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Katherine Williams is the Assistant Director of Capital Projects at Georgetown University. She helped renovate historic spaces, design sacred spaces and build labs on campus.
She now leads a team of four project managers overseeing design projects in downtown Washington, D.C., and Hilltop.
Williams compares her work on campus to working in a small city. She and her team work on a variety of projects for the Georgetown operation, from overhauling HVAC equipment to adjusting the balconies at Gaston Hall. The reward, she says, is not just the final reveal, but the process of construction.
“Because each of us is doing various types of things, you get to learn about different types of projects,” Williams said. “It’s really cool to see the behind-the-scenes, behind-the-scenes stuff that most people don’t see.”
Williams was fascinated by architecture as a child and earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Howard University and a Master of Science in Real Estate from American University. While studying architecture, Williams discovered that certain areas of Washington, D.C., were experiencing increased development while others were underdeveloped. She started thinking more about how architecture could better impact communities.
She later moved west, where she developed affordable apartment projects, community gardens and other community amenities for a San Francisco nonprofit. Williams finds herself an advocate for the people in the communities she serves.
“I can talk about architecture and they can talk about their community and what they need,” she said. “I can start thinking about how I can translate that into a building or a landscape that helps improve the community.”
Years later, after moving to Georgetown, Williams still saw advocacy as part of an architect’s role. In her spare time, she volunteers with the AIA Housing and Community Development Knowledge Community and participates in the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), traveling to Nairobi, Poland and other countries to attend conferences on equitable development and community building.
She also founded Black Women in Architecture Networks, a resource to help increase the number of black women in the construction industry. The network offers scholarships to aspiring architects and hosts events, speakers and national brunches to connect black women in the field.
“I don’t want to be the only person in the room every time I go somewhere,” she said. “The more we can collaborate or be a resource to each other, the more I think we can help companies and individuals thrive in their careers as architects.”
Learn more about Williams’ advocacy, her construction projects in downtown Washington, and why we need to eliminate the “HGTV phenomenon.”
My favorite thing about my job:Final view of the built space.It’s also always fun to discover all the things you discover during the build process, whether you’re doing a demo or [seeing] All the ways different buildings and spaces fit together. It’s cool to see behind-the-scenes, behind-the-scenes stuff that most people don’t see.
sometimes you think [a project] It would be easy, and then you enter a space and problems arise. So figure those things out and work with your users to give them the space they’ve been needing or wanting for a while.
How I feel when I walk into a finished space: Very happy and very rewarding. When I went to the event in Gaston, one of the things we did was remove these temporary posts that were put in place to hold up the balconies. The columns are gone now, so you can move around the space freely, and the balconies are much more structurally sound (it’s a 100-year-old building, so it needs tweaking every once in a while.) It’s nice to walk around in Being in that space, seeing it being used, and knowing that I played a small part in making it what it is today.
How I became interested in architecture: When I was a kid, I attended a job fair through Girl Scouts and met an architect. I see it as a combination of art, science, and math, which are things I was really interested in in school. My mother did a great job finding opportunities for me to learn more about it.So I did camps and programs from elementary school through high school – drafting classes in high school, doing a summer program [at] A college campus. So that was a spark, and then as I grew, I continued to build on that.
Why architects can be advocates: I participated in AIA HCD KC [AIA Housing and Community Development Knowledge Community] Because I was doing community development work. It’s really about how we as architects work with underserved communities and thinking about whether it’s policy or the architecture itself, and how to help communities. …
[As architects] We have to do the work that we naturally do, but I think we also have to take an advocacy role when we see issues because a lot of them are policies. So I think it’s important to be involved at both levels – to see on the ground what policies are affecting what is being built and designed.
I started the Black Women in Architecture Network because: All of these activities in which I have been involved have taken place under the umbrella of the increasingly diverse workforce of the construction profession. The number of black female architects is very low compared to the number of people in the industry, especially the number of licensed architects. I’m working on a fellowship and I’m working with another group and we do a series of…panel presentations to highlight black women in architecture. Then I started a brunch event that I’ve been hosting since 2015.I did all these things and [the network] To be a way to organize everything and connect it all and highlight the work that we’re doing and be a resource for Black women in their careers and connect them to other people. … We make sure we understand each other and can be a resource to each other.
What motivates me to support black women in architecture: Increase the number of people. I don’t want to be the only person in the room every time I go somewhere.I know for me, paying [licensure] Examination is a very difficult thing. So try to help others who are in similar situations. I think we should be promoting our careers, our companies, our businesses and things like that. The more we can work together or leverage each other’s resources, I think the more we can help companies and individuals thrive in their careers as architects.
I want everyone to know what I do: Design and construction always take longer than you think. We are not magicians. A lot of people think, oh, you just draw it and that’s it. It’s like, no, we have to actually investigate and see what’s behind the wall, where does the electricity come from, where does the water come from, does this structure work? This is the biggest misunderstanding. We sometimes talk about the HGTV phenomenon in the office.People would say, “Oh, you just get a hammer and some nails and we’re done.” Like, no, that’s not how it works [laughs].
My favorite Georgetown building: I think what’s coming out of the downtown campus is going to be really interesting. [In one location] We are trying to convert existing buildings into new ones. And then 125 E is a brand new building. There’s going to be some cool interiors in there. I think everyone has their own taste. So if you don’t like something, just go to another building and you’ll probably find something you like. … It’s exciting.
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