SHENETHIA MABRY
Portrait courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
Founder and Design Specialist at Mabrilium LLC
Graduate of Tarrant County College and University of Texas - Arlington
Shenethia is an aspiring architect and self-taught interior stylist. Her passion for architecture grew from interior design which was cultivated by her mother who was a Debutante Coordinator. Her area of focus is health and design wellness, she understands that architecture is not just form and function, yet it is the apex for ecological design. Her accomplishments include obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Philosophy of Art from the University of Texas - Arlington and small business owner of Mabrilium LLC an interior decorating wellness studio. She spends her time reading about design and architectural professionals, products, and innovative industry breakthroughs. She is currently preparing for the WELL AP exam and her goal for the future is to obtain a master’s degree in Architecture to be a licensed architect.
Health and Design Wellness: The Blaze that Drives My Soul
What is your favorite dish?
My dish of delight is an angle hair spinach shrimp scampi.
What is your favorite song by a Black artist?
Music Artist: Sade and her song: Soldier of Love
Three additional fun facts about Shenethia:
I love to study different languages on the Duolingo app.
If someone made a movie about my life, Issa Rae would be casted to play as me on a live motion picture, without question.
I find meaning in my life through my faith in Jesus Christ, coupled with my personal experiences in my surrounding environment along with applying the good ethics my mom and dad raised me to have to be a good person. I see architectural design as the instrument that emphasizes the authenticity of human ethos.
Shenethia’s Reads. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
What inspired you to study architecture?
My mother inspired me to want to study interior design which led me to architecture. My mom always had an interior project in the motion to improve our home, whether it was painting, installing new light fixtures, or her favorite enclosing the outdoor patio. It was fun to see the transformation of an old space be made new. My fondness for nature came from my family’s infamous trips to go fishing at the many surrounding lakes including Salton Sea, California. As a child, I remember my family traveling across the states to visit family in Arkansas. My family would take long road trips and I would see how the earth's natural landscape would change in elevations to reveal the majestic beauty of the tall evergreen pine trees as we traveled along the Interstate 40 highway. The work of an architect marvels me because the profession is designed to serve people in the most possible and innovative way. Just as my mother made our home a place to thrive, play and rest architecture serves as the apex for people to reimagine how form and function work cohesively. Architecture has true human connection it tells the story of how people live their lives, what we deem important in our society and how it is represented in a physical form. When architecture is inclusive there is no limit to what can be created.
Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
Name a Black architect/artist who most influenced you as an emerging professional. How did they?
A pioneering woman by the name of Noma Merrick Sklarek has greatly influenced me because she was courageous enough to choose a career that was mostly dominated by men. After she graduated from Columbia University, she did not let her rejection from applying to work with architectural firms stop her passion. In fact, after she took and passed the licensing architectural exam in the state of New York she went on to work with Gruen Associates architectural firm. Though, Sklarek held many firsts accomplishments the one that I most admire is her role as co-owner of the firm Siegel Sklarek Diamond architectural firm. I am in awe of all she accomplished despite her heritage and gender. Her entrepreneurial mind and resiliency lead her to be her own mentor. I believe when the architectural profession becomes more open about what opportunities the career of architecture has to offer the more the profession will grow as a whole. Everyone will not fit in the traditional role of an architect or architectural designer, that does not mean people should leave the career field altogether. It simply means the profession needs to be more innovative in what is offered for the next generation of architects. Sklarek stood by her dream and made her own way, yes, she had challenges, yet she built her own table and made adjustments as she moved throughout her career.
Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
Name a favorite project designed by a Black Architect. Why is it your favorite?
The Theme Building located at the Los Angeles International Airport built in the span of 1957 -1961, a project that Paul R. Williams worked on as the architect is one of my favorite architectural works. As a long-time and former Southern California resident, this project is dear to my heart because LAX is inseparable from the imagery of SoCal. I am drawn to the iconic image because of its futuristic origin and it reminds me of the solar system. I believe the discipline of architecture can be vital in the expansion of people in off-planet transportation and habitation. This project is an engineering marvel as well as a futuristic design. The sculptural command center defies gravity just as Paul Williams defied all odds to remain in the architectural profession. The design of this building is the result of Los Angeles pop culture, aeronautics, and the space age merging together to create an iconic image.
TCC Site Visit - Indoor Auditorium built from premade slabs, assembled in less than a day. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
TCC Site Visit - Cafeteria. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
How does your culture affect your studies and the way you design?
