Krista Ninivaggi
“There are challenges every day in our field and they rarely repeat themselves. I always say that experience in this field is a collection of problem solving.”
WomenWhoBuild, Meet Krista Ninivaggi!
Krista is the Founder of K&Co, the multidisciplinary interior architecture and design firm which just recently celebrated it 6th anniversary. The company, with its sophisticated and cutting edge style, has designed the decor of The Greenpoint, the American Copper Buildings, The Ludlow at East Market, and the Brooklyn Nets Family Lounge. Prior to opening her own firm, Krista worked for top tier companies include the Rockwell Group, AvroKO, and SHoP Architects. Krista is a true force in the industry and was named designer of the year in 2014 by Contract Magazine.
ArchNative was lucky enough to sit down (virtually) with Krista to discuss how her own family home inspired her to begin her career journey, her biggest challenges as a young designer in the field, and her advice for women who are looking to start their own company.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey in architecture/ design?
I always thought I would go into a science field, I applied to every other college pre-med. In high school, though I lived in the art department (shout out to Dwight-Englewood).
The summer before I started my applications for college, I had taken a pre-college program at Bennington, taking both a bio class and an architecture class. It was there that I learned about the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) from a classmate. That fall when I started my senior year, I found I'd run out of art classes to take at my high school. I had to beg the school to let me do an independent study. Luckily, the photo teacher, and one of my favorite teachers ever, John McCabe agreed to be my supervisor. By the time the fall was ending and I was wrapping up my college applications, I had also developed a strong portfolio from my independent study. Honestly out of curiosity I sent in an application to RISD. When the decisions letters arrived, I felt I had been accepted at mediocre pre-med programs, but I was also accepted to RISD, which is consistently the top ranked art school in the country. I took that as a sign and I never looked back!
I was interested in all types of mediums in art school whether it be photography, film, ceramics, sculpture or furniture design but architecture seemed to synthesize my love of science along with my creative nature, so it seemed like a natural fit.
What was your first introduction to the field?
My first official introduction to the field was the class I took at Bennington. My preoccupation with design really came out of frustration from the house where I grew up. My childhood home was built by my grandfather. My grandpa was a detective in the police force in the town where I grew up (shout out to good old North Bergen, New Jersey!) - He was not a designer or even an amateur carpenter. He built it from cookie cutter builder’s spec plans then adapted it “to make it better…” My grandpa was a hero to me, but like any inexperienced client, he indeed did NOT make it better, and should have left it up to the professionals. The house did offer a lot of material for critique I would often ponder, “Why is this door here?” “Why does this area, not connect?” “What’s up with this closet?” “Where did they think a table would go in this eat-in-kitchen?” “Did the person that picked the exterior colors find the paint on sale?” “Will the real front door please stand up….” This preoccupation prompted me to want to know more because I wanted to understand how that stuff came together. And also I could clearly see how simple tweaks could make things better. It only takes taste and vision to pick a nice color scheme. You can spend the same amount of money to make something pretty, or really ugly just by selection. I knew that was a skill, and I had an inkling it was one I possessed.
What about the industry enticed you to make it your career?
RISD is so intense that once I got on the architecture track there I felt I was on this road and path that, while I didn’t necessarily know where it would lead, I knew that I was enjoying the journey. I never necessarily saw myself opening my own business but it’s just where this road has led. I feel like every step of the way since day one I’ve challenged myself and questioned how to do things differently or better, which is probably what led me to opening my own office. I’ve had great mentors from David Rockwell, the AvroKo partners and the partners at SHoP. All of them possessed parts of the recipe that make up my firm K&CO. The journey through those offices has encouraged me to keep challenging myself and to make a culture for my team so they will also enjoy their journey.
What has been your biggest challenge in your career?
There are challenges every day in our field and they rarely repeat themselves. I always say that experience in this field is a collection of problem solving. I guess when you start hitting repeat challenges, you can retire, just kidding, I’ll never retire!
The first real challenge was the having the confidence to take the student loans for my education. Even though I’m 40 years old and have a staff of 10 people, I still have loans. I send in the check every month to pay for my student loans, its my favorite bill I pay. I wouldn’t recommend taking student loans if you weren’t sure. There’s a confidence you have to have which is hard to recognize at 18/19/20 years old. If you are in tune with yourself, you will know as soon as you’re going down that path quickly if you’re in the right place. If you are, then you must double down and go for it. It sucks to be in debt and have loans but my life would have been very different. I probably wouldn’t have been happy in another career, this profession suits me very well.
The other thing that was really challenging was that I graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture and most people arrive at this career through a Masters in Architecture. At, 22 I was working alongside colleagues who were newly minted out of architecture schools, but who were at least 27 or older. In my experience, it was harder to overcome the age thing more than the gender thing. RISD prepares you to be a design professional at a young age when most people don’t reach that level of maturity until later, so it was very hard to be taken seriously at 22.
