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AIA Central New Jersey Spotlight on Members  

Taylor Latimer, Associate AIA, President of NOMA-NJ  

A Voice for the Unheard + Making Visible in Architecture 

 AIA Central is proud of its members who are working to create a positive impact on the profession and its professionals, and we are proud to share with you this spotlight on Taylor Latimer.   

Taylor is the 2024 President of New Jersey’s Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects and can be seen at AIA NJ Equity in Architecture events throughout the year. (In fact she will be co-hosting an AIA CNJ + NJ NOMA event with our section in July!) Her background includes experience working for firms in New Jersey and New York, and she has worked on projects throughout the U.S.  Her professional focus has been on mixed-use, educational, residential, hospitality, industrial and urban landscape design projects.  

Taylor enjoys mentoring and advising the youth and is an excellent example of advocacy for equity and mentorship to emerging professionals.  She aims to show that we have the power to shape the world we live in through architecture. 

Here are some of the questions she answered for us: 

Q1. What have been your biggest challenges as a woman/diverse member of the professional community? 

Being heard. I find myself monitoring my tone often because my commentary could easily be misconstrued as being “difficult.” There is an “angry black woman” narrative that I try to avoid but it is a balancing act. I am aware that my opinions are valuable and should be considered, yet at the same time I can't be too loud about my thoughts. However, someone needs to speak up for the missing perspectives that are so often left out of Architecture. When I decided that I was going to pursue architecture, I said my mission would be to give a voice to the unheard people.  And so, there is this battle, (as a young, black, woman in the architecture profession), my challenge is to be heard in the way I would like to be heard, and to be understood. 

Q2. What has been your favorite part of being an Architect, or working in the profession? 

My favorite part of working in the architectural profession is seeing the way people's faces light up when they can see what we are designing for them. As architects we are visual people. We can imagine designs in our mind. I have learned that this is a specific talent that not everyone possesses. The average person struggles to visually put together spaces. The moments I have been able to take people's ideas, turn them into reality and watch them get excited about the project, are my favorite moments. 

Q3. Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently on your career path if you had the opportunity? 

Every job is a new learning opportunity. Each firm or company has a unique way of running things. Whether good or bad, I wish I had taken note of more of these companies. How they run, hierarchy, standards, etc..., these are things that can be taken elsewhere or the starting blocks for your own firm. 

Also, recognizing how small this field is, I would have networked better while in school. I am an introvert. My first instinct is to keep to myself, which is not helpful in this field. People can be helpful in so many different ways, whether in the architecture field or not. If I could go back, I would open up more, experience different people, culture and perspectives. 

Q4. What (if any) sacrifices have you made to get where you are today? 

I am still new to the field. My sacrifices are limited. But I have sacrificed quite a bit of my social life. I feel that I did not get to experience the fun college years people often reminisce upon. At times I have had to miss events or cancel dinners to meet a deadline. This is nothing new to the field. It is something I am working on. I believe a healthy work-life balance can be achieved. 

I do want to acknowledge a sacrifice that I do not know if many talk about openly. We often say, “it is just a part of life” and may fail to acknowledge that it can be frustrating or disheartening at times, and that is the proximate payoff for our hard work. We spent countless hours and money on schooling to watch our colleagues enter their respective fields making twice the amount money and spending significantly less time in the office. It is a sacrifice we make because we love what we do, but it can still be acknowledged. 

Q5. How do you think the architecture profession can improve?  For example, what do you think we are doing right, and where do you think we need to be better?  

Two things come to mind here. I believe the architectural profession needs to do a better job of introducing young people to what we do. We talk about diversifying the field, but we need young people to know about architecture so they can even decide to enter it. I encourage any person practicing architecture to take part in local career days for schools. Mentoring the youth that might not otherwise receive guidance in architecture can also be a wonderful way to cultivate interest and diversity in the field. 

The second thing that comes to mind is mental health. Within the profession, many have become complacent with the idea that we will work long hours, get little sleep, etc... “It's the culture”. “It is what you do if you love the field”. We talk about how architecture can affect the mental status of the people occupying it, but what about the people designing it? So many in our field experience anxiety, depression, burnout, and other mental and physical issues attributed to overworking. We produce better work when we can perform at our best.  I believe the field is beginning to adjust; however, we could still be doing better. Especially as we are attempting to encourage young people to enter the field, we should want to encourage people to enter a healthy field. 

 Q6. Where would you like to see yourself professionally in five years? In ten? 

I sat for some time trying to figure out how to answer this question. I am a planner, I will plan my days down to the minute, but my architectural journey has gone everywhere except for according to my plan. Each day my path moves a little bit and what I think I want changes. I know for sure I would like to see myself licensed. I would like to see myself as a confident speaker and leader. I have realized that architecture is not something you can do alone. It is not the place to think you know everything, and so I would like to establish a strong network. By no means do I expect my network to be complete, but, in five years I would like to have a solid foundation.  

In ten years, I would like to see myself as an Architect and Developer. I would like to acquire some properties of my own. I would like to see myself teaching, in addition to my work. 

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AIA CNJ Meets NOMA on July 31