Elevated Conversations: Emily Teng Yan, AIA and Ernest Wong, fASLA

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["em"],["a",["href","https:\/\/aiafilmchallenge.org\/","target","_blank"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/vimeo.com\/showcase\/4927796\/video\/610768435","target","_blank"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/vimeo.com\/showcase\/4927796\/video\/455960406","target","_blank"]],["strong"]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"AIA\u2019s new series, Elevated Conversations, will feature architects from diverse backgrounds and their perspectives on their career paths, the importance of diversity and inclusion, and more. To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Elevated Conversations features two prominent professionals, Emily Teng Yan, AIA, Project Architect, Omniplan in Dallas Texas and Ernest Wong, fASLA, Principal, site design group, ltd in Chicago, Illinois. Both are recent participants in the AIA Film Challenge. "],[0,[1,0],2,"AIA\u2019s 2022 Film Challenge"],[0,[0],1," opens on June 13."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Architects are using design to solve some of the biggest issues that cities face today. AIA\u2019s Film Challenge highlights some of the most innovative projects that are transforming their communities through the power of design and collaboration."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Wong was involved in the creation of the film highlighting the \u201c"],[0,[2],1,"75th Street Boardwalk"],[0,[],0,",\u201d which documents a unique, short-term placemaking and tactical urbanism project that activates the public right-of-way by replacing on-street parking spaces with safe outdoor dining and gathering opportunities for Black-owned businesses in Chicago. The film was a finalist in the 2021 Film Challenge."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Teng Yan participated in the 2020 Grand Prize-winning film that showcased the \u201c"],[0,[3],1,"Dallas Holocaust \u0026 Human Rights Museum"],[0,[],0,".\u201d The film looks at how the museum has created a deep and authentic experiential journey that grapples with some of the most difficult and perplexing issues plaguing humanity. By partnering with a group of Holocaust survivors, the film brings human rights to the forefront. We spoke with Wong and Teng Yan about becoming architects, the power of film in relation to architecture and the importance of diversity in the field. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"What inspired you to become an architect?"],[0,[],0," "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"Ernest Wong: "],[0,[],0,"I grew up in an architecture family. My dad, Y.C. Wong, has a much more interesting story than I do. Right after World War 2, my father had a fellowship to study with Frank Lloyd Wright, but he couldn\u2019t get his Visa from China to the United States. The next year, he got his Visa and stops in Chicago and runs into a guy named Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and he never left. So, he kind of ditched Frank for Mies."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"He worked for Mies for a number of years, he started in own practice, and made a name for himself doing these really interesting courtyard townhomes throughout the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago. My dad wanted me to become an architect and was really drilling the idea into my head, he was pretty upset when I decided to become a landscape architect, but that\u2019s the way that stuff goes. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"Emily Teng Yan"],[0,[],0,": I didn\u2019t know much about architecture in the beginning. I was in high school and starting to think about my major, I knew I was into art and I was decent at physics and science and I told my dad \u201cYou know maybe I should major in art.\u201d Immediately he told me \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be a starving artist, don\u2019t do that.\u201d So architecture seemed like a combination of science and art, but I really knew nothing about it going to college. I\u2019m a middle child, I have an older sister and a younger sister and architecture had immediately clicked. Architecture is kind of like being in the in-between, you\u2019re a coordinator, you bring projects together from design to construction to mediating with a client and the contractor. I think a lot of my life has had an inherent \u201cin-between-ness,\u201d being an Asian and an American I\u2019ve always felt like I\u2019ve been sitting in the middle and architecture kind of emphasizes that. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"Why do you think diversity is especially important in the field of architecture?"],[0,[],0," "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"Emily Teng Yan"],[0,[],0,": The built environment influences everyone, the rich and the poor, people of all ages and ethnicities, so I think having someone at the table who can provide a different perspective and consider different needs is crucial. Once I was in a meeting that was all male and all Caucasian. They were discussing building a new church and I was asked specifically \u201cwhat do women want in this type of project,\u201d and my thought was \u201cOh my gosh, I have to speak on behalf of half the population?\u201d I can\u2019t speak for everyone, but I can bring in what I know and my experiences. Having different types of people represented who see different points of view, I think that makes it a more collaborative and richer environment and helps architecture become a more equitable environment."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"Ernest Wong: "],[0,[],0,"We take a lot of things for granted in the United States. When you look at the roots of architecture and building, traditionally the majority of things built in the U.S. originated from a European style. It was a profession dominated by white males, and that really hasn\u2019t evolved until the last twenty or so years. We\u2019re at a time where we\u2019re trying to catch up and I think there needs to be an accelerated track for that. The ideas that come from diversity are just amazing. My parents came from China and had a completely different perspective of the world and that was eye-opening to me. At our firm we have people from all over the world and we celebrate that. We ask them to talk about their lives and their perspectives and that\u2019s where these great design ideas flourish, I really believe that the key to the evolution of this profession is diversity."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"How can film be valuable in the world of architecture?"],[0,[],0," "],[0,[4],1,"Ernest Wong: "],[0,[],0,"Practically, our clients have expectations to have films in presentations, they want everything animated. The design process is so two-dimensional, but film has helped in the evolution of turning the two-dimensional into three-dimensional experiences so our clients can see and experience something before it happens. Film also gives access of our work to the public, and I think that\u2019s huge, because otherwise we\u2019re just talking to ourselves. There\u2019s been a problem with how the general public values architects, we aren\u2019t out there like doctors and lawyers are. The more people see what we do, the more it benefits our profession because people start to notice the value of all that architects can accomplish."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[4],1,"Emily Teng Yan"],[0,[],0,": Film is a very intimate medium and people often learn through stories. I think the general public honestly doesn\u2019t know what architects do and using film to tell the story of not only a building, but the role that architects have in it and have in the built environment can be valuable. Everyone is excited about architecture when a building is being built, but no one knows how it goes from an idea to a physical place. Having film about architecture helps the public understand that this can impact their daily lives. Architecture hits so many so many sectors, like STEM and the sciences and construction and people who work on housing. I think film in the architecture world can help show other architects that we have so much in common with different professions. "]]]]}