Alejandra Charrabe-Ciacci '12
We spoke with Alejandra recently about her studies in architecture, design, and landscape design, her pursuit of advanced degrees, and how Millbrook continues to drive her passions and pursuits, both professionally and personally.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE PUBLISHED ABOUT ALEJANDRA IN THE SUMMER 2022 MILLBROOK MAGAZINE
My IVth form year, I did the Big Green Apple intersession with Jane Meigs focusing on sustainable architecture. Mrs. Meigs taught me that it’s okay to be passionate about things that are uncomfortable for other people. Climate change is a very uncomfortable conversation for a lot of people, and many refuse to believe that they can help. Seeing her passion and intensity when people would not give importance to the movement that it needs to have—that’s when I learned it’s okay to be controversial.
I also took Millbrook’s art history elective as a senior; that year we studied the aesthetics of the architects Greene & Greene with Mr. Greenwood and Mr. Hardy. Mr. Greenwood got very emotional, even cried in class, on topics that we discussed. I’ve never seen anyone express that much passion in class—it was very inspirational. In our world, men crying isn’t such an acceptable form of expression. It’s okay to look at a building, to see how beautifully it was made, and to feel something. I’ll never forget that.
I went to Syracuse to study the history of architecture but realized that there aren’t that many opportunities for historians. After the first semester, I applied and was accepted into their architecture program. It was an incredibly competitive five-year program, and we went from 160 students the first year to 70 at graduation. I had been in the U.S. for nine years when I graduated from Syracuse, and my mom begged me to come home.
I went to Syracuse to study the history of architecture but realized that there aren’t that many opportunities for historians. After the first semester, I applied and was accepted into their architecture program. It was an incredibly competitive five-year program, and we went from 160 students the first year to 70 at graduation. I had been in the U.S. for nine years when I graduated from Syracuse, and my mom begged me to come home.
Back in Spain, I began working for a PR and event organizing agency before heading to Panama where my brother was working at an architecture firm. This experience tapped more into my environmentally-focused mind, which I had developed at Millbrook. In Panama, I was convinced that this world will end if we do not create architects who care about the natural environment. We’re not going to have the resources or even the benefits of being able to design a house that we want if we’re only thinking about budgets and aesthetics. That’s super easy to think about. It’s much harder to say that the materials you use need to be local and sustainable.
A current project is a holistic house that uses nature as a way to process trauma. It’s in the north of Spain, and it’s a lot slower than I’d like it to be because of COVID. Now I’m in school full time at IE School of Architecture & Design, earning my master’s in business. I will graduate in July. I’m in a thesis group with three other women—from Greece, Peru, and Guatemala—and this is the first all-female group in this master’s program. Our project is focused on a device that you would be able to use call for help in a threatening situation. It’s been empowering because we have shared experiences. For me, this empowerment came from Millbrook and strong role models like Ms. Mulberry (my advisor), Mrs. Meigs, Mrs. Clizbe. I also had a great role model in my mom, who has been very independent my whole life.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE PUBLISHED ABOUT ALEJANDRA IN THE SUMMER 2022 MILLBROOK MAGAZINE