My American culture has greatly shaped my study of architecture because there is a heavy lean toward more European architecture. Even though I am taught to focus on mostly good architectural works done by European-centric design, I choose to focus on projects that were done by people of vastly different cultures and perspectives. I delight when I come across a new architect or work that was not as prolific as other well-know architects. I see the architects and designers as mavericks of change that have been overlooked especially if the design was done without the use of nails and designed to go with the environment versus against it. For me, being able to design not only for form, functionality, with human purpose but also to ensure it follows the guides of the original environmental ecosystem is the epiphany of architectural design.
Shenethia working. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
Are there any organizations that helped you grow in architecture? How did they help you grow?
The organization that has greatly assisted in my growth with architecture has been my school Tarrant County College District. My architecture professor Arnold Radman at the time was the faculty chair and has since stepped down for retirement. He would always announce to his class for students to take up positions in the field of architecture to assist in cultivating a strong connection to the architectural community. He would give guidance to the on-campus Architectural Technology Club, assist in students participating local competitions, and invite student representation to faculty lead campus meetings for the Architectural Technology Department. When I took up a leadership role for the Architecture club and began participating in the local AIA Fort Worth Canstruction this engagement helped fuel my interest within the career field of architecture. The school has truly given me the opportunity to see architecture in a unique light and to participate in making the campus better for future TCCD students. I am on track to graduate from the TCCD Architectural Technology program with the goal to pursue my master’s degree in architecture.
TCC Site Visit - Geothermal energy lines. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
TCC Site Visit - Second floor classrooms. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
Tell us about a moment when architecture helped you build a new place for health and design wellness.
Since my discovery of architecture, my entrepreneurial spirit has been the blaze that drives my soul. The moment I started my business was the day I began to build a new place that brought clarity to my mind and has help me connect deeply in the field of architecture. When I think of architecture the words health and design wellness are together harmoniously from beginning to the end of a design project. The objective of the architecture profession is to design for the health, safety and welfare of people and I would add in balance with our ecosystem. Though my passion for architecture has added fuel to my every blazing entrepreneurial spirit, I still seek and want the profession to be more welcoming of people who seek to start their own firm. When architectural design professionals are aware of diverse and alternative options within the career field of architecture it is less likely that they would leave the field altogether.
Practicing yoga for health and wellness. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
If you were able to talk to your younger self, what would you say?
I would tell my younger self the very essence of who you are matters, your goals, your dreams and do not ever underestimate the power of prayer for it can move mountains. The skin you are in beholds the most sacred beauty spoken in existence by a power that reaches beyond the intangible and tangible solar system. For you the impossible is possible and is where you will have the most of your fun. The moment you feel comfortable in your skin in will be the best day ever so start now. The career assessment should be taken for face value nothing more, your true gift is already with you so take a look at some architecture books and interior design. Your mom has already given you a wonderful foundation to get started in the career of design. You have a good heart so keep it under lock and key. Please, Please, do not talk to the guy from Chicago in your freshman history class, just say no. Just tell him to Jog on mate, trust me, when I say your hairline will thank me.
TCC Site Visit - Exterior. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
What would you want to say to the next generation of aspiring Black women architects?
To the next generations of architects Welcome to the right place, you are officially the cream of the crop, not everybody can be an architect. Now, that you have chosen the best career field in the solar system. Always remember that architecture is for people and our role is vital to the fabric of all that humans hold sacred. Do not let your ego get in the way of designing for who the design is made for and why because bad design does not serve you or anyone for that matter. So do not get to attached to your ideas because they will constantly change and evolve into something even better than the last. Be open to peer critic it makes you a better designer. Do not hold on to the overworked ideal of sacrificing your wellbeing for the sake of the design that way of life does nothing to make you a better designer. Also, if you do not see a role that you think that should be in the field of architecture let the governing bodies of our profession know so we can work to grow the spectrum of the career field. Learning how to lead and enriching your career in leadership will prepare you for new opportunities to serve not just at your firm but in the community as well.
TCC Site Visit. Image courtesy of Shenethia Mabry.
In terms of rising concerns and problems (in the architectural profession) over the past year, what is one change that you wish saw would happen and it did not? This can be in an educational and/or work atmosphere.
I want to see the architectural profession expand on the opportunities in the career field of architecture. In order to truly expand the way architects design for people, we must first take an introspective look at ourselves and change how the profession operates as a whole and reimagine what it means to be an architect.
