Catherine Meng

“For me it’s about having deep empathy for the occupants paired with a clarity of logic and space that drives design decisions.”

#WomenWhoBuild meet Catherine Meng,

Catherine is a Senior Associate for the DLR Group as well as the visionary behind the Design Voice Podcast. Through the Design Voice Podcast, Catherine holds conversations with women who have shaped the built environment about their career journeys, the struggles, the highlights, what inspires them, as well as what advice they have for young professionals. In addition to her work, Catherine is also an active member in her community. She serves on the board of the Northern California Cornell Alumni Association and is a mentor for the ACE Mentor Program for aspiring high school designers who hope to enter the architecture and construction field.

ArchNative sat down with Catherine (virtually of course) to discuss her journey in architecture, how she balances her career and motherhood, what her day to day looks like, and her advice for women entering the field.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey in Architecture? What made you decide to pursue it as a career choice? 

Catherine in Barcelona

When I was growing up in the suburbs of Denver, I don’t think I knew that the profession of architecture even existed. I was never really exposed to the concept that people purposefully designed buildings. But, as far back as I can remember, I always loved drawing and making things with my hands.

During spring break of my junior year of high school, I was fortunate to be able to go on a class trip to Italy, and that was my first exposure to truly beautiful buildings. I distinctly remember climbing up Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence, and just being in complete awe of the internal structure of the dome. I watched the sun slowly set over the Florentine roofs and was enthralled by the fact that a building someone had designed hundred of years ago could still have such an impact on people today. It was this beautiful moment, and as cheesy as it sounds, I think that was when I decided I wanted to be an architect.

I ended up applying to half architecture schools and half liberal arts schools. But I ended up only getting into the architecture schools, so that’s how I ended down this career path!

You are currently a Senior Associate at DLR Group, what does your role entail? 

As a Senior Associate at DLR Group, my role varies between being a Project Architect and/or Project Manager, depending on the size of the project. Much of my work experience has been in multi-family housing, but I’ve recently started working on Higher-Ed projects, which has been extremely fulfilling.

What does your day to day look like? 

There is no typical day, but then again every day sadly does involve answering a lot of emails! My day starts with the morning bustle of shuffling my toddler off to daycare. Most days are filled with a lot of meetings - either with our internal project teams, clients, contractors, or other consultants. I’m lucky if I can get an hour or two in to do some actual “work”. Then it’s on to the evening routine of  daycare pick-up / dinner / bathtime / bedtime with my daughter. I try to spend as much focused time with her as possible before she goes to bed every night. Then it’s usually laptop out again for a bit more work or podcast stuff, followed by a poor decision on my husband and my part to watch Netflix rather than going to bed at a more reasonable hour.

 How do you approach each project you work on? Where do you draw inspiration? 

I draw inspiration from the end-users of each project. While I do think it’s important to have a clear design vision for a project, ultimately, it’s about the users and communities that will be, hopefully, positively affected by the new built work. For me it’s about having deep empathy for the occupants paired with a clarity of logic and space that drives design decisions.  

What has been your favorite project to work on and why? 

It’s hard to pick just one favorite, but certainly the most fun and unique project I’ve worked on was very early on in my career - I designed a bathroom for a cat! The studio I was with at that time was working on a gut renovation for a Brooklyn townhouse. We had designed a small powder room under the staircase, and there was some extra space left under the stairs. The client wanted to turn this into a bathroom where she could keep a cat litterbox. It started as a simple room for the litterbox and - talk about scope creep! - ended up having tile floor, crown molding, a little door, and even an exhaust fan. I later found out that the client didn’t even have a cat yet - so it was a bathroom for a future cat!

What has been the biggest challenge of your career? What has been the biggest triumph? 

The biggest challenge so far has been figuring out how this whole “working mom” thing works! My daughter is only 2, so I’m fairly new into this whole journey, and it’s a constant struggle of feeling like I’m being pulled in multiple directions. Even though I have an extremely supportive partner, and DLR Group is very family-friendly as well, I think it’s a mental and logistical challenge that many new parents face. I want to be the best mom I can be, as well as the best architect I can be. I think my biggest triumph is related to all this - that I haven’t quit yet! 

You are the host of the Design Voice Podcast, can you tell us a little bit about that? What made you decide to start your own podcast? How have you grown it and how do you pick the people you feature on the podcast?

The Design Voice Podcast is a show that features women who shape the built environment. Each episode, I speak with a different woman in the architecture and design profession about their career journeys, the struggles, the highlights, what inspires them, what advice they have for young professionals - similar to ArchNative, but in podcast form.

I started the show a few years ago because it was something I wanted to listen to, but didn’t find. I’m a huge podcast fan, and love the intimacy of the medium and hearing people’s own voices in your headphones. I love hearing about the stories and career journeys of other professional women and find it so inspirational. I also wanted to elevate and amplify new and diverse voices in our profession. After a lot of hesitation and self-doubt, I finally jumped in and decided to make the podcast.

What advice do you have for women entering the field? 

Follow the fear. I did improv comedy once upon a former life in New York City, and that was a saying you see a lot in the improv world. You have to do the thing that scares you, that makes you uncomfortable, because that’s where discovery and growth happens. Put in another way, if you ever grow to be too comfortable in a job or role, it means you need to update your goals and dream bigger!