SOANY MARQUEZ
Portrait courtesy of Soany Marquez
Soany Marquez was recently featured in Madame Architect as part of the NEXTGEN Series. As a minority-women, Soany celebrated what it feels to be recognized.
What was your reaction to participating in Madame Architect?
When Julia first reached out to me, I was beyond excited! I always admired the work she does in Madame Architect. As a recent graduate, I felt like the pandemic minimized my opportunities to network in the architecture world. Being featured in Madame Architect increased my confidence and proved to me that there are always people willing to support and hear you.
Recognition and support from Soany’s family members when her article in Madame Architect launched. - Courtesy of Soany Marquez.
What was the process like being interviewed for Madame Architect (how were you introduced?
I met Julia when I interned at FXCollaborative last summer. She was always a very welcoming and easy get-to-know person. After my internship, we were able to stay connected via social media where she was able to reach out to me. As a recent graduate, she contacted me to become part of the new summer series, NEXTGEN, to talk about my interests, priorities, and focuses as I enter the professional field.
Soany’s 2019 Summer Internship at FXCollaborative with interns and Partner Gustavo Rodriguez - Courtesy of Soany Marquez
How do you hope to impact the professional field as a minority-woman? After being part of a platform that celebrates women in the architectural field, what are your plans to further discuss your journey as a young Honduran woman?
I hope one day I get to mentor and inspire the next generation of designers to pursue fields that have been historically "male-dominated".
After featuring in Madame Architect, which celebrates and empowers women in the architecture field, I plan to keep advocating for women of color in design and construction. Through Primaverarch, co-founded by myself, Nadeen Hassan, Martha Zambrano, and Chaerin Kim, we will give recognition to hard-working women in architecture to express their everyday experiences.
Our future generations of aspiring women architects need to have mentors that can relate to their backgrounds, stories, and struggles. As a person that immigrated to this country at a young age, I know the struggles of working three times as hard to receive recognition. We need to bridge the gaps for the next generation.
Primaverarch’s Team and Architectural Studio Trip to New Orleans - Courtesy of Soany Marquez
What does success mean to you?
Many people believe that success is when you have achieved everything on your checklist. I disagree. I take my life one step at a time and I believe small achievements are a success towards my career. Life is too short to be overwhelmed by the super high standards we give ourselves. We start becoming successful when we see challenges as opportunities to move one step forward.
Soany at her first site visit with FXCollaborative in Summer 2019 - Courtesy of Soany Marquez
What message would you want to give to minority women coming into architecture school?
I will always tell my fellow designers this, to have the strength to face every challenge in this field, you have to start believing in your potential. Nobody can give you more motivation than what you give yourself. Make sure to expand your knowledge beyond what they teach you in architecture school because the world is so much bigger than that.
Soany presenting to client, Cooperation Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi - Courtesy of Soany Marquez
