Apoorva Rao of Michael Graves Architecture & Design | Next Gen Interview
Courtesy of Michael Graves Architecture & Design
The Next Generation of Sustainable Architecture
Today, I’m joined by senior architectural designer at Michael Graves Architecture & Design, Apoorva Rao. Apoorva shares what originally drew her to the field of architecture and how her passion for her family, Indian-American culture, theology, and philosophy ultimately inspired her thesis. She highlights the coaches and mentors who have helped shape her as a person and designer. She also touches on the role that Indian classical dance plays in her approach to architecture, and her dedication to always work from a place of boldness and courage.
“A lot of what Indian classical dance has helped me with is communication, and how to get information across to people of different understanding. ”
About Apoorva Rao
Apoorva Rao is a senior architectural designer at Michael Graves Architecture & Design, where she has worked for almost three years. She previously interned at Joshua Zinder Architecture + Design and Gluckman Tang Architects. She also did research at CEMEX, the Mexican construction materials manufacturer. She received her Bachelor of Architecture degree from Syracuse University.
Episode Timestamps
1:51 – Walk us through the path to becoming an architectural designer at Michael Graves Architecture and Design, and also the people along the way that helped you get there.
13:01 – You have a deep interest in another art form, which is dance. Tell us about that.
15:48 – How do you take that first step as a designer, given how nuanced and thoughtful you are to your approach in so many aspects of your life?
18:30 – What do you hope to accomplish in your career?
Connect with Apoorva Rao:
About your host:
Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of Commonplace, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Commonplace
Commonplace is a founding sponsor of American Building. It is a 100% minority-owned, real estate technology company founded in 2020 to make financing social impact development projects across the US easier. It is funded by venture capital investors Hometeam Ventures, Park West Asset Management, New York Ventures and Shadow Ventures.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
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