Editor: Can you talk about your background? You studied art history and gender studies before you studied architecture. Ellie Abrons (EA): I went to New York University for my undergraduate degree in art history and gender studies. I didn't come to architecture on a straight and narrow path. I spent about five years working in fashion and graphic design after I graduated from NYU. I think I was slowly making my way towards architecture although I didn't know it at the time. The combination of all of those experiences and studies prepared me really well for architectural education. Graphic design was very exciting and interesting for a while but I felt it was limiting. It's largely a two-dimensional practice and I was interested in something spatial. Also, it doesn't have discourse to the degree that architecture does. I don't think any of the design fields have discourse equal to architecture's. I believe very much in architecture as a discipline but I also understand architecture to be an incredibly broad thing which can fold in ideas from other fields. My non-architectural background gave me a foundational knowledge of critical and feminist theory and art and architecture history which are, of course, very influential in my work as an architect.
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