Manavi Dixit

I attribute my success to the hope that I can make a real difference through my work in architecture. A lot of my work, especially at MIT, has been focused on how architecture can help people who face issues due to climate change and don't have the ability to afford housing. We know that climate change affects different classes of people very differently, so I've been researching how architecture can help solve that issue for those who don't have the means to fortify themselves against climate impacts. I just hope that along the lines of practicing and researching, something happens and I'm able to make a change in even one person's life. That's what drives me and what I consider success.

The best career advice I've received is that when it gets really hard, you can just slow down a little bit. There are a lot of times in architecture where you have to pull really late nights, and there's a lot of work to be done before you actually start getting rewarded. So, trust the process, and it's okay if it's a bit slow right now, but eventually it'll be extremely rewarding. When you see that building that you have made on that computer screen in front of you, you will feel much better about the process.

It's hard at first, because there might be a lot of people in the room that aren't females, and it's a very male-dominant field, and it might feel really intimidating. But know that you can do it. I had a lot of mentors in my life along these 10 years, and it was extremely helpful. It really gave me confidence, knowing that there are other women who are doing so much in this field, and it's really inspiring to look at. So keep going.

One of the biggest challenges, and for me one of the most fun parts, is the iteration and prototyping process. You have one brief, but there are so many ideas, and with all the innovation happening currently, it's about how to tackle one issue and keep it as simple and streamlined as possible. Iterating and prototyping, presenting to clients - it's challenging because clients might not like everything you have, so you present them with multiple ideas to get a sense of what they're thinking so you can best achieve the project they want. That's the most challenging part. But there's a lot of opportunity in that, because it broadens the horizon when you iterate. Maybe the client likes two ideas, and you make a third idea which is a combination of the first two. So it's very challenging at that point, but there's so much more opportunity in knowing what you can do as an architect and broadening your horizons as you're going about it.

The values most important to me are confidence and work-life balance. Being very confident, even when you're super terrified, and knowing that what you're saying makes sense is crucial. We have a lot of presentations and juries in architecture where you have to stand up in front of a billion people and speak about your project. It's very intimidating because the people in the crowd are extremely well-educated and really high up in the field, but there's no stupid projects. You know what you're doing, and being confident is something I keep telling myself. I also think maintaining a work-life balance is very important. There are a lot of people in architecture who sacrifice a lot in their personal lives, working late nights and going home at 3 AM. I always do a hard stop at 6 PM, even if I'm in school, and I give myself a break to reset, stay away from screens, relax, go outside, go for a walk. A good work-life balance is very necessary, otherwise you'll oversaturate your brain and just be stuck in that loop.