2022 Women in Construction: Andrea Steele, Andrea Steele Architecture

Name: Andrea Steele

Title: Principal

Company Name: Andrea Steele Architecture (ASA)

What advice would you offer to other women getting into the architecture/construction industry?
You cannot think of the built building as your deferred fulfillment, or the recognition that may follow as your validation. You must enjoy the process—as what you experience is the process. Architecture is the long days, weeks, and years developing the design, building the relationships, and learning about new and better ways to build. It is the time you spend learning about the communities you seek to serve. The building may be the goal for which you were hired, but the value we bring as architects is the collective learning process. To find fulfillment and reward in that process will not only result in better design but lead to greater personal and professional development.

Why should women consider a career in architecture/construction?
Our natural and man-made world has a profound influence on our lives. Our physical world has the power to connect us. Connect us to each other, connect us to resources, and connect us to a sense of place. Every decision made in the design and execution of our world can either help or hurt us, individually and collectively. There is no neutral. To pursue a career in architecture or construction is to choose to be a critical collaborator in the creation of our shared futures.

Starting out in the architecture/construction business, who empowered you?
When I began my career, I was fortunate to work for a firm where two of the three partners were women, the project manager of my design team was a woman, and the lead contractor was a woman, who was previously trained as an architect. She took me under her wing and spent time explaining how my lines on the paper translated to the built world. She was so generous with her time. It was an incredible growing experience and one that continues to inspire me to find teaching moments to share and empower.