Miroslava Brooks
“Looking at architecture through the lens of a particular style misses all the idiosyncrasies and complexities that make it so interesting in the first place”
#WomenWhoBuild, meet the inspiringly accomplished and driven Miroslava Brooks.
When Miroslava is not working on complex projects for FORMA, the New York based full service architecture and design practice which she co-founded in 2018, she is teaching her graduate design studio class at the prestigious Yale School of Architecture. Miroslava has been a faculty member of the University since 2014, and is the most recent recipient of the Professor King-lui Wu Teaching Award, an award granted to a faculty member by the graduating class for outstanding teaching. Miroslava is no stranger to academia, she is also a graduate of Yale University where she received a Masters in Architecture and was awarded the Gertraud A. Wood and the William Wirt Winchester Travelling Fellowship.
A true force in the field of Architecture, ArchNative was lucky enough to speak with Miroslava about her career journey, her thoughts on architecture, and her advice for women entering the field.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey in architecture. What was your first introduction to the field?
The journey has been rather circuitous, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would end up in the US, let alone teach at Yale and co-found my own architecture practice.
I’m from a small country in eastern Europe – Slovakia where I grew up and lived for twenty years. Slovaks can be incredibly resourceful when it comes to building their own homes and many know how to do anything from fixing a fence and putting down wood floors to pouring concrete foundations and building masonry walls. Some of the best playgrounds when growing up were the various construction sites of neighbors’ homes! So that may have something to do with my later interests.
There were also three separate trips in high school to Prague, Paris, and Rome that had a huge visual impact on me. For a teenage girl who grew up in a country of prefabricated concrete slab buildings, small villages, and medieval castle ruins, seeing the art and architecture of these canonical western cities in real life was incredibly powerful. Obviously I wanted to learn more! So I decided to pursue a degree in Art History. Luckily (in retrospect), I didn’t get in! Instead, I applied to an architecture program in Bratislava where some of my high school friends already studied, and while waiting for the results I took an au-pair job and moved to London for a few months. The acceptance letter came, but instead of pursuing the architecture degree in Slovakia, to the dismay of my parents, I married a handsome American whom I met while still in high school and moved to the US with a backpack on my back (we are still happily married and my parents are obviously no longer dismayed).
To improve my English and establish in-state residency, I enrolled in a community college while also working various side jobs, and it was only the following year that I finally started my architecture education at Ohio State University in Columbus. I loved it! The creativity and rigor of the studios paired with the conceptual inquiries in history/theory classes were a perfect match for me. After a year of working for a local architect in Columbus, Ohio, I applied to a few East Coast graduate architecture programs. Needless to say, my time at Yale opened up doors I never even knew existed.
How would you describe your architectural style?
Architecture is a marvelously diverse field. I simply don’t think about it in terms of style; it’s too limiting. In fact, looking at architecture through the lens of a particular style misses all the idiosyncrasies and complexities that make it so interesting in the first place.
How do you approach each project?
This question comes up a lot with my architecture students within the context of a design studio, so I’ve become quite interested in the topic of the beginning. How to start? And how do you teach someone how to begin a design process?
To create something new from a blank screen or sheet of paper is a daunting task and can feel arbitrary at the beginning, not to mention the myriad of complex issues surrounding architecture today, which can be at times paralyzing. I have a quote pinned up above my desk from Bruce Mau that says: “John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: Begin anywhere.” It’s great advice! It suggests that there is no ‘correct’ way to approach a problem. The fear is always that not starting at the ‘right’ place will somehow lead to the ‘wrong’ solution.
By not having a pre-determined outcome or singular working method in mind allows for discoveries made along the way; the specificities are teased out during the design process. At the same time, there are certain working methods that I find more productive than others. For me the perfect approach lies in the mixture of insatiable curiosity, conceptual rigor, architectural clarity and a playful attitude.
What has been your biggest challenge in your career?
I’m a perfectionist, which can be a challenge at times. I realize, though, that it is foolish to think one can succeed all on her own. Architecture is a collaborative and complex discipline; friendships, collaborations, and alliances are extremely important! It has taken me a while to realize that – you simply cannot tackle everything on your own. I’m also terrible at hiding my thoughts and emotions; I don’t have a poker face. Which can be a curse and a blessing I guess.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle so far has been financial. It has taken me years to pay off my student loans. This is something we still don’t talk about enough – the extreme burden many architecture students face upon graduation. Securing financial resources which allow us to explore more speculative projects and pursue impactful, yet perhaps not so lucrative, public work – both of which I am very interested in – is a challenge.
What does your usual day look like?
I spend a lot of time commuting and I’m still trying to figure out how to make this time more productive. I drive to New Haven on Mondays and Thursdays to teach at Yale. I usually do admin work before and squeeze a quick work out into one of these days. Tuesdays and Fridays are officedays and I rarely get home before 9 pm since I take the train from Stamford to Grand Central and then the subway to Brooklyn, which is a long commute. The remaining three days are a combination of creative work (quiet uninterrupted time to think and design), admin, catching up on ‘life’ things like calling my parents, and working out. This flexibility is great, but it also means that I basically work seven days a week. When it is your own practice and your own projects, it is difficult to turn off and I have yet to learn how to balance it all.
Tell us a little bit about your journey in starting your own firm. What gave you the push to pursue your own venture?
It’s quite simple when it comes to it – I wanted to be my own boss and have the freedom to choose what projects to work on, how to work on them, and with whom.
I worked for a couple of years in various offices and then I started teaching at the Yale School of Architecture with Peter Eisenman, while also working in his New York office. One of the best things about Peter is that he just throws you in the middle of things. Suddenly I was in charge of a very real and very large museum project in Istanbul that the office won the competition for just before I arrived. In a matter of a few weeks I oversaw the design team, dealt with the consultants, the local architect, all the while coordinating the logistics of two Yale classes and helping the students work through more abstract and conceptually challenging problems in our advanced design studio and a seminar. I did it for two years and absolutely loved the combination of academia and practice. Although frightening at the beginning, it gave me great confidence, for which I will always be grateful to Peter!
I left his office to teach full time and I also acquired my architecture license. While teaching at PennDesign at the University of Pennsylvania, I entered an international design competition for a library in Italy with Daniel Markiewicz, a friend and also a former Yalie, who was teaching there as well. We have collaborated since then. Last year we formed FORMA Architects, PLLC - a full-service architecture practice located in New York City.
How do you balance having your own practice as well as being an educator at the Yale School of Architecture?
Architecture is my obsession. It isn’t easy, but I love what I do and bouncing between the two worlds of academia and practice keeps this obsession going on multiple levels.
What is one piece of advice you have for women entering the field?
A fighter pilot once told me a motto they have in their field which can easily apply to ours as well: “It’s not easy. It’s not hard. Don’t be a jerk. Things aren’t free.” My translation to architecture: to excel requires hard work and perseverance. Architecture is not rocket science; things are usually simpler than they seem. Kindness and friendship go a long way. I think many people underestimate the role of luck and serendipitous moments in shaping one’s career. However, things don’t just fall in your lap. If you want something, you need to make it happen.