more clients came. The other thing I learned is usually you’re hired because of a relationship, not because of a design. So, I knew these people, and they hired me. They didn’t hire me for as big of jobs as I did for Holabird, but they hired me. The stunner came about six months later when I found out that everybody who had ever wanted me to be their architect had already called. It was discouraging. It was really discouraging. But I think most founding Principals would tell you the same story. Very, very few people get it on a silver platter. When I mentor young new firm owners, people who are trying to start practices, I tell them they need the portfolio, they need the experience and they need mentors. They need to nurture relationships because relationships open doors to opportunities. How do you personally do it? It’s taken me a while, but I have developed the right persona for me and for my studio over the years. I found out that I was much better at competing in the public arena. Sometimes people hired me just because they got points for hiring a woman. That was part of our socialpolitical culture — something you should do. And it’s not enough to build a firm on, but it was helpful in winning some commissions. There are some things I’m really good at, and there are some things I’m really bad at. I think that one of my talents is realizing what those are and finding someone to fill in my gaps. One of my partners is my Marketing Director and Principal. She does what I don’t do. I’m a social pygmy. I’m a terrible conversationmaker in a crowded situation. I’m great one-on-one, and I’m really good when I’m talking to hundreds. But that middle situation where you’re in a crowd and you have to talk, I’m so bad at it. We’ve been working together for years, and she’s really the architect of our strategy for business development and marketing the firm. I have other people in my studio who fill in other gaps that I just don’t do very well. That was an important realization — I’m not competing with everybody. In fact, together, we were making a whole. It’s not about modesty, either. I mean, I do some things really well, and you better let me do them or I won’t work with you. Tell me about speaking to hundreds at the conference. What are you going to talk to us about? I’m going to talk about our practice for the last 15 or 20 years. Formally, we offer architecture, landscape architecture and planning. But we have found a fertile area in building infrastructure. It’s made me really interested in the pieces that make cities work and what they’ll be like in the future. The thing I think architects need to hear — and like to hear — is that we are the members of the design team who envision the entire project. What are you particularly proud of? The Riverwalk took 15 years of my life, and I like the project. I think we did a really good job. But the thing that just floors me is the way it affects people. The other day, I was sitting on the riverwalk waiting for somebody. I always feel at home in my projects, but this one has grown to be a thing of its own. I felt like I was seeing something new, and it wasn’t something bad. It was just that everybody had adapted to it. It is their project, and that was stunning. I have projects that I love, just because they turned out beautifully. We did a little Civil Engineering building for the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and it’s just a very boisterous, expressive building. It talks about materiality in the Iron Range. It has really visual references to the job of civil engineers, like storm control. We have these big scuppers that hang off the building. So, you see the stormwater rushing off the roof and being retained in these big Corten barrels. I like that building because it talks. How do you pitch these creative ideas to people who are very utilitarian and very budget-minded? I just had this discussion with another architect today. They were saying, it 16 REFLEXION
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