Taubman College's Claire Shue on Mentorship, Storytelling, and Coming Together

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By Julia Gamolina

Claire Shue is a multidisciplinary designer whose work explores compelling design questions of the modern age through narrative and storytelling. She is currently finishing up her Master of Architecture at the University of Michigan and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Claire will be starting her post-graduate career at Hanbury this summer. She can usually be found with her nose in a book and having consumed too much coffee.

JG: Why did you decide to study architecture?

CS: I’ve always been one of those kids who knew what they wanted to do in life. Very early on, I realized that I loved telling stories through media and was always fascinated with how people would interact with the built environment. A great storyteller can transport one into different worlds but a great designer can take narratives and create a new world. My love of world building grew throughout my career and has translated itself into the spaces I design. I’ve come to realize that through narrative, I can design another reality, allowing one to experience a new mindset; a new story to be told.

From Teosinte to Tomorrow, is an art exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art that explores modernism and the history of corn.

From Teosinte to Tomorrow, is an art exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art that explores modernism and the history of corn.

cmok.us The virtual “city” of objects, furniture, and follies that congregate and show ongoing events at Taubman College.

cmok.us The virtual “city” of objects, furniture, and follies that congregate and show ongoing events at Taubman College.

What was the favorite project you worked on in school? Favorite paper you wrote? Favorite extracurricular?

One of my favorite projects that I’ve worked on recently is CMOK, a virtual studio and commons website for Taubman College, created to promote studio culture during the Corona virus outbreak. Oliver Popadich, Danrui Xiang, Kathy Velikov and I worked remotely across the county to help connect Taubman during the isolation of COVID-19. Thinking about how the studio environment could be translated into digital space was a really rewarding design project that I had never undertaken before.

What are some of the initiatives you’ve focused on in school, and why?

As an undergraduate, I was very involved with AIAS in several leadership positions. I pushed for greater involvement with the architectural community and promoted mentorship between the profession and the student body. One of the most rewarding projects I was involved in was helping put together the Career Expo that UNCC AIAS puts on every year.

I have also recently joined the Architecture is Free Foundation, a nonprofit that believes education and mentoring in architecture should be easily accessible. Access to education promotes individual development and helps communities grow and thrive. We are a group of architects, educators, students, and professionals committed to supporting, mentoring, and assisting students and young graduates that face hardships.

A great storyteller can transport one into different worlds but a great designer can take narratives and create a new world.
— Claire Shue

We got to know each other during a horrific time - the recent hate crimes and mass shooting surge in the US. I know you’ve had a personal experience with such trauma – would you like to talk about that?

In 2019, I was on the other side of the world when my phone started lighting up with messages from friends back home. Storrs Hall, the building that holds so many moments and memories, was under attack and there was nothing I could do but wait and hope. Two people lost their lives that day. I saw pictures and videos of my colleagues and professors locked down in the SoA woodshop while a shooter terrorized the campus.

It's the little things that change, that you notice, or don’t notice until much later. It's the removal of confetti cannons from a graduation celebration, or quieter groups of students walking past buildings where tragedy struck. Trauma changes a space. The tension in the air doesn't quite go away, it hangs, almost palpable.

As architects we design spaces that are supposed to improve one's life in even the smallest of ways. We create the background of people's lives and hopefully give something back to them. How do we, as designers, handle the trauma? Do we call attention to it or do we try to focus on the celebration of community that comes together after the trauma?

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Effervesce, 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting memorial. Photo by McKenzie Canaday

200’ x15’, done in collaboration with William Dodge and Austin Chappell, is an occupiable analog telescope standing as a monument to innovation.

200’ x15’, done in collaboration with William Dodge and Austin Chappell, is an occupiable analog telescope standing as a monument to innovation.

What are your thoughts? Tell me about the work you’ve done in response.

In 2017, I worked, in collaboration with Marc Manack (SILO AR+D), Jon Warner, Alex Cabral, McKenzie Canaday, & Rachel Dickey (Studio Dickey), on the most impactful project I’ve ever been a part of. Originally designed for the 2017 AIA Conference, Effervesce considers how design can reflect the tragic event of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, both celebrating the memory of the lives lost and creating new connections with those who engage with this pop-up architecture.

Rather than a monument, this memorial is an encounter and an event — a place of interaction and contemplation amid the commotion of the world. Appearing as a filigreed and dematerializing wall, the convex shape of each wall surface subtly captures space without occupying it, while the curvature establishes a focal zone within the field. Within this zone are 49 vessels suspended in the porous structure; 1 for each life lost during the shooting. Upon closer inspection, one discovers that these objects are in fact mechanisms: a siphon and operable iris, modeled on a simple toy bubble gun. The design encourages one to squeeze the nozzle, drawing liquid into the iris, and on release, opening to reveal a soap bubble surface. Each bubble blown is a fleeting yet vivid reminder of a life lost, and perhaps, a moment of joy.

During the opening of the memorial, a woman pulled me aside and thanked the team and I for the structure. I didn’t know what to say, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “You’re welcome, but I wish there had not been a need for it.” She smiled and looked at me, with a sad look in her eye and said, “Sometimes bad things happen, it is up to us to create good things too.”

I look for firms that are not stagnant, firms that are excited about new research and new methods of design and exploration.
— Claire Shue

What’s important to you? What inspires you?

Getting to see my colleagues' creative processes and explorations in the field and academia inspires me and has helped me to understand my own design process.

What do you hope to do in your career?

I want to create good things. I want to attract opportunities that not only encourage curiosity and the unexpected, but also those that ultimately allow my work to thrive off of the questions that only narratives can answer.

When searching for internships and jobs, what are you looking for?

I look for firms that are not stagnant, firms that are excited about new research and new methods of design and exploration. It's very important to me to also look for firms that wish to nurture and mentor new and diverse talent.

Hygge, is a speculative company focused on the needs of people in a post-sea-level-rise New York City by understanding their collective kinship within the rest of the world. Done in collaboration with Danrui Xiang.

Hygge, is a speculative company focused on the needs of people in a post-sea-level-rise New York City by understanding their collective kinship within the rest of the world. Done in collaboration with Danrui Xiang.

Who do you look up to? Both in terms of women in architecture, and in general.

I have had the honor to be influenced by many great women in my life. Women in architecture tend to be the most honest and tenacious people I have ever met and the advice I have received has been invaluable. My first boss, Rhonda Angerio, now President of Smith Sinnett Architecture, greatly influenced my career and her drive and determination really inspired me to pursue architecture. Kathy Velikov has also been a huge inspiration in recent years. I’m also inspired by works of Ani Liu and Liam Young, both storytellers in the design field.

Finally, what advice would you give to those in high school now, choosing their field of study?

Find someone, in the field you are interested in, to be invested in you. A good mentor is invaluable and has the ability to affect your career in ways you might not yet understand.