and read some quick news headlines. But it’s so much calmer to cut that immediate dive into what I have to do during the day and feeling the need to know what everyone else is doing.

7:20am: Most weekdays, I head straight to the gym. It gives me the best energy throughout the day, and with some noise-cancelling headphones on, it feels surprisingly restful to be able to take some time to focus on well-being. On days that I have an early meeting and don’t have a chance to exercise, I feel much more tired and grumpy.

9:30am: I try to be at my desk by 9:30am. Before Covid, I would wake up earlier, around 6am, to make sure I could exercise and still be working by 9am. But if the pandemic has taught us anything, I think it should be that we need to cut ourselves (and others!) some slack. Starting 30 minutes later isn’t going to make any difference. When I get to my desk, I’ll comb through my emails, see if anything needs to be addressed right away, or add things to the list to take on later in the day or week.

I split my time between my position as Architecture Curator at Art Omi, and leading Original Copy, which works on a variety of editorial and communication projects. I really enjoy working on several different types of projects—it keeps me questioning the best way to approach any work, and each project tends to somehow inform others.

While the projects I work on may seem wide-ranging, to me they all get back to investigating and challenging how we talk about architecture within the discipline and how we invite a larger public to join the conversation. This sense of engagement and the multitude of voices is what I look for in all the projects I take on, and it has been a guiding idea that I can return to whenever I feel like the work may be too scattered.

ArtOmi, Zoid by Leven Betts. Photography by Richard Barnes

To stay organized while working on this range of projects, I always begin my week by making an overview outline of what I have to get done and when I have meetings scheduled. I’m a typical Libra and a big believer in organization! The list is a great snapshot of the week ahead, and while it’s continuously evolving, it’s the only way I know how to keep track of the both the tiny and the large-scale tasks.

ArtOmi, Reactor by Alex Schweder and Ward Shelley, photography by Alon Koppel.

10:00am: I get on a weekly meeting with Ruth Adams, co-executive director at Art Omi to talk through the latest updates. We chat about new programming ideas, share progress on exhibition planning, and hear what’s going on in Art Omi’s other programs. These weekly check-ins are always incredibly helpful. Ruth gives me some feedback and we bounce ideas off each other. I feel really energized to move forward with the initiatives I have in the works.

ArtOmi, Tea Cozy by Yolande Daniels, photography by Bryan Zimmerman.

11:00am: For Art Omi, I’m currently deep into planning for 2022—next year is the 30th anniversary of Art Omi! We’ll be installing new pavilions in the Sculpture & Architecture Park and hosting the annual architecture residency program in the Summer. I’m also planning an indoor gallery exhibition and organizing events to run throughout the year. Stay tuned!

12:30pm: It’s time for lunch… By now, I’m definitely starving and I need a moment away from my screen, so I take the time to make some food.

1:30pm: In the afternoon, I switch over to working on Original Copy projects. First, I get on a call with Suchi Reddy and Isolde Brielmaier. I’ve been working with Suchi on communications and public strategy for Reddymade for a little over a year now, as she has some major projects opening. She’s about to open a large-scale public artwork integrating AI and ML from Amazon Web Services at the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building. The work is curated by Isolde. It’s safe to say none of us have ever worked on a project like this before, but it’s been so inspiring to see Suchi and Isolde pushing the boundaries of what this is and can be.

2:00pm: Most of my Original Copy work takes the form of publication projects. I have a few books that are in the final editorial phases. We’re wrapping up final image selections and going through the texts to finetune wording, before sending it off to the publisher for last review and printing.

Committing to final content is always tough. I tend to push my clients to see the book as much as a testing ground for new ideas as a document to record established approaches. But it’s not an ever-adaptable platform; inevitably, content has to be locked in place. These are the most hectic moments of producing a book, but there’s also a new sense of excitement that the finish line is in sight.

To me, books are like mini-architecture projects—they are true collaborative projects that rely on different voices and different skillsets. And in the end, having this beautifully designed object is a great reward. (I can only imagine what architects feel like when seeing a building completed!)

6:30pm: Wrapping up for the day. I do one last browse through my inbox, and update the trusty list with items to tackle tomorrow.

7:00pm: The past year, I’ve been taking Portuguese classes. My fiance is Brazilian, so we agreed that he would learn Dutch and I would learn Portuguese. I have a weekly one-hour class, and I’ve really enjoyed learning a new language. I like taking classes that are not work-related. In the past few years, I’ve taken graphic design classes, ceramics classes, and sewing classes. I love working on something else for that one hour a week; it really makes a difference in shutting off my brain and redirecting the attention.

8:00pm: Cooking is my way to unwind at the end of the day. On weekdays, I don’t always have the energy to make an elaborate dinner, but with some good music on, the process of cooking is truly relaxing. To be honest, I enjoy these quiet evenings during the week. On the weekends, we’ll venture out and enjoy the excitement of the city again.

10:00pm: I try to read for a while, before my eyes get too tired, and I fall asleep.