Emily Firtel

I currently serve as an architectural project manager for a custom build and design firm that operates as both an architectural firm and a construction firm. I have the lead role in all the architectural interior design, with a particular focus on ceiling details. We lay out the house for our clients and work heavily with interior designers, though we don't take that job away from them. We have a very specific look we like to portray in our homes to keep everything cohesive with our design. I deal with the architectural interior elements while another architect on our team handles all the exterior elements, and we work together to produce beautiful homes. My day-to-day responsibilities include designing interiors to hand off to interior designers, providing field support when project managers need help understanding or walking through the plans, and ensuring all plans are cohesive and read appropriately across different trades. I've been working in design and construction since 2008 when I moved here, and I've been an architectural project manager and architectural interior designer for the last eight and a half years. I studied at BHC School of Interior Design in South Africa, completing a three-year program that converts to a diploma there. I always knew I was going to do something in the design-related field, whether it was fashion design or interior design. When I was younger, my parents would always take us to museums in London, France, and Amsterdam, and I always loved the look of the buildings. I never really understood the complexity back then, but I always wanted to do something design-related, and architectural interior design just called me when I graduated.