Cameron Ringness

As a designer, Cameron's role is to create initial conceptual ideas then translate them into real architecture. She is constantly sketching, visualizing things in different mediums, and exploring to find inspiration. Preferring to start with the overall goals, she focuses on understanding what something is and what it will mean to people so that the answers remain addressed as constraints are applied.

Cameron has always had a wide-range of interests from art to science to building forts and Lego buildings all over her house. When looking for colleges, she knew she wanted something that challenged her and her artist vision. During a tour of the University of Virginia campus, she wandered into the School of Architecture by chance, and instantly felt that she belonged. After receiving her Bachelor's degree, she went on to Tulane University in New Orleans, chosen specifically as it would also give her a chance to help with the city's rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Cameron finds joy in coming up with the big idea and then thinking about how that might influence the experience of the site and its users. To her it's not just about designing a building but about what it can do for the occupants and what it can do for architecture as a whole. She is mostly drawn to public and institutional projects—spaces for many different ages, cultural backgrounds, and personalities. To her, these spaces have great influence that shapes who they are as a society.