Sara Agrest

“Do not define yourself by how others see you. If something doesn’t feel right it isn’t right. Don’t force it. That isn’t failure; you just haven’t yet found what you were meant to do. Once you find it, it will be obvious.”

ArchNative, meet Sara Agrest, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP,

Sara is a Design Director at Spectorgroup—a multidisciplinary design practice based in NYC and Miami. A native New Yorker, Sara has over two decades of experience in architecture, branded environments, design strategy, and marketing. Throughout her career, Sara has spearheaded the design of dynamic workplaces for such clients as J. Goldman, SpringHill Company, and Kimmeridge Energy Management Company. In addition to her design work, Sara is committed to providing mentorship for the next generation of designers.

We spoke with Sara about how her upbringing steered her career choice, where she draws inspiration for her work, and how she navigated hard times throughout her career.

Let's start at the beginning, tell us about the first moment that you considered a career in architecture? What inspired you to pursue the path?

When I was 10, I wanted to design and run a nightclub. My fascination with fashion, space design, and entertaining likely began with my parents' dinner parties. I loved getting dressed up and serving drinks to their friends. I have great memories of going to dinner parties at the home of my mother’s work colleagues, Clem and Madeline. They had a Victorian country house decorated all in white. They were journalists who dressed in black like beatniks and always drank martinis. Whenever we arrived at their home Madeline would greet us by saying “you’re just in time for cocktail hour!” Either we had impeccable timing or it was cocktail hour for more than an hour. I watched Clem carefully craft the martinis and present them in beautiful glassware. I remember my mother telling me to me smell the vermouth, likening it to perfume.

These early experiences showed me how spaces come alive through people, smells, and sounds, evoking distinct moods. As an architect, I am enthralled by the presence and permanency of buildings, but the interior spaces are what create human experiences.

It was my mother who first introduced me to the idea of architecture as a career when I was 14. She had a friend who was an architect, and he took us to see a modern house he designed in upstate New York. It was minimal, rectilinear, glassy, and contrasted with the woody landscape. My mom turned to me and said, "I could see you doing this—you would make a great architect." Her explanation that architects need to be both creative and great problem solvers resonated with me. I remember her telling me about the intensity of the profession and how important it was for me to love it if I was going to do it. She suggested a summer pre-college program at Carnegie Mellon University when I was 16, and the rest is history.

You are a native New Yorker. How has that influenced your career path? How has it influenced your design style?

I was exposed to an incredibly diverse environment growing up—not just racially, but economically and with regards to lifestyle. New York City back then was all about exploration and discovery. When I was growing up, people could come to NYC to be whoever they wanted to be, because they were accepted. At the time, it was actually affordable to go on that journey of exploration. My memories are filled with the hidden gems and special places that I stumbled upon throughout my youth. This sense of discovery and exposure to diverse cultures still fuels my design work today. I strive to understand my clients deeply, knowing that the best design solutions emerge from this journey of discovery.

My mother wasn’t just a huge influence in guiding me towards a career in design; she led by example. Her work ethic, her determination and her style were palpable. She was the consummate badass. She was a journalist at Newsweek for about 20 years, covering gritty stories with grace and passion. She was resourceful and fearless in a male-dominated industry. I lost my mom when I was 26, but her influence remains with me in my work and life, especially in my awareness of how much I can positively contribute to my kid’s lives by being the best version of myself.

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836 Broadway | Photo by Connie Zhou

Tell us a little bit about your current position as Design Director for Spectorgroup. What does your role entail? What are your day to day responsibilities?

Workplace strategy is the starting point for every project and something I am incredibly passionate about. In order to dig into the core of a client’s culture, brand, and needs, we host a series of interactive meetings including workshops, visioning exercises, brainstorms, and work sessions that help us develop the elements of design for their space, along with a space program to guide us during the design process. With in-depth workplace strategy, the design flows fluidly and collaboratively because the exploration has revealed the direction the design should go. I work with an incredible design team, and encourage working in 3D from the outset, so that we are designing while experiencing the space.

We intentionally keep the design as a clay/white model for the first several weeks, in order to focus on the architecture and the experience. I discourage trying to select materials too early in the process. I believe that the architecture drives the materiality. Our first presentation to the client is also typically a clay model presentation so that the materiality does not become a distraction. I like to sit with our designers and “drive” through the model rather than look at still images. It is important that we are “walking” through the space as people will experience it. This process allows us to feel how each vista will feel: what are you seeing as you walk through each room and turn the corners? I believe that a well-curated and well-choreographed experience leads to discovery and can even inform wayfinding.

Confidential Investment Firm, NY, NY | Photo by: Eric Petschek

You have worked at top architecture firms throughout your career. How did you navigate the next steps in your career? What did you look for when you were looking to make a change?

