Madame Architect: A Record for a New Future

Madame Architect emerged in 2018 in response to a persistent imbalance in the architectural record—one that has historically limited whose work, voices, and careers are documented with depth and care—and the media landscape at large. What began as a single interview series has since evolved into a multifaceted editorial and events platform with a global following, dedicated to thoughtful, rigorous, and human-centered architectural storytelling.
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In this lecture, Julia Gamolina reflects on her path to founding Madame Architect and the editorial philosophy that has shaped its growth. She examines the evolution of the platform’s content verticals—from long-form interviews and team profiles to historical essays and live public events—and how each contributes to a broader cultural project: not the creation of a separate canon, but the rebalancing of the existing record as a foundation for a more expansive and inclusive architectural future.

The talk also considers Madame Architect’s role as a community-builder and steward of discourse, exploring how editorial practice can influence visibility, memory, and legacy within the profession. Madame Architect: A Record for a New Future ultimately asks how expanding the record itself reshapes what—and who—architecture is able to imagine.

Julia Gamolina is an Associate Principal at Ennead Architects and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect, a boutique media and events platform spotlighting women, entrepreneurs, and creatives transforming the built environment and beyond. Since launching the platform in 2018, she has overseen all editorial content, events, partnerships, and strategic direction, growing Madame Architect into a globally recognized, award-winning publication with readers in more than one hundred countries.

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In architectural practice, Julia focuses on advancing the strategic development of design firms. At Ennead, she leads business development, communications, and special initiatives. Previously, she worked across all phases of design on mixed-use, retail, residential, and commercial office projects in New York and Los Angeles, as well as retail, higher-education, and museum work in Korea, Brazil, and Austria.

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Julia is a frequent speaker on the creation of Madame Architect and on architecture, career development, entrepreneurship, and brand building, presenting at universities, conferences, and cultural institutions around the world. Her writing has appeared in A Women’s Thing, Fast Company, Metropolis Magazine, and The Architect’s Newspaper. She has taught graduate-level professional practice and media seminars at Pratt Institute, and has served as a design reviewer at Cornell AAP, SCI-Arc, and Harvard GSD. She is also a regular juror for design awards and fellowships, including the United States Artists Fellowship, the Architectural Photography Almanac Photo Awards, and the Architizer A+ Awards.

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Julia has been named to Wallpaper’s Creative America list, highlighting the individuals shaping the creative landscape of the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, where she received the Charles Goodwin Sands Medal for exceptional thesis work. Born in Novosibirsk and raised in Toronto and Colorado Springs, she is based in New York City and has also lived and worked in Austria, Italy, France, and Brazil.