LEAN FATHI

Portrait courtesy of Lean Fathi

“I trust that everything happens for a reason, even if we are not wise enough to see it”. In 2015, Lean Fathi was diagnosed with neuropathy and she experienced going through buildings in a wheelchair, walker, cane, and then eventually depending on the walls to support myself. This incident changed herself and her life choices. Architecture at that point was a means of survival. It did not become a career choice, but a learning tool to understand how to design a better place for everyone, especially for people with disabilities. Once Lean was able to walk again, she decided to dedicate the rest of my life to help people with disabilities in every possible way I can. The way she see it, she knew she was able to enhance the quality of life for anyone using Architecture. At the beginning, Lean was upset with my medical situation, but later on, she realized how blessed she was to experience life from different perspectives. All of which, it was a reason to refine my choices to help others in need. In this day and age, there is still little attention to design for the comfort and experience of a person with a disability. Thus far, all of the advancements made in designing spaces for people with disabilities has been focused on accessibility instead of mobility.

What inspired you to pursue an architectural degree?

Senior year in high school was a difficult chapter in choosing what I wanted to major in. I took a 10-day vacation backpacking Europe with my Aunt after I graduated and that’s when I realized that my main focus and admiration of Europe was its architecture. The second day, I was staring at random buildings and researching everything I can find about them. Because of Europe, I ended up changing my major on orientation day at Texas Tech University from Law school to Architecture.

Drawings by Lean. - Courtesy of Lean Fathi.

While applying, what did you hope to specialize in?

Most of the architecture students in their first couple of years are indecisive, and so was I. I thought at the beginning that I wanted to design residential, but as we took various studios with very different programs we needed to design for, I realized I needed to experience all sorts of architectural projects to fully decide what I want. After my medical incident, when I was in my third year of my Bachelor’s Degree, I took a year off and focused on my health. Within experiencing over seven hospitals in the United States and Saudi Arabia, I got the epiphany to design healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, etc. As time went by, towards my last year of Bachelor’s and my Master’s, I focused on designing for physical and mental disabilities in all Architecture programs and Urban Planning. 

[Im]mobility House: Increasing Shift Project. - Courtesy of Lean Fathi.

Throughout life, sometimes things do not go as planned. How did your disability impact your plans in your career?

For me, I always like to plan ahead, and with this sudden incident, I realized how life can be unpredictable. I had to drop a year from college and focus on my health. My career path was completely changed and my vision for the future was altered to design for the comfort of people rather than only focusing more on the aesthetics. It was not an easy incident. It was tough to accept and be proud of; however, with time, I realized it was a blessing in disguise.

Lean’s Master’s Graduation Photo - Courtesy of Lean Fathi.

Based on your experiences, how do you plan on using architecture as a tool to create comfortable and accessible spaces for people?

Many people, and I was one of them, think architecture is either residential or commercial. After my first year of my Bachelor’s study, I understood the complexity and variety that architecture spans to. For me, architecture is all around us, from the exterior of the building, the organization of spaces around a building, and even the interior finishes like furniture. To have something built, no matter what kind of program it is, architecture is involved. When I experienced life in hospitals, I realized how much design affects the patients, the visitors, the staff, etc. I understood through architecture and research, healthcare facilities can be a huge factor to how users experience going to see physicians and their mood and attitude towards that visit. Architects’ responsibility is to design spaces, and through understanding people’s needs, architecture can be a tool to delve into and design those comfortable and accessible spaces.

Art Installation Project on Senses and Understanding How the Other Person is Feeling on the Other Side. - Courtesy of Lean Fathi.

What advice would you give to individuals who hit a bump on the road? How can they see the light at the end of the tunnel?

As I see it, everything is a blessing in disguise. My attitude was not positive at the beginning, but once I started to see my situation from other perspectives, my attitude and philosophy in life changed. I realized that I was not living my life to the fullest and I was wasting a lot of time on matters that were insignificant. I started to take care of myself first and learn how to love myself. My advice for people who experience unexpected events in their lives, to look at it from a different perspective and understand that everything will be fine in the end. After all, in every situation, it can be a blessing or condemnation depending on how you want to look at it. If it is not a happy ending, then it is not the end yet.

Lean in Action at the Fabrication Lab. - Courtesy of Lean Fathi.

How did you find the power of words? How did the strong impact of words heal you?

I always found it hard to verbally express myself, but once I started journaling, I wanted to know what I was feeling and how to let go of all the anger. I was reading a lot when I was sick and that resulted in learning innumerable new words which helped me express myself a bit better. I was reading both fiction and nonfiction books and both those types of books affected how I view life and how to change it. Reading has helped me in many ways and I believe words have a lot of power. The power of words can either heal or wreck a person, but we should always use words to communicate with ourselves and others. I founded Bib.Lian foundation to help people express themselves using careful words.

Instagram Posts on bib.lian. - Courtesy of Lean Fathi.