Did you want to be an architect when you were growing up?

Not exactly, but I did begin drawing and making things early on. I’d pretty much draw on anything; white walls were particularly enticing (sorry, Mum). I knew of the profession from other architects in the family, but I didn’t really think of doing it myself until much later when I was attending high school in Italy. I was put into the architecture and design class by chance and something just clicked. I’d been looking at studying fine arts at university, but the blank canvases scared me. Where do you begin? The complexity and problem-solving nature of architecture really appealed to me.

Can you describe your architecture career, thus far?

After graduating I worked part-time at Architecture Page Henderson in Te Puke, while designing the renovation of a rental house for my parents. I then helped build it – and trying to work out what I meant by my own drawings was an invaluable experience! A year later I moved back to the big smoke and joined Mitchell & Stout Architects. Working in this office has been an apprenticeship, not only in the craft of building (I sit next to the architectural encyclopedia that is David Mitchell) but also in the importance of maintaining the integrity of your design through to the end. And it’s a fun team to work with.

What are you working on at the moment?

For a while now I’ve been working on a new art gallery and the seismic strengthening of a heritage building: Lopdell House in Titirangi. The two buildings are to be linked with glass bridges, and a refurbished roof terrace on Lopdell House will become a sculpture court. It’s been a fantastic job to be involved with and is quite exciting at the moment because construction is under way. I’m also working on some smaller residential projects, which are at various stages of the design process.

What do you enjoy most about working in architecture?

I love that architecture is an optimistic profession. There’s idealism as well as practicality to designing a building. You get to play with things as diverse as light, structure and programme, while trying to create something that moves people emotionally. I also really enjoy the process of drawing and model making as a way of thinking things through.

If you could design a house anywhere in New Zealand, where would it be?

I grew up surrounded by kiwifruit orchards. There is a great formal language to their grand shelter belts surrounding the rows of green, which in winter morph into a sea of sticks and string. There is something inherently architectural about that. Most orchard houses pretend that they are sitting in a suburban section; I’d love to design one that related to the rhythm and linear geometry of its surroundings, and the daily rituals of the rural lifestyle. In the same way a vineyard site would also be appealing, with obvious perks to the site visits!