SHRAVANI KOPALLE

Portrait courtesy of Shravani Kopalle.

Shravani Kopalle is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago pursuing a degree in Architecture. Born in Hyderabad, India, she is a first-generation student studying in America. She found her passion for architecture in high school and chose to become an architect. She has always been passionate about design and likes to challenge her creative mind. She has always wondered about how buildings were designed and are truly in love with Chicago and its architecture. Apart from studying at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she has also been part of UIC NOMAS for the past two years and currently is the president of the organization. UIC NOMAS is a student chapter and their goal is to increase minority in the field architecture and make it more diverse. Their aim is to use their platform to voice the issues concerning minorities and diversity. Through UIC NOMAS, Shravani wants to create a diverse community within the student body of UIC architecture that will help each other out and build connections.

Building My Way Through America

What inspired you to study architecture?

My inspiration is driven by the fact that I may create something so unique and creative that one day I can point at it and proudly say, “yes I designed that”. I have always loved to draw since I was a kid and I wanted to pursue a career in design to further explore my creative mind. I have been very curious about how buildings were designed in a way that each building is unique in its way. My dad took me to temples and other marvelous architectural wonders, explaining to me how people built them when all they had were a few tools. In high school, I was compelled to pursue a career in architecture because of my Civil Engineering and Architecture teacher. I took his class to try out different things and his teaching and exercises made me fall in love with architecture.

Shravani and family. Image courtesy of Shravani.

Name a woman architect who most influenced you as an emerging professional? How?

Physical model by Shravani during her sophomore year. Image courtesy of Shravani.

A women architect who influenced me was Anupama Kundoo. She is an Indian Architect who focuses on material that has a low environmental impact, which makes her designs sustainable. She started her practice in 1990 and is world-renowned. After reading about her and her projects I became interested in sustainable architecture. In the future, I also want to design projects that have a low impact on the environment and use materials that are sustainable. One project of hers that inspired me was, The Wall House in Auroville, in India. This project gives a perfect example of how contemporary architecture can be designed while maintaining a low impact on the environment. Reading about her projects gave me an idea about how the world would be if it were filled with eco-friendly buildings. It is also inspiring that an Indian woman is making an impact on this world and I aspire to be like her one day.

Name a favorite project completed by a woman Architect. Why is it your favorite?

One of my favorite projects that were completed by a woman architect is Aqua Tower in Chicago. Aqua Tower was designed by Jeanne Gang’s firm, Studio Gang. I have always been in love with Chicago’s architecture and Aqua Tower is one of the most beautiful buildings in the skyline. I love its façade as it adds a rhythm, a movement. The outdoor balconies that create the flowy façade are interesting, which creates a community within the residents as it is easier interacting with each other. These balconies also have a great view of the city. I also really love how these curved balconies are designed as they create an impression of water, which makes the building unique. I could stare at that building all day and be mesmerized by its design and the façade. I hope that I can live in the building one day. I would love to see the view from one of the apartments.

Shravani’s love for traveling and exploring new spaces. Image courtesy of Shravani.

Tell us about your role as President of NOMAS chapter at the University of Illinois at Chicago. What inspired you to take on this leadership role?

Shravani in the process of model-making. Image courtesy of Shravani.

Racial diversity in the architecture field is growing, but slowly. It is important for me that the field is more diverse and there should be more architects with different cultural backgrounds. My main goal as the President of the NOMAS chapter at the University of Illinois at Chicago is to create a diverse community within the school of architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. As a president, with the help of our board members, host events every month where anyone from the school of architecture can participate. We try to bring professionals so that the students can build connections in the field and also ask for advice and help. We also have events where students can relax after stressful weeks of finals and midterms. Through these events, students can meet their peers and build a community, which will not only help them in school but also throughout their career as an architect. I truly believe that connections are important in our field and I want to give an opportunity for our student body to start building their connections in school, rather than later in their career.

What is your favorite memory in architecture school? Why?

There are a lot of favorite memories but, if I had to pick one, I would choose all the tedious hours I spent model making. Until COVID hit every semester during midterms and finals there was a whole week or two where my peers and I were under an immense amount of stress. We have to complete our models by time even if that means we skipped meals, sleep, and would not socialize with anyone. All of us would pull all-nighters almost every day. We had no social life and would not see anyone else except each other during this week. We all would just put our earphones on, some of us would listen to music and watch movies and do our work. Sometimes during the night, we would take a break, goof around, explore our architecture building, and then get back to work. Even though the stress, I still enjoyed those nights because we would do it together, talk, get food, and have a little fun. It used to be nice knowing that everyone is on the same boat as you but has the confidence that we are all going to make it through and succeed.

Shravani’s first year final studio. Image courtesy of Shravani.

As you reflect on the past year, what did you discover as your biggest strengths?

I would say one of my biggest strengths after 3 years of college is taking critiques. As a freshman in college, I got some very harsh critiques during my midterm review. I was very close to breaking down in front of everyone. However, now I do not see these critiques as something negative, in fact I have taken them as something that I should work on and improve on which will make me a better architect. Taking criticism, whether good or bad, is a very important part of being an architect and we must use these criticisms in the right way and make ourselves better. Through criticism, I also understood that architecture is an opinion-based field and not everyone is going to like what they say and that is ok. Another strength of mine is that I became very detail-oriented. I make sure everything I do is perfect and that I am satisfied with what I am proposing. Being detail-oriented makes my work strong and I also find minor mistakes throughout the process, this helps me fix my mistakes before I present.

Image courtesy of Shravani.

If you were able to talk to your younger self, what would you say?

If I were to talk to my younger self, I would say a lot of things, but one thing is to never doubt yourself and trust yourself. Be confident in who you are and what you are doing. You have to stand up to people when they are wrong but also understand when you have to correct yourself and improve. Do not let anyone hold you back. It will get hard but do not give up because one day you are going to look back and think, “pfft that was nothing, because as you go bigger, and bigger problems will come your way, but you are strong enough to face them and come up with a solution.” Not always, but life is good overall. When it is not good always know that it will get better. You may not be the only person struggling or going through something so always reach out to people and know when to ask for help because there will be someone who is willing to help you out. Most importantly do not lose yourself, you are important, and you matter.

Image courtesy of Shravani.

What would you want to say to the next generation of aspiring women architects?

Do not ever give up no matter how hard it gets in school or in the field. There will be a lot of people throughout your life and career who will tell you certain jobs do not fit for women and will constantly try to put you down not because of your skill but because you are a woman. Prove them wrong! The number of women in architecture is low and we are slowly rising now. I truly believe that as the years go by, in the future there will be an equal number of men and women in the field and maybe even more women architects. Currently, we live in a world where women need to fight for their equality and their rights, but every woman in this world is capable of anything they want to do. My mother also says that women are much stronger than men as we have to endure so much pain throughout our lives, so do not let anyone put you down or tell you that you are not capable of doing something.

Photograph taken during Shravani’s trip to Puerto Rico. Image courtesy of Shravani.

In terms of rising concerns and problems (in the architectural profession) over the past year, what is one change that you wish saw would happen and it did not?

A lot of institutions in our country focus more on architecture in the western world. I wish that they also teach the students about the architecture in the Asian countries as they too have a lot of cultural meaning behind their architecture.