## [Reframing Architecture from Creating to Collaborating](/spotlight/student/reframing-architecture-creating-to-collaborating) /sites/default/files/spotlight-images/2025-11/robynadams-2025-headshot_apscweb960x640.jpg Photo by Kevin Wu *The friendships made while working in studio with classmates*—*sharing ideas, working endless nights, and being gifted the ability to collaborate in art making will forever be my favourite memories made at SALA.* Robyn Adams School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture - Architecture and Landscape Architecture - Master of Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture 2025 Vancouver I’m a recent [MARCLA](https://sala.ubc.ca/program/dual-degree/) graduate and a Red River Métis artist and designer born in Manitoba. I have been living in Vancouver since moving here for school in 2021. Before my masters, I worked in the cultural sector and went to art school for my undergrad. [Being an artist has really shaped my identity](https://www.arts.ubc.ca/news/robyn-adams/) and how I approach architecture. I am also very passionate about Indigenous land-based knowledge. I love making things with my hands, from intricate floral beadwork to architecture models and 3D environments. I am interested in slow, community-based work and research with tactile land-based knowledge practices. Even while working in software like Unreal Engine where I have been making a video game called [Kinship Table](https://www.robynadams.ca/kinship-table/), I’m designing while art making and integrating hand-made work into digital space. ![Beadwork map of Kinship Table](/sites/default/files/inline-images/robynadams-2025-kinship-table-beadwork-map_apscweb960x640.jpg)The beadwork piece pictured here acts as a map, both to the geographic ecosystems and plant ID, but also to the relationships between the folklore characters in Robyn's video game, Kinship Table.## **Why did you choose UBC?** I decided to accept the offer from UBC because I could study both Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the same time. The dual degree program isn’t offered at other universities, and it was important for me to learn both fields because I hope for design that is more integrated. I have always been very interested in land-based knowledge and knew I would learn a lot about plants in landscape architecture but still wanted to design large scale work, and house people because of my background working with sculpture in art school and interest in supporting my nation. Living in Vancouver had always been something I wanted to do, and getting offered an entrance scholarship helped me afford moving to another province for school. ## **What did you learn that you didn't expect to learn as part of your degree?** I learned to value my voice, my cultural teachings and my perspective as an artist and Indigenous designer. Architecture programs are incredibly rigorous and demanding, and it’s easy to lose your voice when navigating fast-paced environments with intense deadlines if you don’t know your values. In my last year as a student, I started my own landscape design company. Through the support from mentorship opportunities, and student research positions I was able to soft launch into the career world. Since then, I designed my first garden at Trout Lake Park and designed landscape signage at the UBC Gateway Building highlighting native plants with hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ plant names identified by xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam). ## **What has made your time at UBC memorable?** In my first year, I co-founded [ILANDS](https://sala.ubc.ca/guides/getting-involved/#ilands) (Indigenous Landscape and Architecture Network of Design Students). The student group started with three of us but has grown to include over 12 current students and recent graduates. In the MARCLA program we only have one elective over four years, but I had the opportunity to take an Indigenous writing course in the Creative Writing faculty, which led to having the professor Billy-Ray Belcourt join my thesis committee. Having his guidance on world-building really shaped my work. Collaborating with my classmate [Narita Reyes Ico](https://naritareyesico.com/) on [Seed to Table](https://www.robynadams.ca/seed-to-table/), a greenhouse retrofit on campus, really was a turning point in my degree that helped me see the value of adding my values into the work I do. ![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/robynadams-2025-defending-my-thesis-at-the-first-nation-house-of-learning_960x640.jpg)Robyn defending her thesis at the First Nations House of Learning## **What advice would you give a student entering SALA?** I had to spend the early part of my degree learning the language of architecture (the different software, terminology, best practices), but once I started to grasp it, it was very important for me to keep my voice, my values and culture at the forefront of my process and work especially when the work being taught is from a Western colonial lens. Also – eat well, sleep well, go for daily walks in nature. Don’t do more than one late night per project. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and get connected to campus resources right away. ## **What are some contributions you would like to make when it comes to the future of work in your field?** Studying at UBC has taught me about many different sustainable building products, from mass-timber structures to rammed earth wall assemblies. I would love to work on building cultural centres, galleries and museums designed with sustainable, regenerative, local earth-friendly materials. ![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/robynadams-2025-headshot-by-marco-leung_apscweb960x640.jpg)Photo by Marco Leung## **What is next for you?** I’ve been interning at the [Museum of Anthropology](https://moa.ubc.ca/), learning more about museums from the inside, and the stories and ways in which cultural belongings are housed. My plan is to work at an architecture firm designing museums, while still honouring my art practice – continuing to develop my video game, and create more urban gardens! ### Find me on: [ Find me on Linkedin ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/robyn-adams-a75151200/ "Find me on Linkedin") [ Find me on Instagram ](https://instagram.com/robynadams.ca "Find me on Instagram") - [Alumni](/topics/alumni "Alumni") - [Rising Stars](/topics/rising-stars "Rising Stars") - [SALA](/topics/sala "SALA")