Bio:

Madhu is a design professional with project experience in Asia, Middle East & United States, with a passion for design and an eye for detail. Her areas of competence include Healthcare, Life Science, Hospitality, Mixed use and Workplace Design. She is currently leading ACE and NOMA Mentorship Programs at SF Bay Area focusing on next gen. She volunteers with AIA Silicon Valley Chapter's Emerging professionals committee and the committee on the environment on initiatives within the bay area.

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How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?

I was fascinated by buildings as a kid and was always curious to know more about those structures. Growing up in a place like Madurai, also known as the temple city of India, the Meenakshi Amman temple always brought in a sense of peace within me.

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What do you do?

I currently work as a lead designer and design experience leader for Work 1 studio at Gensler Oakland. I am also a volunteer with AIA Silicon Valley and a mentor at ACE and NOMA SF Chapter that focuses on the next gen mentorship for students.

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What excites you in the work you do? Who or what inspires you professionally?

The ability to solve problems for clients and community, being an integral part of AEC community that translates design ideas from notepad into reality / learning new things from peers and the joy of witnessing design adding value to the community.

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Who or what inspires you professionally? What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?

The power of design and its ability to shape the cities and improve the lives of people. As a designer, it has been a rewarding and important experience to understand people from diverse perspectives and unlearning unidimensional approach to design.

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What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?

My proudest professional accomplishment is being elected to serve as a board director of AIA Silicon Valley that focuses on community impact, knowledge sharing within AEC community. Winning the Architecture MasterPrize is my second-best achievement.

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Featured Project Name: 

Unraveling Literature

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Featured Project Location: 

Philadelphia, PA

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Featured Project Completion Date: 

N/A

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Role in Featured Project: 

Design Lead

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Featured Project Description:

An extension to the existing museum of Edgar Allan Poe, Philadelphia, PA: Any piece of literature has a characteristic of revealing the central idea through metaphors that are not direct but veiled, making it more exciting and fascinating for a reader. Poe, as a poet/author, is known for his unexpectedly dark story lines and chilling poetry. The design translates this literary experience into a spatial quality by mysterious and concealed spaces, thus increasing users’ curiosity to explore.

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Photography Credit:

Madhubala Ayyamperumal