After TMU — Diana Smiciklas

Why did you choose to study at Ryerson University?

Since 10th grade, I knew I wanted to be either an architect or interior designer. I was good at drawing, math and physics. I also took a drafting class in grade 11 where I realized my interest in understanding construction. 

Knowing I wanted to enter one of the two fields, I applied to four architecture schools and TMU’s School of Interior Design (RSID). Ultimately, I fell in love with RSID. After my portfolio review for admission to TMU, I realized I was more excited about the idea of smaller, more detailed projects pertaining to building interiors, rather than larger architectural projects. I also loved the passion and creativity that resonated from the professors and students there.

It was a bonus that TMU just happened to have one of the top three interior design programs in the world! 

What are some skills you developed through university that are applicable to your career?

Every skill I developed through my university experience is applicable to my career. 

One of the major skills I learned was systems thinking and creative problem solving. RSID taught me how to put the user at the centre of the problem and tap into creativity to uncover the best solutions to a design problem. I also learned how every decision I made impacted a greater whole, and why every detail of a design must be carefully considered. 

However, I would say the number one skill I refined in school was time management. I grew up playing multiple sports at highly competitive levels, so I’ve always been very well organized. But being part of an intensive and creative program like RSID, mixed with playing for the TMU varsity soccer team, forced me to use every minute of the day efficiently. 

 

How did your experience at TMU help you find your first position after graduating?

In order to graduate from the program, we were required to work a minimum of 400 hours under a registered interior designer or architect. RSID had a great program to help students land internships throughout their schooling years, and sometimes even secure a junior designer position prior to graduating. The professor at the time who organized this program helped me get a great internship opportunity during school which allowed me to log over 1000 hours prior to graduating. 

We were also exposed to the industry through our end-of-semester project pin-ups where interior designers from the industry would come in and critique our work. It was a great way to make a lasting first impression on a possible future employer. In fact, I am now a regular guest critic for these semester-end pin ups. I feel my unique career experience in interior design and sustainability is invaluable in helping students understand their responsibility as designers to consider the environment and the health of occupants in their work. 

What does a typical “Day in Your Work Life” look like?  

Although I no longer solely do interior design work, I still work in the architecture and design industry specializing in sustainability. Every day is different because I dip my hands into so many projects, all of which have their own needs. Some of my more typical tasks involve:

• Coordinating with mechanical, electrical, structural and civil consultants to implement sustainability strategies into projects
• Researching, analyzing and implementing embodied carbon reduction strategies associated with structural, architectural and interior components of a building
• Assessing building materials to optimize sustainability and health-related attributes
• Managing LEED, WELL, and Fitwel projects
• Managing and implementing sustainable design initiatives into all our projects.

What are some attributes or skills required to be successful in your field of work?

Passion, creativity and assertiveness. 

First, passion is the most important thing when it comes to working in sustainability within any industry. In order to convince people how important it is to take action for the environment, people need to feel that it is important to you. Without passion in how you speak and what you say, you can never truly demonstrate the importance in what you do.

Second, creativity, and not in the traditional sense, is used every single day in almost everything I do. I come across unconventional scenarios daily where I need to figure out how to make things happen with the limited information I have.

And finally, a trait I never anticipated I’d need to use as often as I do is assertiveness. Sustainability can get a lot of pushback in any industry, so I often must be assertive and guide design teams (and sometimes clients) to ensure strategies get implemented.

What advice would you give to those wanting to live more sustainably at home?

Start small! It is easier to make incremental changes in order to accomplish an ultimate goal. Below are some tips that people can follow to reduce their environmental impact at home:

1. REDUCE, REDUCE, REDUCE. If you don’t actually need it, then don’t buy it. Everything we buy comes at an environmental cost, and our consumer waste (clothes, plastic bags, electronics, etc.) will most likely outlive us. 
2. Use reusable items to reduce waste for unnecessary things, such as using glass storage containers or reusable coffee mugs. 
3. Ride a bike! Not only are you saving the emissions from fossil fuels used for cars, but you’re also getting exercise.
4. If you’re willing to modify your dietary habits, reduce or eliminate beef. Beef has one of the biggest environmental footprints associated with food.

How have your personal passions or interests influenced your career choices?

I have a few personal passions: art, sustainability, and fitness. They have all greatly impacted my career choices in their own ways. Growing up, I was always very passionate about art, specifically painting and drawing. This nurtured my creativity and greatly influenced my university schooling choices. I knew I wanted to incorporate tactile creativity in some way, which ultimately led to interior design. 

I first developed a passion for sustainability in high school. I didn’t know the extent of what sustainability meant, but I felt a pull towards helping the environment. When I got to university, there weren’t a lot of options to learn about sustainability, as it was still in its infancy. Nevertheless, I learned all I could from the resources I had. It wasn’t until a few years into my career that I got to work on a first of its kind mass timber building. That’s when I realized there was a need in the market for sustainable buildings, and I needed to be a part of it.

Lastly, fitness is one of my biggest personal passions. Since I’ve played high-levels of sports my entire life, I’ve been trained to always be thinking about my health and wellbeing. This directly translates to the building industry through things like sourcing healthy material and incorporating biophilic design strategies. Fitness can even be incorporated more literally into design by providing opportunities for users to be active throughout the day such as designing inviting stairwells that encourage occupant use in lieu of elevators, or by influencing clients to provide their employees with active workstations.

What are the best parts of the work you do? What are the necessary evils (things you don't really enjoy but have to do)?

The best parts of the work that I do is being able to organize and align many different disciplines on the same goal. I love seeing the progress of a project and knowing that each sustainable strategy we include in designs is making a positive impact. We’ve also recently begun doing a deeper dive into embodied carbon and have figured out ways to make noticeable reductions in building structures and envelopes. This is important because building materials contribute to 11% of all carbon emissions, so we are constantly researching and discovering new ways to reduce our impact.

If you could start all over again, would you change your career path in any way? Why/why not?

If I could start all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. RSID was one of the best experiences of my life, regardless of how demanding the program was. I made some of my best friends, I pushed myself beyond my own limits, I learned how to be resourceful, and I truly believe that I am capable of learning and implementing anything. RSID didn’t just teach me design skills, but also ways of thinking that are transferable to so many career paths and life events.

What do you wish you could tell your university self?

Your career opportunities are endless. Going to school for interior design is a very specific field, and if you attend design school then it’s likely because you want to be an interior designer. However, I wasn’t aware of all the different careers that branched off of interior design. I know people from my program who now design movie sets, video games, computer graphics, furniture and other products, and even work in change management. Since there were minimal sustainability opportunities when I graduated, I didn’t know it was possible to specialize in it. However, seeing how my peers created their own career paths from their passions made me realize that my own passion could also translate to a related career. Had I known this in school I probably would have steered towards sustainability in architecture and design sooner. 

The biggest lesson I’ve learned over the recent years is to work hard and do what you love. It’s amazing the drive you have and what you’re capable of accomplishing when you experience meaning in what you do.