Pat Bosch
“Design can only be richer the more you understand and embrace this journey.”
#WomenWhoBuild meet Pat Bosch,
Pat is a Principal, Design Director, and founding partner of the Miami studio of Perkins&Will. Since the start of her career, Pat has worked on transformative projects around the world including the American Express Corporate Center in Sunrise, Fla., Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University for Women in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the L’Oréal Research and Innovation Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
We sat down with Pat to discuss her approach to the projects she works on, the unique challenges women face in their career and in motherhood, how her parents and their immigration journey had shaped her own trajectory, and her advice for women just starting their careers in Architecture.
What was your introduction to architecture and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?
As the daughter of two architects, you can say I started understanding the career and the industry early on. It was not until I was in college already starting my own journey into architecture school that I fell in love with the fact that there was an intentionality, a sense of social purpose on how they were approaching their career in the 60’s and 70’s. There was this magic about being transformative, dealing with climate challenges, education, housing, the economy. Certainly there was the altruistic aspect of it all, and the commitment and sense of responsibility to leave with that sense to” leave things better than you found them”. I was taught to think with empathy and to use design as the vehicle to better society. I always felt there were other career paths I could have chosen that would equally affect change, never considering myself a designer. But I was certainly a critical thinker, growing up with two master problem solvers. Design as art, design as poetry, revealed itself in a more personal level.
I think my parents LIVED design and architecture. Because of that, interestingly enough, I took it for granted. My focus was elsewhere during high school, gravitating towards law and journalism. The opportunity for an architecture summer program at Cornell was presented to me by my high school counselor, and I took on a whim, after reading the curriculum and truly being interested in some of the subject matte, as well as the fact my parents thought it would be a good opportunity to experience a studio environment and the academic framework of the profession.
My time at Cornell was very telling; I recognized everything, I understood everything, and I felt at home. This was a career where in fact, as my mother had said, I could spread my wings in so many directions. That architecture was very broad, and that design was something that would allow me to be of consequence in so many levels.
Once I made the decision, I was very determined to go into this career with an open heart and an open mind, embracing the full spectrum of it’s rich curriculum.. I discover the world of art meeting science and how consequential this profession had been in the history of human kind and countries and society in general. I fell in love with every aspect, every course and every opportunity. It was diverse and plural and it allowed me to navigate history, math, technology, art and science.
Can you tell me a little bit about the career path which led you to your current position?
I started my undergraduate degree at the University of Puerto Rico. It was a very technical school in a way. It was a curriculum based on the Cornell University’s 5 year professional program, which gave me an extremely valuable base in building technology and engineering. To balance this training and then turned to a more theoretical Master’s degree program at Columbia University, in New York City. While attending Columbia , Ken Frampton provided me with the opportunity to study at the ETH in Switzerland, where I was able to emerse myself in the perspective of the global platform of our profession.
I had lived in different countries, I was already bi-lingual, but being in Switzerland, allowed me to polish my French and embrace learning Swiss-German.. This idea of understanding other languages, processes, deliver architecture and design around the world was something that open opportunities once back in New York. Before leaving to Zurich, I had worked with Stevn Holl, A true mento at Columbia and a creative force that taught me how to use my skills, rigor and discipline as a piano Player, into my design process. He opened a world where I was able to bring inspiration thru literature, art,music and film. It was a world full or art, and story telling and the potential of the what if.
Once back in the city, Tom Pfeiffer hired me at Richard Meier and Partners. It was here where I was exposed to the true intersection of art and science, large scale projects and international clients, where I was able to hone my sense of process, discipline, and rigor, not just on the big idea, but on every detail and execution strategy.
Having the exposure of the most coveted design projects of that time, drew me to the academic world which brought me to Miami, where I was asked to teach the comprehensive studios at the University fo Miami School of Architecture and at the then young Florida International University Architecture program. Shortly after, Perkins and Will provided me with the opportunity to be part of the founding team for it’s new Miami studio and the first start up studio in over 20 years.
Perkins and Will has been the firm that brought all my journeys into one, and provided me with the platform to design my own career : As a women, as a global citizen, and as a professional who really wanted to see design through the lens of transformative contemporary solutions, created through a humanistic lens. Perkins and Will, became the ideal platform to grow, and mentor, and help grow a firm with a unique vision. I found a place which gave me the ability to be fearless, and of consequence, and passionately deliver the unimaginable. It had the horse power, the partners, the people in it that challenged, inspired, and provoked me to be who I am today, as a designer, and a professional who happened to be a women, a Hispanic, and an political refugee.
