Lack of mentorship and investment in interns and young design professionals.

I was lucky to be part of hcma’s PREP Program, which helped me to navigate past the many barriers to registration.

I hope that in the coming years, more offices will be able to provide adequate financial and time support to students, aspiring architects and designers, as without this much-needed investment in architecture’s future, it will hinder the industry’s ability to grow and evolve.

It is inclusive, fun, and responsive to users’ needs, but it also challenges the existing ways people inhabit and think about space. The idealist in me says the provision of truly democratic spaces that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of race, gender, economics, or other social inequalities that pervade contemporary societies. Perhaps a lofty goal, but I think there are small incremental ways to move towards this idea in everyday spaces.