Monica Perez del Rio, Project Manager, Associate at Pirie Associates

How many years have you been in your current field? 16 years

What would you tell your daughter about entering this profession? Architecture has enormously changed over the past decades. Not a long time ago, architecture was exclusively a male profession where the architect was very often seen as arrogant and unapproachable. Along with other society changes, architecture has become a completely different field. Today’s architects work in multidisciplinary teams, we are good listeners, we care about the environment, we care about the society and we strive to improve peoples lives. Little by little, the male/female differences have become smaller, thanks to all the brave and determined women who started raising their voices to help all of us. I would tell my daughter to do what she likes, to fight for what she believes, and to allow herself to shine to help illuminate other peoples’ lives.

What are you planning to do differently in 2020 to have a positive impact on your career? 2020 is the year of the connection. Connection to the earth, peers, family, neighbors and specially connection to strangers. I feel very fortunate for my profession as an architect, as my work can reach a lot of people, some of them I know, and many others I don’t know, but for whom I care about as much. Architects can help the community, can improve heath and wellbeing and can create environments for people to thrive. Sometimes a small change can provoke a big result. My 2020 resolution is to be attentive at every detail that connects me to someone else’s needs in order to make their lives healthier, happier, and accomplished.