Touching a little bit on your global training, and education, how did that impact the way you approach the projects you are currently working on?
Completely. I design needs to emerge from it’s place , from it’s culture and climate and it’s history.
It is a humbling process, going into a project without preconceived ideas, and allowing your designs to honestly be informed by all these factors. This is what drives me, that curiosity, that sense of wonder and surprise. I grew up experiencing different cultures and always learning to observe, respect, and learn. Design can only be richer the more you understand and embrace this journey.
It is such a powerful way of giving back to a community, a society. It is always about crafting new stories of those who you have encountered, those you are providing the best of you, and the solutions needed to their challenges. To have that ability and to allow it to inform your decisions and your designs. I don’t think I could be who I am today, as a designer, if I didn’t comprehend that the world, at the end of the day, is all interconnected. We all have similar needs and wants. Solutions become universal and timeless. That is something that helps me create and bring about different solutions. A school is very different if I design it for the Middle East versus designing it for Chile. At the same time you learn from these different experiences, and new ideas inform old ones.
You mentioned a school that you worked on, the world’s largest University for Women built at once. Can you tell me a little bit about your process in designing this space?
Princess Nora University, in Saudi Arabia, was probably the most influential project in my career to date. It was a project that taught me much about the world, about the culture in the Middle East, and about delivering at a scale never before imagined.
I started the project very much focused on the innovation of the learning environments, because that was what we were bringing to the table with this project. Here was Perkins & Will working to create 30 million square feet all built at once in the middle of the desert. We went at it pretty analytically, and pretty scientifically thinking about what infrastructure was needed, what was the latest in higher education planning to be implemented, what types of buildings where required, and the a program elements needed to build a university of the 21st. century.
As I went deeper into it and as I started traveling to the middle east very often, walking through the streets, and immersing myself in its’ society, I started realizing that I had a story to tell.
If there is something that I learned from this project, it's that In fact , through designs I could tell untold stories.
I was humbled by women in Saudi Arabia. They are highly educated, and passionate about not only enhancing higher education for the women in their country, but providing them with a new world and new opportunities. They were leading by example and their relationship with each other was something that I needed to understand better. As I did, and as I observed, I realized that the story I had to tell was their story and it was less about bringing innovative ideas (even though we still strived to do that), but that these buildings, this university, and academic campus had to tell a story of resilience, and partnership, and strength and commitment. This became central to me as a designer and as a women.
I then started to craft a design, a narrative, about their synergistic relationships, the way they are fearless, the way they bring innovation, honor, loyalty and leadership into every aspect of their lives.
The buildings became this narrative, all about the veils, and the desert. It was about how the women walked holding hands, how they were a unified front, how they were so focused on their independence, how they learn from each other regardless of their careers. This sense of respect and trust, commitment to family and society, and country. They were deeply rooted in their traditions and at the same time, global and sophisticated. I learned as a designer and as a women to be honest about this story, and to let every decision I made, be layered with meaning.
After the project was completed I was invited back, by the leadership of the university, to present the project to it’s faculty. My most memorable moment as a designer was when an entire auditorium, fell silent, and in unison shared their gratitude that indeed, I had comprehended them. That I had “seen” them, and that now they knew each building, each space and each column, represented their journey and their legacy. I could not have asked for more. They had taught me more about myself than anything else. I have since then been challenged to do more, to see more, and to have the responsibility to tell those unseen or untold stories. From that point on, everything I do, I try to look at it from that perspective. To use my profession, my skills and the privilege of my position to transform, inform, enhance lives, and lift the human spirit.
What does your day to day look like?
My days are crazy! I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, and I just have this clarity about a project or a solution to something. I sketch it or I write it and then I go back to sleep. I wake up officially at 6:30 or so and sometimes I have to go to meetings really early because of the different time zones in Asia or the Middle East or Europe. I start with a lot of phone calls, a lot of team meetings, a lot of zoom meetings. I get to the office around 9 am and I interact with the different teams. I work around the studio, having meetings with different project teams or clients.
My most cherished moments are the ones that are more quiet and alone, where I get to do a sketch or a diagram, or get to solve something in a project, and I get very excited when I’m able to have creative time with teams. Most of the time it is a collaborative, interactive process, where I am in a room, with a lot of team members and we are brainstorming , thinking about solutions for a project, strategizing or researching. I would say I rarely remember to have lunch, and sometimes other people need to remind me to have lunch or to take a break. I always am very thankful for them because time just goes by when I am very focused. By the end of the day, I try to leave around 5/5:30pm but sometimes its later. I do make an effort to separate my private and professional life.
