Bio:
 The great designer, Zhanina Boyadzhieva, Assoc. AIA, and Juliet Chun, AIA, from Leers Weinzapfel Associates, co-founded Girl UNinterrupted in 2017, a national initiative aimed to bridge the gap between designers & leaders in architecture. Their research has been published in ARCHITECT, Architectural Record, ArchNewsNow, MetroStudy and shared at AIA 2018, SCUP 2018, ULI Women Leadership Summit, and Boston Society of Architects as well as Harvard GSD, MIT, Northeastern University, and Boston Architectural College. 

How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
We learned about architecture in school in 2 different countries and cultures, inspired by social concepts that construct the built environment. 

What do you do?
We are full-time emerging professionals in architecture, working on diversity of academia and infrastructure projects. On the side, we are activists for equity in the profession; we see work policies as a design problem.

What excites you in the work you do?
The potential to inspire a discussion and bring divergent perspectives together to talk about the design of practice. We are optimistic that change is happening towards a more inclusive and equitable profession.

Who or what inspires you professionally?
We are inspired by multiple grassroots change-makers, our mentors, collaborators, colleagues and most importantly - our families.

What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
We began the Girl UNinterrupted project out of our own curiosity to understand the local architectural field context. We are proud that we have grown it into a national initiative that sparks honest discussions at firms, conventions & universities.

Featured Project Name: 
Girl UNinterrupted 
 
Featured Project Location: 
Boston - New York - Chicago - Washington DC - Los Angeles
 
Featured Project Completion Date: 
Ongoing

Role in Featured Project: 
Co-Founders 
 
Featured Project Description:
The Girl UNinterrupted project seeks to bridge the gap between emerging designers and leaders in architecture. This is a 3-phase research project that includes 1) Designers Data Surveys aiming to extract current struggles 2) Conversations with diverse women leaders in architecture 3)  Manual with action tips to emerging professionals & leaders on making equitable work places. This project originated in Boston in 2017 and grew to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC in 2018.

Photography Credit:
Langer Hsu