SARA RAMIREZ
Portrait courtesy of Sara Ramirez
Sara Ramirez is a NY based designer who attended The University of Central Florida to obtain her undergraduate degree in Design and The University of Texas at Austin for her Masters degree in Architecture. After that, she moved to NYC to pursue architecture. She currently practices with Leroy Street Studio, where she has mainly worked on private residences and has been involved with the firm’s participatory design initiative. Being born in Caracas, Venezuela gave her the desire to explore the profession’s capacity of cultural and social change.
Finding Balance as an Archimom
How did you feel when you realized you were going to be a mom while practicing architecture early in your career?
Terrified. At 27 years old, during my last year of graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin I became pregnant and to be honest - I never wanted children. I think for me the fear was never about my career, it was mostly about having a child, which is something that most of the time women are afraid to talk about. At the time I was just beginning an internship at a NYC firm called Christoff: Finio and felt nervous about breaking the news. After all, I was about to spend six months of my pregnancy working at the firm. Christoff: Finio is a small firm with a great culture and not surprisingly, they were very encouraging throughout the process. Once my son was born, I had the possibility to take a semester off of school for his first 6 months. This was an incredible opportunity since maternity leave in the industry is only 2 months. After that, my partner and I returned to Austin to finish our last semester in school and our son became the “class’ baby”. We were very fortunate to have his first year of life during our last year of grad school because it provided us with a lot of flexibility in our schedules so we could be present in all the important moments, and it really was just fun. Needless to say, I was completely enamored with my son and with being a mother. I was no longer terrified, but having made the decision to go back to NY, I knew the hours of work and having a baby didn’t go hand in hand. That was going to be a struggle.
How did you learn to time manage for your son and work?
I get asked this question a lot. I’m a firm believer that nature and our bodies teach us a lot of what we need to know. Once you have a baby, you quickly realize they thrive in routine, and you automatically need to multitask. It could be overwhelming but it happens naturally. Sometimes you need to breastfeed while pumping milk at the same time, and maybe pick up the phone. Or carry your infant to run an errand while they’re having a meltdown because its nap time. You sort of are made by force to learn how to prioritize and how to multi task. This translates to work. In practice, because I have a more rigid schedule than my colleagues, I have to make sure I work efficiently. To finish my tasks and work smart not hard to meet the goals in order to be able to leave early to pick up my child. It is also important to me to be present when I’m at home, so once I leave the office, work stays there. It is a compartmentalized life that allows me to focus on what is important at the moment. In less words, the reality of the work place or “real life” is that no one cares that you were late because your toddler was having a tantrum in the morning over what shoe to wear and you missed the train. No one cares that you have to pay money to be able to work late for a deadline because you need a babysitter. Its hard and its emotionally exhausting but you do it because you just have to.
Masters of Architecture. - Courtesy of Sara Ramirez.
Did you ever experience any negative feedback as a mom and architect?
I haven’t yet experienced a stigma to not being able to handle being both a designer and a mother. But I have definitely experienced a lack of understanding and judgement. In this field, and generally in NYC, people become parents in their mid-30’s to young 40’s, and a lot of people become very surprised when they find out I have a child. Its like all of the sudden having a kid at 28 years old is being a young mom, I guess I never got that memo ha! Also, a lot of times people without kids or even parents of older children don’t understand why you would be late to work or why you need to leave early 3 days a week and could result in you getting less responsibility. Whatever it is, I’ve definitely felt the judgement and passive aggressiveness of people not understanding that I have responsibilities that are actually more important than work. On the other hand, I have also experienced very positive things, such as people being in awe that I’m a mom and I can handle everything just like everyone else or even more. In these cases, it feels like being a mom is a super power, it can be encouraging and empowering.
Our little family in the pyramids of Mexico. - Courtesy of Sara Ramirez.
Visiting Thailand and connecting with nature. - Courtesy of Sara Ramirez.
We travel together to see architecture. That's my partner and I in Bilbao. - Courtesy of Sara Ramirez.
As an archimom, were you selective when applying to firms that were flexible with your busy schedule?
Absolutely. Having a child is a fulltime job, and then I chose to go looking for another one. That’s crazy! In my case, my days are very short as a full-time employee. I have about 2 hours in the morning with my family, 0-3 at night (depending on the work day), and then I have to go to sleep. My days are very busy and It was a priority for me that the office I chose would do great work, have good office culture and good hours that could be flexible with my schedule. At first being new in the city you sort of have to knock on all doors and once you have a few offers then that’s when you can start to be selective. I began at a small firm called Michael Tower Architecture and it was a fantastic experience where I learned a lot. Luckily for me, the founder has small children so it worked out really well. I am currently working at Leroy Street Studio, a mid-size firm, and it checks all the boxes. I think coming out of architecture school we leave with an ingrained culture that we have to get a certain job to succeed, and once you start looking for that job you quickly realize that it is really very hard. You have to prioritize what really is important, and in my experience there’s never one path. There will never be the perfect job because we are constantly growing and wanting different things, so you have to find what is right for you in that moment.
What advice would you give to new archimoms who are just entering the field?
My advice for new archimoms would be to stand your ground. There are a lot of people out there that will shame you and demand unrealistic things, but you have to be good at putting your foot down with your priorities and not letting things get to you. Also, be present, they really do grow up fast!
Just your typical NYC day. - Courtesy of Sara Ramirez.
Always chasing him <3. - Courtesy of Sara Ramirez.
