ANDREA MARIA LIRA

Portrait courtesy of Andrea Maria Lira

Andrea Maria Lira is an entering second-year student at the University of Miami where she is studying Architecture and pursuing a minor in Music. At UM, she is active in Students for Classical Architecture and AIAS in addition to working as the Music Director at WVUM 90.5. She is also the co-founder of the University of Miami’s chapter of NOMAS. In 2018, Andrea was selected as a Finalist in Architectural Design by the National YoungArts Foundation.

What inspired you to study architecture?

My pursuit of architecture has been a continuous build-up starting from a very young age. As a child, I was always working with my hands: ripping up cardboard boxes, reconfiguring them into cool clubhouses and forts. One of my first experiences with design was in seventh grade after I was assigned to build a bridge out of stirring straws. It was at that moment I realized design could be applied at a much larger scale than I had previously imagined. Then and forward, my interests focused on architecture inclining me to attend a design-oriented high school in Miami. It was in high school that I really started to see myself in the role of an architect. The dream became possible! My designs could be made a reality. Naturally, pursuing architecture at the collegiate level became the next step.

Andrea’s First Napkin Sketch. - Courtesy of Andrea Maria Lira.

What motivated you to apply for Young Arts? What were the requirements?

If it weren’t for my art teacher promising me an A in the grade book, I would never have applied to YoungArts. Truthfully, the effort seemed null since my chances of being selected from a pool of thousands of applicants seemed slim to none. Ironically, I didn’t realize I had been selected as a finalist until three days after YoungArts had announced the winners because I had accidentally sent their email to my spam folder and missed their call! I cannot thank my teachers enough for encouraging me to apply because YoungArts has been a truly formative experience.

To apply, you must be a 15-18 year old visual, literary, and or performing artist in the United States. As a Design applicant, I submitted a 10 image portfolio of my work which included projects from a pencil container and bus stop, to an idealized city. Additionally, we had to include a short essay describing the theory behind our work and write about a design we admire.

Building Perspective - Courtesy of Andrea Maria Lira.

Congratulations on your selection for architectural design at YoungArts! How did YoungArts motivate you into pursuing an architectural degree at the University of Miami?

Thank you very much! YoungArts Week was the kind of slap-in-the-face life experience I needed that sobered me up to my abilities as a designer. During that week, I was surrounded by so many amazing young artists, from jazz musicians to screenplay writers to ballet dancers, who excel at their craft. Being surrounded by such marvelously creative individuals and receiving their positive support gave me the confidence to call myself a designer. YoungArts as an organization, including my mentors and peers, essentially said to me, “What are you waiting for? Be the designer you want to be! We BELIEVE in you!” So, I applied to four architecture schools right before their applications closed. I later matriculated at UM and little did I know, one of the professors on campus was the one who chose my YoungArts portfolio! Perhaps it was meant to be.

Young Arts - Courtesy of Andrea Maria Lira.

After your first year in architecture school, how do you maintain your confidence to continue?

As I am sure you know, architecture school can be of the most stressful five years of your life. Luckily, my high school prepared me for studio life. But beyond that, Architecture makes me happy. Drafting takes me to a meditative state. Making models bring me joy. Dreaming up plans and constantly rearranging them are the puzzles I love solving. Sure, architecture school is hard. It is grueling. It sometimes wants to make me smack my head against a brick wall, but is that not the best part? My brain is working! I am thinking, designing, functioning. What more could I ask for? Architecture makes me feel fulfilled in life! I know, for a fact, I would like nothing more than to be an architect, so of course, I will continue. That’s what gives me the confidence to keep going.

Andrea Working on Large Sculpture - Courtesy of Andrea Maria Lira.

What do you hope to do in your career?

I hope to design a space so pleasing to all the five senses that any person who enters will feel as though they found a sector of paradise. Of course, that sounds very fine and dandy, and I recognize the level of difficulty to achieve such a space, but that will be my life long’s work. However, during such a quest I want to help empower and lift people towards personal success. I want to design spaces and create places that remind people of their humanity. As of right now, I plan to design a performing arts center that combines my love for architecture and music. Eventually, I hope to be a professor that motivates students to succeed in their craft and to pursue their passions, especially if they pertain to architecture. And, I’d like to build my own house. But really, what architect wouldn’t want to do that?

First Place for Front Yard - Courtesy of Andrea Maria Lira.