Veronica Troughton, BEnD '19, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture

I recently graduated from UBC with an honours degree in environmental design. As a creatively-oriented person, I’ve always been interested in the fine arts and the process of expression through making; however I often struggled to find meaning in those activities alone. My studies at UBC have given me the opportunity to use the creative thinking and technical skills I’ve gained with an arts background to address some of the complex social and ecological issues that my generation of designers will face. 

My passion for understanding and exploring the crucial relationship between people and the environments we interact with every day is what motivates me to evolve as a designer.

What have you learned in environmental design that is most valuable?

Collaboration is so important. As a highly introverted person, it’s natural for me to want to keep to myself and work individually. 

However, I quickly learned that the best design thinking doesn’t happen in a vacuum and the most valuable insights I’ve gained have come from conversations with classmates, professors, and other mentors. 

Not only has a willingness to collaborate contributed to my success in the program, but also given me the skills to become a more thoughtful and focused leader.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I find inspiration through observation, so for me, travelling and physically experiencing well-designed spaces can be very creatively stimulating. 

Architecture is about empathy and in order to be empathetic in the way you design, you have to go out and test your own responses to different spatial qualities so that you can start to imagine what effects your decisions would have on other people.