Tell us about your foundational years - where you grew up, what you liked to do, some of your most memorable experiences:

I was born in France and lived there until the end of my studies. I moved towns a lot as a kid. That taught me to appreciate discovering new environments, meeting new people and just looking forward to new experiences in general. I did a few trips in Europe with my family but it wasn’t until my fourth year of architecture school that I got a chance to move and live in a different country. I spent nine months studying in Belfast and this experience confirmed that I was not meant to stay in France!

A few years later, with an architecture Master degree in my pocket, I was moving to Aotearoa. This was nine years ago, and I am now a Kiwi citizen, enjoying my Kiwi lifestyle, with my Kiwi partner, and my Kiwi husky.

Why did you decide to study architecture? How did you choose where you studied?

Maths and arts were the two things I was interested in and best at in my school years, so architecture made sense quite early on with that mix of creative but structured design.

After high school, I did not go straight to architecture though. I did four years of Applied Arts Studies (very focused on arts, graphic design, art history) before entering ENSASE - Saint-Etienne (France) School of Architecture.

What was your favourite project you worked on in school?

My favourite project would probably be when we did an urban historical study of Saint-Etienne. The exercise included intensive research at the archives to find old maps and plans of the area we were studying. Then we went through a long process of re-scaling, re-drawing and overlaying them to understand how that part of town was built over the years. It was fascinating to slowly piece the puzzle together, realise that this large avenue used to be a medieval wall protecting the city centre for example, and how the town expanded and morphed to become the one we know today.

I also remember a photographic project that we did in the first year: we were all designated a street of our town and asked to provide a series of pictures, the theme of your choosing. I ended up focusing on materials and details, zooming in and focusing on the relationship between the surfaces that were composing the street. This approach followed me, and this is how I like to document my travels to this day.

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

I was part of an association that was helping students connect with the professional world and find drafting jobs, or short missions with local architecture agencies. This was a great way for me to get a first experience of the admin side of the professional world, something we didn’t really get to see in our studies.

Tell us what’s important to you? or what inspires you?

I have worked on a few projects now, from early design to completion, and it is always a great feeling to walk into a space that was just a client brief a few months back and is now used and occupied to its intended purpose.

Seeing people investing in the space and making the best of it is what it is all about for me.

What do you hope to achieve next in your career?

I have the NZIA Registration in my immediate focus. I’ve been getting a lot of valuable experience in the past four years with S&T that I would like to consolidate by becoming a registered architect by the end of 2023.