The irony is most of the designers I hire have Bachelors of Architecture, I enjoy their dedication and youthful approach. I actually think its a benefit that they’re starting in the field at a young age. A lot of people come to design it with having lived in the real world before going back to school. There’s something to be said for that but there’s something not to be overlooked about coming out of school at 22 and having the conviction to say, "this is what I want to do for the rest of my life." There’s a different type of energy.
Can you tell us the process behind what you designed. How do you approach each project? Where do you draw inspiration?
For every project we create a conceptual narrative. The conceptual narrative really helps us create everything from the programming, down through the material palate that acts as a basis for design. Typically, the conceptual narrative is used as a tool so that the projects feel cohesive. Yet, at the same time it's so abstract that it allows our projects not to feel thematic. An example is the American Copper buildings that we did with SHoP Architects. The conceptual narrative is the idea of “Urban Coast” since the building sits on the edge of Manhattan on the East River but with views of the iconic Chrysler building and Empire State Building. A lot of the concept of “Urban Coast” is reflected through the material palette where we juxtaposed finishes that are opposites - for example wherever we have smooth finishes it's paired with rough textures; where we have where we have matte, we have shiny. Everything in that building goes together in contrasted pairs on purpose.
Another on another project, The Greenpoint, the concept story was “The Seaworthy Nest” which was playing upon the fact that the neighborhood and the site had been a big ship building area many years ago. We imagined that the design of the building would be what the shipwright (the fancy name for a boat builder) would have wanted his dream home to look like, that he may have been able to build himself with his typical tools and materials. Everything throughout the building has a crafted aesthetic to it, with nautical touches as well as nods to shipping. For example, in the lobby we created a 20’-0”x20’-0” feature wall sculpture from boat cleats and ropes. Our custom decorative lighting that flanks the lobby is an abstracted versions of shipping containers.
“The Greenpoint, the concept story was “The Seaworthy Nest” which was playing upon the fact that the neighborhood and the site had been a big ship building area many years ago…
Everything throughout the building has a crafted aesthetic to it, with nautical touches as well as nods to shipping.”
What is one piece of advice you have for women entering the field?
For women who are entering the field, it’s a changing time when there are a lot more women owned firms. I would say keep plowing through the work and working hard, but also find a mentor - doesn’t have to be female per se - to help guide you. And make sure to be involved in the field and attend as many “extra curriculars” such as lectures, trade shows and conferences as possible. Ask lots of questions. One thing I have learned is to not be shy about asking for things and that’s not something that comes naturally to a lot of women. It's definitely an ingrained socialization that women are typically more polite. I’ve learned a lot from my male counterparts to be more aggressive with asking for what I want, whether it be monetary compensation or support or to back you up on creative ideas.
I always find myself asking questions, and I have trained myself to not be embarrassed to ask “dumb-out-of-the-box” questions. These are usually seeds of ideas there that can flourish into something great. Having that constant questioning and not being afraid to sound silly or wrong is very important especially with architecture and design. No one works alone in architecture as its a very collaborative process. It takes a lot of people to actually get something built and sometimes you’ve gotta say the crazy thing that solves a problem or makes something unique. You can’t be afraid to not voice those things.
What is one piece of advice you have for women who are looking to start their own company ?
Three points of advice:
1. To not be afraid and commit fully. If you do, the risks are higher and you’ll work harder to make it successful. Make decisions and go with it. For example, it doesn’t help to belabor a logo design. For instance, I picked my firm name, logo design and printed business cards within two weeks of incorporating. I’ve heard of other startups that spent months developing branding and logos and names. My suggestion is to think of something and put it behind you. (bonus advice – hire a graphic designer to do your logo, it will alleviate headaches, you wouldn’t want your graphic designer friend designing their own house…)
2. Don’t feel like you have to do everything all at once. Creating the business structure should take years, so do what you need as you need it. What you need as a one or two person firm is different than what you need as a ten person firm or larger. It's okay to take time to set things up properly and don’t feel like you need to do everything all at once.
3. I only hire through word of mouth - I never post. Remember that whether you’re one person or 50 people to create a culture around your business. This is something I learned very well from my time at the Rockwell Group from David Rockwell. You want to do it because you want camaraderie and collaboration to happen in the office. You want everyone to like each other. I hire by word of mouth because I feel like if im getting a referral from someone and we're all interconnected by friendships, there’s probably a thread within that referral that all blends. It helps the personalities mesh and we've had a lot of success this way. At one point I had three pairs of roommates working for me!
“I always find myself asking questions, and I have trained myself to not be embarrassed to ask “dumb-out-of-the-box” questions. These are usually seeds of ideas there that can flourish into something great.”