Women’s History Month/International Women’s Day
Women in Architecture: the stories of Sedgewick + Ferweda’s leading ladies
By Adam Biggers | Sedgewick + Ferweda Architects Marketing Director
Traditionally, architecture has always been a male-dominated field, spanning nearly every level in the profession from licensed architects to designers/drafters and project managers. Going back through the years, seeing women in architecture and/or design courses was a rarity at nearly every college. Oftentimes, men have made up more than 80 percent of students and professionals, so seeing women in a high-level position in the professional world used to be few and far between.
There is no doubt that women continue to face challenges in the STEAM area of study: Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics; however, those roadblocks – at least during the past two decades – have been slowly removed from the paths of many women looking to make a living in traditionally male-dominated spaces.
Sedgewick + Ferweda Architects currently has four incredibly intelligent, talented, driven and passionate women in the office – and we’re proud to highlight the stories of Brianna Fuller, AIA; Annie Kufuor, Assoc. AIA; Lauren Meyer, Assoc. AIA; and Bailey Ramirez, Assoc. AIA.
Each one of them has contributed to Sedgewick + Ferweda’s recent growth in so many invaluable ways.
“As we all know, women’s and men’s brains are wired differently,” said Fuller. “Women tend to be more organized.”
Today, in 2024, we’re seeing increases like never before. According to Pew Research, women make up 50 percent of the STEAM workforce compared to their 47 percent holding of the general workforce.
Overall, the statistics never really discouraged Fuller, Kufuor, Meyer, or Ramirez. They knew what they wanted to do and were willing to put forth their best efforts. They continue to attend seminars, AIA training and other related educational courses in order to perfect their skills and better serve their clients.
So men dominate architecture? That’s what they say anyway.
But not at Sedgewick + Ferweda Architects, where the women have made incredible contributions to their firm and their clients, all while balancing marriages, children, and life at home.
They’re not secretaries, assistants, or receptionists.
They’re an architect, designers, and project managers.
“They’ve all been valuable members of our firm and will continue to help us move forward,” said Jeffrey Ferweda, Principal in Charge of Sedgewick + Ferweda Architects. “They all bring diverse skills to the table and work well together. I couldn’t be happier to have them.”
Finer Points of Balancing Career and Family
Brianna Fuller pretty much knew exactly what she was getting into when she entered the field of architecture, which has been a strong interest since high school. She was also inspired to design because of her mother, who is a real estate agent and great at decorating. The idea of knowing how homes and buildings were designed and built sparked her imagination.
Fuller did not realize that it was an occupation mostly composed of men. Once entering undergrad, at Lawrence Technological University she did notice that it was essentially an even split between men and women students.
There was also another aspect that she didn’t fully grasp until she started putting on a hardhat and boots, getting her hands and feet dirty at job sites.
“Honestly, you have to be direct and assertive in this field, especially when you’re on a construction site,” said Fuller, who is among leadership at Sedgewick + Ferweda and the only licensed female architect in the firm. “You have to let them know that you know your stuff. Contracting is more male-dominated. When I’m on a site, they don’t really know or assume that I’m the architect on the project, once I introduce myself I am typically shown a professional level of respect. However, once when I showed up to meet a contractor on site with Jeff (Ferweda), he said to Jeff ‘Oh, I’m glad you brought your assistant.’ It hasn’t happened too often but I’m sure most women architects have at least one of these moments. You shouldn’t assume people’s positions based on if they’re a woman or a man. I feel like as a younger woman, I put more pressure on myself to be professional”
Her assertive demeanor has helped Sedgewick + Ferweda’s progress for nearly a decade.
“If there’s something wrong, you have to say that there is something wrong. Nobody is going to sit there and wait for you to say what you need to say, you just have to do it,” she added.
Fuller takes the same approach when it comes to co-managing her family. When things need to be done at home, they need to be done. When things need to be done at work, they need to be done – and she has worked out a doable plan to manage both aspects of her life. Being a professional, working mom and devoted wife can take on many forms – and Fuller has chosen to scale-back hours in order to focus on raising her daughter, in what she refers to as her “current season of life.”
“For me, since I decided to work part-time, basically to prioritize the time spent with my little baby,” Fuller said proudly. “Making the transition from working full-time to maternity leave, it was a big change and you’re learning new things – you’re in a totally different headspace than what your life was before. You become a different person when you become a mom. You want the best for your kids, if you can give up a little bit of something you wanted to do for yourself – like your career – I think it was the best choice for my family. Coming back into the field part-time, was also a large adjustment. Juggling both, it does get a little bit difficult at times, but it helps to have a really good support system of family and friends.”
Fuller describes architecture as a “pretty versatile career,” but appreciates that the firm works with her part time schedule to balance time for needs at home. But she also realizes that responsibilities at the office have to sometimes take priority over anything else.
“You can morph your schedule as necessary, but the clients have to come first. They’re the reason why you have this job,” she said. “I’m very excited and blessed to be in this position. Not everyone would tolerate a part-time Project Architect. That’s a big kudos to the firm. I’m putting the firm first some of the time, but I’m also putting my family first some of the time. I want everyone to feel that they’re getting my full attention at work. When I’m a mom, I want my child and family to have my full attention. Separating those two is the biggest hurdle, but that’s what makes it worthwhile, being able to do a bit of everything.”
When it comes to projects, Fuller doesn’t necessarily have a favorite type – instead, she has a favorite type of client.
“I really like when the client has a purpose and they’re trying to do something to make things happen for their business or non-profit. It has to be kind of a cool project, too…, “ she said. “But the Crossover Outreach projects (in Flint) of the world have these missions behind what they’re doing. Designing big houses are fun, but I like projects that have special interests behind them ‘of doing something bigger than you.’ The buildings are tools to further this group’s goals.. Crossover Outreach’s goal is to serve the community, and their building is a tool to do so. This is what I love to help clients accomplish.”
Bonding with coworkers is an important angle for Fuller, who has formed solid working relationships with Kufuor, Ramirez and Meyer. Whether it’s a connection because of having children, or a link because they’re all married, or have the same sense of humor, Fuller has found common ground with all of them.
“I love it. Motherhood brings Lauren, Bailey and I closer, because we’re all in the same season of life at the same time. We’re sharing stories: the babies aren’t sleeping through the night, or something like that. That happens with every mom. It’s not just us three in the firm. Mom culture brings women close together. But at the office we’re all going through it at the same time,” she said. “It’s cool to have four younger women – it’s really cool to work with each other as professionals in the field. We all care a lot about our clients and our projects. We’re not stuck in our ways because we’re the new generation coming up in the design world. We’re all pretty open on how to figure out the best solutions. We all work really well together with new and different ideas, and figuring out what works best for the firm. We all have good taste and are focused on our profession.”