Miranda Emza
Victoria University of Wellington
Today we are excited to talk to Miranda Emza, a fourth year student for Victoria! Miranda talks to us about her experiences travelling overseas and showcases her favourite projects. Miranda’s portfolio showcases a wide range of projects including one which received highly commended in the NZIA Wellington Library Competition!
SANNZ: Hey Miranda! You’ve got some really cool work, can you tell us about the key projects in your portfolio?
Miranda: NZIA had a competition to redesign the Wellington Central Library in 2019. So, as part of the capstone project for my final year of my Bachelor’s degree, I orientated my project “Drawing Near '' to fit the brief for the competition and was really pleased to receive highly commended for my entry. This project was sort of a turning point for me with my work as it was very narrative driven but also explorative of concrete’s structural malleability. It became the subject of my approach for design to see how I could impose a narrative through the structural design of a building.
Another significant project in my portfolio is my project on “Adaptive Resilience”. This was part of my digital design studio where we had to explore the interaction between a biotype with a hyper-responsive design. It was rather a difficult paper where I had to learn a range of new softwares and adapt my design to respond to an ‘extraterrestrial environment’. Overall, the project was a challenge to complete but I was very satisfied with how it turned out and it expanded my knowledge with different modelling softwares.
SANNZ: When did you begin your portfolio, and what was the driving force around you creating one?
Miranda: I started developing my portfolio at the end of my Bachelor’s degree. I didn’t necessarily get into it for the purpose of applying for a job but rather just to collate all my best work over from the past three years. It was quite a long process and to be honest, I’m still not fully satisfied with it, so I hope to continue developing it in my spare time.
SANNZ: Has it come in handy having all your best work compiled in one place?
Miranda: Yes it’s been really handy to have a portfolio ready for whenever I need to apply for jobs or show my family overseas the work I’ve done. Although, I do find that because I’m still studying, the more projects I work on, the more it reminds myself to keep my portfolio as up to date as possible… Which I haven’t really been successful with just yet.
SANNZ: Can you tell as about your architecture focused trip overseas, and whether you think it helped your development as an architecture student?
Miranda: I went on a trip to North America in my final year of high school for my Design and Visual Communications paper. It was really interesting to go on architectural tours and see some of the works of Gehry, Lloyd Wright, etc. Given this was just before I began applying for university, it really influenced my desire to study architecture.
I went on another recent trip to America with my mum where we got to visit other cities that I hadn’t already been to. I encouraged her to plan our trip around architectural visits and I found it really interesting how my outlook on architecture had changed since I had been studying for three years. I find that travelling and being able to absorb architecture in its physical presence is very rewarding and inspiring for me as an architecture student, so I am very grateful to have had these experiences.
SANNZ: That sounds incredible! Have these experiences or studying helped inspire any particular direction you would like to go into with your work?
Miranda: The further I get into my studies, the more I change my mind on which direction in architecture I want to take. I really just want to have an open mind towards everything as I progress towards my thesis proposal.
SANNZ: Keeping an open mind is always important! Do you find yourself reflecting on any key influences in your work?
Miranda: My key influencer would have to be Zaha Hadid. I think her work is just so amazing and really unique, she’s definitely someone who I’ve looked up to since I was in high school.
SANNZ: Looking at your work, Which piece is your favourite, and why?
Miranda: My “Drawing Near” design would definitely take the cake as my favourite project. Mostly because I spent a lot of time working and perfecting it. I find myself pushed for time with most projects and never completely satisfied with the outcome but I also believe that’s inevitable for any perfectionist.
SANNZ: 4 years through your studies, what do you do to get yourself through long days (and nights) in the studio?
Miranda: Staying late in the studio is definitely something that every architecture student has to put up with during their studies. What really gets me through the nights and stressful times are my friends. I honestly don’t think I could study such an intense degree without my ‘archi friends’. In other words, having someone else know the answer to your software crashing is much simpler than asking google!
SANNZ: Finally, what’s the most valuable piece of information someone has given you?
Miranda: I know it's cliche, but the thing that I always have to remind myself is that less is more. When I look over my work from the past years of my studies, I realise how things have changed from pretentious and over the top, to more refined and sophisticated.
SANNZ: Thanks Miranda! Where can we stay up to date with your work?
Miranda: You can follow my Instagram!
Images of work provided by Miranda Emza
Interview by Nat Bocock
