Letter to Our Readers

1.10.2019.

To our readers,

On this day last year, I first introduced Madame Architect as guest editor on ArchiteXX’s online journal, SubteXXt. The project had begun long before, with the first four interviews I published intermittently from 2015-2017 (Vivian Lee, Irina Schneid, Sara Lopergolo, and Jenny Peysin), my goal always being about mentorship, encouragement, guidance, as this is something I craved when first starting out. 

The guest editorship was supposed to end in April of 2018, but when the interviews started gaining traction, the #MeToo movement reached our profession, and I discovered how much I loved the process of interviewing, editing, and sharing, I knew I had to keep going. A dedicated editorial platform like MA was needed and I officially launched MadameArchitect.org in May 2018, to be about women putting their narrative and their story at the forefront, and about giving them a voice and a platform. Madame Architect became, more than ever, about visibility, information, and encouragement.

I've now published 50 interviews – 50 women, 50 stories, and 50 possibilities - and have learned so much. To give just a few examples, I've learned that young women, much like myself, express a lot of hope but also a lot of uncertainty. I've learned that the way in which women feel the impact of their gender as they move from junior into intermediate and senior roles is striking. I've learned that one cannot strategize an entire career, and that most decisions are made when they feel good, and for personal reasons. 

I've also learned that Madame Architect has grown into so much more than an editorial platform – it’s now a resource, a community, and a collective voice. A resource in that young women and those starting firms come to the site for advice from business developers, PR experts, strategists; a community in that women I’ve profiled are asking to meet, get to know each other, and collaborate; and a collective voice to represent architects that are women and to let the world know, loud and clear, that #WeAreHere. 

I’m really excited to keep the momentum in 2019, and to expand as well – to profile a broader range of professionals in the built environment that influence the practice of architecture, to profile those in other parts of the US and of the world, and to profile these women in two new ways. We will resume publishing and introduce new editorial on January 17, but in the week until then, let’s celebrate a new year: one that shows that #WeAreHere and that we are here to support, help, and uplift each other. 

I sincerely want to thank all of the women that have trusted me with their story and all of our readers for vehemently supporting the project and sharing the articles.  

Happy New Year!

Yours,

Julia Gamolina

*01/06/2020: Please note that there are now over 100 feature interviews published on Madame Architect.