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ALBANIAN ARCHITECTS: JULIA HALLVAXHIU
A brief description of you, where you work, how many years of experience you have and your area of expertise.
I graduated as an architect in 2017. Although still a student I worked at other studios, and I had the opportunity to collaborate with other colleagues. After graduating, together with my colleague and partner, we decided to establish ''Tharm Architects''. We wanted to choose a name that represented our practice. "Tharm", for those who do not know, means seed, essence, genesis of something, like bread yeast, which starting from small molecules comes to grow.
The philosophy of the studio is to find the essence in every design task, providing the most innovative and creative solutions. Our projects range from small to medium sized buildings, both exteriors and interiors. If I were to single out a typology that I like the most, I would say single-family villas, as it gives me the opportunity to treat a single object both externally and internally, thinking down to the smallest detail.
Why did you choose architecture? What was the spark that led you to this profession?
First of all, I want to mention the fact that my mother, who is a painter by profession, has deeply influenced my life. Surrounded by art, I was predisposed to an artistic direction, but I also liked to have a profession that managed to materialize my inner world. Architecture is in fact a scientific discipline, guided by both rationality and aesthetic sense. Art, just cannot provide me with answers, meanwhile architecture has always a why and a logical reasoning, even when its creativity involves feelings.
What do you think of architecture and which is the project that best represents you?
Architecture is a very important aspect that shapes our societies. The way we design directly affects the quality and way of organizing living. For me, architecture must show coherence in style and construction, responds to human demands and needs to be valuable at all times.
The project that represents me the most is "Houses on the trees", perhaps because of its simplicity. A non-selfish project, which tries to integrate into nature, without wanting to compete with it, but by intervening as little as possible.
What advice would you give yourself at the beginning of your career, valid even for young architects or those girls/women who want to become architects?
Never think less of yourself than others!
I would tell them to never think less of themselves than others. Do not say that some things you can not do, just because they are beyond your capacity. We set limits for ourselves, especially girls/women. More and more girls are choosing architecture, and I can say that it can no longer be considered an exclusively male profession.
Which architect/artist inspires you in your work?
There are many that inspire me, for different reasons. But I would single out Zumthor. I find many points in common with his philosophy of architecture. The way a building represents itself, the treatment of materials, the simplicity and elegance of interventions
The slope house