Alison F. Rainey, AIA

There are two distinct processes that influenced my path to become an architect: making things and understanding systems. I connected the two during college. In geology, I found it easier to grasp concepts by drawing them. In art, I found relationships between place and the people, cultures, and belief systems of the human experience. The unifying discipline of architecture seemed to marry these methods of observation and making for me.

I’ve come to believe that architects are actually trained to observe, test, and re-examine systems to make beautiful and functional order. For me, design is a thoughtful way of organizing. Innovation occurs in this process of taking pieces apart and putting them back together. Architecture has given me a way to have a real, very tangible impact on my communities.