Stephanie
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Name and credentials:
Stephanie Robb MAIBC
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City and country of birth:
North Vancouver, B.C., Canada
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Education:
Langley Senior Secondary 1976
Simon Fraser University, B. A. (visual arts concentration) 1985
University of British Columbia School of Architecture, B. Arch. 1989
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Achievements:
Member of the Grove Pony Club (high point individual 1973)
Rotary Student Eexchange to New Zealand 1976
AIBC scholarship for overall academic standing 1986/87
Lieutenant-Governor of BC Innovation Award 2005 (Pechet and Robb)
Representing Canada at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, 2006 (Pechet and Robb)
5. A few of my favourite things:
the colour vermillion
thoroughbreds
hail
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Tell us about your practice as an architect.
I am a principal at Pechet and Robb Art and Architecture Ltd., along with design partner Bill Pechet. Our interest lies in developing environments that bridge the worlds of art and imagination to everyday life.
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What architectural work are you most proud of?
Usually the one I’m working on. Currently, that's a remounting of the SweaterLodge exhibition we created for the Venice Biennale a few years ago. It's a mammoth polarfleece sweater suspended to create a soft lodge. The exhibit is being re-staged at the Museum of Vancouver from January 12 to May 1 2011.
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What was it that brought you to architecture?
My mother. She was educated at the Vancouver School of Art and for decades job-shared the position of art teacher at Crofton House School while raising four children. Upon graduation from the VSA (1943), she was recruited by the Boeing Aircraft Company to work in their Production Illustration facility in Richmond, working on a “restricted” project – the B-29 Superfortress (Richmond produced the fuselages of the bombers that were then trucked down to Renton, Washington for final assembly. The B-29 was used primarily for incendiary bombing in the Pacific Theatre during the latter half of World War II. Two B-29s from the Omaha assembly line were modified to carry the atomic weapons that destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). After the war, my mother laid down her pencil, put on an apron, and began life in the suburbs as a wife, mother and teacher. I grew up in a household full of art, books, and de-commissioned Boeing drafting equipment.
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How many children do you have? Ages?
Two daughters, ages 15 and 17.
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How do you manage to practice architecture while raising children and running a household?
I practice from a home-based studio in an accessory building located off the lane of our family residence. It’s a 12-second commute. I begin work at 9:00 a.m., finishing at 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday. I’m in contact with our main studio daily, and we meet face-to-face once a week or so. It seems to work for now.
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Can you recall an instance where the dual responsibilities of being a parent and an architect came to a head?
I work for myself to avoid these problems.
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Do you think that being a parent has actually influenced your approach to architecture?
Probably. Just when I think I know everything, my children come home with new ideas that give me pause. A while ago is was “freeganism”: one of my kids was dumpster diving for most of her things in the belief that it was better to live off of the excess of society than buy more stuff.
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“There is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall.”
- Cyril Connolly, Enemies of Promise, 1938
What do you think about this quote?
Attempting to do one’s best while keeping the orthodontal bills paid is remarkably satisfying.
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What is the best piece of advice you would give to a would-be parent/architect?
Honour the person you were before children, spouses, mortgages and business commitments. And respect your innate talent.
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If you could change public policy that impacts on child-rearing, what would that be?
Spend a lot more money on a public education system that is superb and equitable. You have my permission to plunder the health care budget if need be.