Etty Padmodipoetro, FAIA, NOMA Loeb Fellow. Photo by Joe Allegro
Congratulations to the Public Architects Committee, BoKnoCo, representative Etty Padmodipoetro, AIA Massachusetts, NOMA Loeb Fellow, who was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows.
How did your career develop?
Early in my career, I was practicing architecture in the traditional sense, designing buildings or - as the engineers call it - vertical infrastructure. That was my path until I had the opportunity to work on the Boston Central Artery/ Tunnel Project (the “Big Dig”), at the time the biggest and most expensive highway project in the country. Public Architecture, specifically infrastructure projects, became my passion, and I never looked back.
The Big Dig was a visionary project for its time, as designers and other professionals were included as part of the project team. We were just a small group, working collaboratively with engineers, exploring and learning how to work on a mega project. We had to define our role and the path forward. We had to figure out how to “train” each other. It was challenging and exciting at the same time.
Do you see a future for infrastructure design?
A significant portion of our highway system was built in the sixties and seventies; most are well past their service life. As a result, we now have an opportunity to re-imagine a new approach to infrastructure design that is more inclusive, context sensitive and responsive to climate change. The notion that there are no design opportunities in infrastructure design is truly a myth. Realizing that we add the most value by approaching infrastructure design creatively is important: we need architects, urban designers, landscape architects, and others to join this field. I believe a key way to influence that career choice is to expand the definition of public architecture to include all projects in the public realm.
Many current and upcoming projects are considered mega projects; multi-billion-dollar projects are getting to be typical. These projects are beyond the scale that architectural firms can take on their own. We need to have the weight of AIA to ensure that the engineering firms (who typically lead these designs) include us as part of their teams. Many of these large engineering corporations are focused on the bottom line and seem to prefer to try to do all the work in-house rather than to expand the team to include designers; this approach jeopardizes our ability to continue to be included in project teams. The support of the AIA is critical if we are to ensure that more architects are integral to these projects - as we absolutely should be! Public architecture in general is a field that is design oriented, full of creativity, but often overlooked by most architects - it is time to change this perception.
How did BSA and AIA impact your career?
On a personal level, AIA has played an important role in my growth as an architect. I was recruited early on by the late Richard Fitzgerald, then the revered Executive Director of the Boston Society of Architecture. He was known to find obscure young architects and introduce us to the BSA and AIA through real involvement. The AIA was not even on my radar then; because of Richard I became active and eventually found a home in the Knowledge Communities, especially Housing and Community Development, Public Architecture, and Regional Urban Design.
I met many people through the AIA who embraced me and helped me push forward. There are too many people to count, however, to name just a few, they include M David Lee, Dr. Sharon Egretta Sutton, Kathy Dorgan, Emily Grandstaff-Rice, Elizabeth Debs, Laura Lesniewski, Susan Chin, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, and many others. Through their encouragement, I applied for the AIA Fellowship, it felt like a long shot since I spent my career in non-traditional architecture. I am so honored that this year I will be elevated to the College of Fellows. In my case, it took a village, and now I am even more committed to help others move forward.