PATRICIA MORIEL
Portrait courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
University of Texas at Arlington College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs; Bachelor of Science in Architecture
Patricia Moriel was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. She is currently in her last year of undergraduate studies pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. She has interned at GFF (Good, Fulton, and Farrell) for the past two summers. She has a passion for research and is currently working as an undergraduate research assistant. Her undergraduate thesis is centered around sustainability and mobility in Arlington, Texas. Some of her interests include sustainability, community engagement, and affordable housing. She is currently serving as the UTA NOMAS President for the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
Finding my Voice
What inspired you to pursue a career in architecture?
Growing up, I never imagined myself having a career in architecture. It wasn’t until high school that my interest in the field became piqued. During my freshman year of Irma Rangel YWLS I took a general art course where one day, the teacher gave a lecture on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater House. After that class, I remember having various conversations with her about what architecture is and how I could start to incorporate my recently discovered interest in future projects. I spent time drawing anything and everything I observed around my neighborhood and new places I would visit – I found myself becoming more inspired by buildings around me and it kept growing stronger. In my junior year of high school, I began talking to my college advisor about programs that could grow me and fulfill my interests which led me to become involved in the ACE program. Through the ACE program, I was able to build great relationships with mentors and like-minded students that I still cherish today. The program also introduced me to opportunities like the Fallingwater Residency program, a weeklong intensive camp that I was able to attend on scholarship before I started college at the University of Texas at Arlington.
When I look back on the factors that contributed to me pursuing a career in architecture, I always think of the relationships I developed along the way. Being exposed to architecture and pursuing professional experiences through an internship at Hoefer Wysocki at such an early age definitely convinced me to continue on this path, but what really solidified my choice was the opportunity to create more relationships like the ones that have helped me get to where I am today. Interning at GFF and being able to work on projects such as Bark and Build and CANstruction among others has helped keep the passion for architecture alive in me.
Falling Water Residency Program. Photo taken by Adam Devlin. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
Fallingwater Residency members, wearing the glasses that they made on their first day of studio. Photo was taken by their instructor, Daniel M. Cohen. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
CANstruction Tetris Project for GFF. Photos taken by Taylor Catalano. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
CANstruction Tetris Project for GFF. Photos taken by Taylor Catalano. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
Being that architecture is a collaborative effort, how involved were you with school activities?
I was moderately involved my freshman year with AIAS (American Institute of Architecture Students) and the Honors College at UTA, but I became a lot more involved with them during my sophomore year. Being an honors college student came with a whole other set of responsibilities that I had to manage on top of my architecture classes. I was able to conduct research for classes with my professors and tackle extra projects. As a result of all the time I was spending at the Honors College, I co-founded a student programming board with two close friends. While in the Honors College, I found a community that welcomed me with open arms and has been my support system throughout my undergraduate career.
Through the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs I have been involved in the CAMP mentoring program since my freshman year. It served as a way for students to network with each other and learn skills from one another. In my junior year in college, I noticed how several of my friends and I wanted more from our college such as an organization that was for different minority groups given how diverse our campus is. It was through my involvement in Design Futures this past summer that I learned about the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) and knew this was the missing puzzle piece many of us felt we needed. Through the support of our various NOMAS chapters, our Vice President Frank Rose and I were able to bring this program to UTA. Our administration was extremely helpful in this process and I could not be more grateful to our executive board and faculty advisor for aiding us in making this happen.
Design-Build Mini Pavilion for MAP (Make Art with Purpose) First design project I was able to work on during my internship at Hoefer Wysocki. Pictured along Lorena Toffer, AIA. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
How did you feel when you realized that students are not attending as many events as you hoped they would? What did you do about it?
I felt that there was a change needed in the type of events we offered. The student programming board was an idea that two of my advisors had at the time to increase participation at events. It was necessary to form this board because it is a requirement to earn registration rewards to be able to register for classes early which is an Honors College perk. Through the programming board, we planned events for Honors College students which included Board Game Nights, Painting Nights, Valentine’s Day Activities, and more. Over the past two years, we have been able to increase participation at events. Despite the pandemic, we have continued to organize events (virtually) and expand our board to seven members.
Patricia presenting her honors research for the landscape history course along with graduate students in the landscape architecture program. Photo taken by Kathryn Holliday. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
A part of Patricia’s honors research for this course was how to preserve headstones and here she is trimming weeds with a classmate to keep the headstone visible. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
Congratulations on being a senator representing the school of architecture! As a senator, how did you merge the architecture department with the general school?
Thank you! I served last Spring semester and would have loved to continue to serve, but NOMAS and other activities have taken priority this semester. While I was in the student senate, I served on the special affairs committee in which we passed a resolution to rename Davis Hall after someone who fits the ideals of our university. I enjoyed being able to discuss the issues of our student body with other student representatives, and even though I am not currently serving in student government I am on the Dean’s Student Advisory Council.
Honors College Students after an event. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
Undergraduate Affordable housing studio project with an outdoor plaza. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
It is important that we introduce national organizations to students. Besides being active on campus, how do you hope your role as president of NOMAS will help current students become interactive with the organization as a whole?
My hope is that students find a support system in NOMAS. The reason why we brought this organization to our campus is to unify our student body even more. NOMAS serves as a safe space for students to educate themselves on social issues and the impacts these issues have in the design. Our ultimate goal is for students to continue to be involved and grow the chapter even more after we are gone. The level of vulnerability that I have experienced with students from other NOMAS chapters made me realize how many of us are facing the same struggles, and through this community, I have become empowered to find my own voice. Not only that, but the backing of this community also inspires me to advocate for others in our field that have felt silenced in the past. NOMAS is a group that recognizes everyone for who they are, and as president, I am committed to keeping our culture code of vulnerability so this support system can continue to grow.
NOMAS Executive Board meeting. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
You have been demonstrating your leadership role as an organizer, senator, and now president to make an impact. How do you hope to make an impact through design?
I strongly believe that as design students and aspiring architects we need to know how to build with the intention of unifying communities. By taking the community members into consideration, we do not make projects that create desolate neighborhoods but rather projects that fit into the context surrounding it. I hope to be involved in community design focused projects to be able to make an impact where I can serve communities based on their needs.
Coastal Mutant project. Model made in my second year spring studio in collaboration with Bobby Diaz and Eduardo Vasquez. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
On my free time I like to make digital maps. This is one I made of Chicago. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
Site Design in collaboration with Nhu Lam. Photo courtesy of Patricia Moriel.