My first truly memorable project was the Kenneth Cole Headquarters and Women’s Showroom. It was my first experience working on interiors and I felt a whole new world opening up. I remember selecting leather-framed chairs for the conference room and being exhilarated by the simple connection that I had just created between the brand and the space—since shoes and bags were what brought the brand into the spotlight. After this project, I went back to the building side and had the opportunity to work as the project architect on an iconic pair of skyscrapers in Singapore’s Marina Bay. Despite how exciting it was, I felt disconnected. I realized that there was no human interaction in the elements of the project that I oversaw, and that I wanted to design for the human experience.

Shortly thereafter I attended a focus group at a branding agency founded by an interior designer. The agency focused on brand strategy as well as print and package design for the architecture and design community. I felt an electric connection at the meeting, so I approached the owner of the company and a few months later she hired me. I was a studio director for the office and got to work on incredible campaigns for some of the biggest names in A&D at the time—Knoll, Harter, NanoTex, MillerBlaker, Ultrafabrics, etc. Working with them opened up a new world for me, and helped me realize that I wanted to work in branded interiors. When I say this I don’t mean interiors with branding; I mean relevant, meaningful, and experiential interiors that inspire the people who use the space and that tell a story to its visitors. I thought back to the leather chairs at Kenneth Cole and realized that all of the touchpoints you create in a space can tell a compelling story. I didn’t realize that I had discovered workplace strategy on my own.

Ultimately, I realized that I missed the impact of designing spaces and went back to working for architecture and design firms, where I have been lucky enough to draw on a multitude of skill sets across architecture, brand strategy, and interior design.

What has been the most pivotal project you have worked on in your career?

If you asked me last year, I might have said the Rockefeller Brothers Fund which I did way back in 2009. It was a pivotal experience for me because we transformed the entire company’s grant-making process through the design of their new headquarters. Now, I would say the most pivotal project was our recent work for The SpringHill Company in New York, which redefined the meaning of collaboration for me. They trusted us to create the vision we had dreamt up together. Drawing inspiration from the act of flipping through television channels, the design unfolds a narrative across different rooms, each mirroring one of TSHC’s brands. I am extraordinarily proud of the work that we did and grateful for the creative team at TSHC who were collaborators in the truest sense of the word.

As an architect, placemaking is a large part of each project you work on, how do you go about ensuring that the projects you are working on are positively contributing to the communities that they are a part of?

To me, placemaking starts with taking a deep dive into who our clients are and listening carefully to what they tell us. A successful project should reflect who a client is and what they do in a way that inspires them and moves them into the future. I am not doing my job if I am not taking people out of their comfort zones. It is amazing how used to compromising people can become. My job is to get them to let go of how they are used to doing things and think about how they want to be doing things. With that also comes forgetting about budget and focusing on the experience. Experience is free. We can make it come to life in a variety of ways. A good workplace design isn’t about our vision as architects and interior designers; it has to have meaning for its occupants.

How has the field of architecture changed throughout your career? What do you see for the future of the field?

The biggest obvious change has been technology. It used to be somewhat of an add-on and now it’s completely integral to the design process. I have always believed that people should ideate and create in whatever medium they feel comfortable with. I prefer digital methods and some people prefer hand sketching. There is no right or wrong way to create. In looking to the future, no matter how powerful technology might become, there is no substitute for the human experience.

What strategies do you employ to motivate and inspire yourself, your team, and industry professionals?

I am in a constant state of observation and inspiration. I am a circular thinker. I synthesize my past experiences with the inspiration that I see every day in fashion, technology, graphics, film, music, and more.

Kimmeridge Energy Management | Photo: Eric Laignel

What has been the most challenging aspect of your career?

It was a long road for me to get to where I wanted and needed to be. My first design professors in college at Carnegie Mellon didn’t encourage my creativity. They made me feel like I was an implementer, rather than a creative thinker. The first year of architecture school was very theoretical and I felt like I might not have chosen the right career path. There was eventually a shift, and as we began to dig deep into design, materiality, and function I was hooked. In my last year at NBBJ I worked with Robert Norwood, who came from the Seattle office to assist on the interiors portion of a large healthcare project I was working on. He was paired with me as a mentor of sorts. Robert was the first person to not only recognize my creativity but encourage it. I don’t know if I ever told Robert how much his mentorship impacted me, but I have tried to pay it forward by mentoring other emerging designers throughout my career.

My career took off once I rebranded myself as a designer and followed my intuition rather than staying within the box that had been drawn around me. Oddly enough it was around that time that I read a book with a very powerful message: stop focusing on trying to improve the things you aren’t good at, and spend more time focusing on the things you are good at. You will not only flourish but be happier. This couldn’t be more true.

If you could give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be?

Do not define yourself by how others see you. If something doesn’t feel right it isn’t right. Don’t force it. That isn’t failure; you just haven’t yet found what you were meant to do. Once you find it, it will be obvious.

Gabriela Cortiñas Pagés

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