Since our daughter was young, dinner as a family was imperative, connecting at the end of the day, and sharing our days was something we all looked forward to. I do, however, start thinking about my next day, around 10 pm, sometimes making sure I have a well planned productive day. I do a lot of reading and a lot of sketching since I am a very visual person.
However, I also play piano and it helps me think of solutions to a project!
Thank you for touching on the motherhood aspect. It is so important for us as women to talk to each other about that.
I want to be the person that I needed when I was a young women. I had a role model in my mother, who balanced motherhood with the profession, but it was harder in those days and it was hard for me as well. I am not a superwomen and I definitely had to make a lot of sacrifices that I didn’t want to make. At the same time I made it a point to be present, and make her a priority, it was important for my daughter but it was more important to me.
I could not have done it without my husband, and having in him a partner that was supportive, and encouraging and an equal in all aspects. I needed that balance, I needed to be human. I wish I would have had more women going through what I was going through, around me. I was definitely very alone and certainly when we were starting our studio, at Perkins & Will, I was one of very few women who were in my position, and I still am. But I have found a great comfort in finding people who are younger than me, who are going through what I went through, and I am learning from them as well. So I think it goes both ways. I think it is great, when people take care of me, like I said, because I think it's important to have each others back and inspire and help each other.
Our daughter, Pilar ( now a journalist in New York City), has taught me, as she became a professional herself, that it was important to help mentor younger women, to support them, and provide them with the guidance and reassurances that are needed as you start your own journeys.It’s an imperative right now for me. It is important also to empower young women to recognize that everyone is there to mentor you, and to recognize who are the individuals that can be invaluable to your growth and success. They need to know to be proactively and yet not impatient in building their careers. I was told very early on in my own career path, to seek respect and mentorship from those that you admired and respected.
To this day, I still feel that way. I still encounter people who I feel will make me better, and as a women, I feel that we have an immense capacity to propel our industry forward. We have the capacity to multitask, we lead with empathy and we should not hesitating to bring emotion to our leadership skills. I encourage women in leadership to know that emotion is not a weakness but it very powerful and empowering.
What would you consider your biggest triumph and your greatest struggle?
My biggest triumph has been consistency, resiliency, and making the best of the opportunities given. Falling in love with what I do. Having a sense or purpose. Not to waste the opportunities given. I think that has been the biggest gift.
My biggest struggle is almost parallel. My biggest struggle has been making sure that I can be an example. I think that people don’t see sometimes, in our industry, how hard it is. Showing how hard it has been for women. People take it for granted in a way. Making people aware that where we start from is not an easy place. Every single meeting is a meeting where I have to prove myself. I don’t feel that I can say to you with a straight face that I am over struggles. I take every day as a day where I have to do my best and be on my toes, and I have to be the best version of myself and continue to perform.
Nothing has ever come easy. No matter what career we are in or what stage in our career we are in, we are all in the same place sometimes. The struggles can be different. The struggles I had 20 years ago are different than the struggles I have now, but they are still struggles.
I feel success just simply still doing what I do, I’m still learning and growing.
As a mother, my biggest achievement is my daughter, and knowing that she turned out a better version on me. I didn’t want to have a career without the satisfaction that I had done my job as a mother. Her career is something that I admire and enjoy watching, I learn from her everyday what it takes to lead in her industry, how survival looks like, and all I can do is be there to listen and to help through encouragement.
What piece of advice would you give yourself when you just started in your career?
You will get there, just keep at it. Is not the outcome is the journey.
I was brought up to be a “doer”, and To NOT take anything or anyone from granted. I would also tell my younger self to not be afraid of being who you are and believing in the strength of your skills .
I was born in Cuba, so we lost everything, we had to go to Spain in a plane with nothing. My parents reinforced in me the value that what you carry with you is your education, your integrity, and your willingness to work hard and be of service. I never forget that. I always try to learn more and educate myself further. The more I know, the better I am. Nothing comes for free. It's not valuable if you haven’t earned it. That is ingrained in my DNA. I admire those that have that resilience. Achieving beyond their expectations and against all odds is such an inspiring thing to watch, it humbles you. Leading through example should be your guiding light.