Equity in Architecture (EIA)

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As a committee of AIA Kansas City, Equity in Architecture identifies its “A.C.E.” goals to Advocate, Connect, and Educate membership to improve industry awareness and success on issues around diversity, inclusion, and equitable practice.



Equity In Architecture: Featured Spotlight

 

Kara Nedvar.jpgName: Kara Nedvar

Educational Background: Bachelor of Architecture, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Years of Experience: < 1 year

What inspired you to become an architect?
I’ve always been interested in architecture, before I even knew what it was. When I was little, I would draw floor plans of my house trying to understand the relationship between the first floor and the basement, which rooms were above other rooms. It was in 8th grade woodshop class, doing hand drawings and building a scale model house where I realized “this is something I could do as a career.” After that I did some architecture summer camps and decided I didn’t want to do anything else. Having been interested in art my whole life and excelling in my math classes, it felt like the pieces had just fit together.

How have you engaged in equity in architecture and in the profession?
Although I haven’t been in the profession long, I have sought out a school that I felt was striving towards equity. Having grown up in a predominantly white area, I didn’t realize how much the shift in diversity was going to impact me. I applied for and won a Diversity and Inclusion scholarship, meant to encourage, and help students of diverse backgrounds keep pursuing architecture. This was another sign to me that I was in a place that valued diversity and equity. It was comforting going to a university that made an effort to have a diverse population - students and professors alike. I made friends that looked like me and had professors from different countries. I think this could make all the difference for some people, knowing that you aren’t alone as a minority out there trying to accomplish your goals. Architecture has been growing more equitable as a profession than some other fields, which is an advantage that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Has your background regarding ethnicity, gender, or other characteristics that enhance our diversity influenced your career? How have you influenced or been influenced by diversity and equity throughout your career?
I think that my background has influenced my career and how I think about design. Historically, architecture has been a man’s world, and especially in the West, a white man’s world, designed for able-bodied people. As a minority woman with family members with disabilities, I’ve noticed the extra hoops you have to go through to be comfortable in certain places. I was told in school that architects can do everything. And while maybe that isn’t completely true, I do think that architects have the power to create a lot of change. In college, my professors pushed me to take on real world problems such as aiding low-income areas or mitigating flooding and finding architectural solutions. Honestly, the solutions were pretty simple, and yet were not being pursued in real life. In this day and age, we already have every tool we need to make spaces safer and equal for every person but we’re not doing it. Architecture is being pushed technologically every day, so why aren’t we also pushing towards equity? I hope that throughout my career I’ll be able to help make architecture more equitable and be an influence on others to join in that cause.

 
 
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