Silvia Kim is a rising freshman at Carnegie Mellon University, where she plans to study architecture after graduating with honors from Punahou School. Living in Hawaii for almost the entirety of her life, she developed an affinity for nature which drove her to volunteer in environmental conservation, mentor kids in outdoor education, and participate in a volcanology/geology summer research program at a local university. She also has a passion for art and visual storytelling, which she has expressed through contributing official designs for her school, creating comics, and obtaining a Silver
Medal for Architecture at the national level for the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. As she does with ink and paper, her goal is to tell stories, teach, and preserve cultural values by interacting with users through buildings. Through the opportunities from the Diversity Advancement Scholarship, she hopes to take her interest in biomimicry beyond the scholarly articles and websites and into the field of researching natural functions to broaden her horizons in architecture and develop this critical device into her storytelling endeavors
Feyi Quadri is a multidisciplinary designer eager to explore the psychological responses to designed spaces through layered geometries, textiles, and materiality. With five years of experience under her belt, her balanced experience with architecture and interior design gives her an empathetic, holistic approach when programming and designing.
While attending Carnegie Mellon University, where she received her Bachelor in Architecture degree, Feyi became a founding member of the university’s NOMAS chapter. As a member of AIAS, she served as a peer mentor for four years as well as served on the 2016 AIAS Northeast Quad Conference Committee as a track chair. After graduating in 2016, she started her career doing both architecture and interior design roles on workplace interiors and worship spaces. Later on, she gained experience in multifamily, mixed-use, federal, and retail projects. Currently, she is a technical designer at Gensler in Washington, DC.
Outside of work, Feyi spearheads her study group for the ARE exams. She is a proud mentor at her high school, Charles H. Flowers, as an ACE Mentor. She is also serving on the board of DCNOMA as the Director of Communications for 2021-2022. Feyi loves giving back to her community and enriching the future generation of architects and providing resources to uplift her peers in the industry.