Principal Architect Feature: Katherine Koriakin
We want to introduce you to another side of our GYDE Team through our take on Vanity Fair’s The Proust Questionnaire. This month, we are featuring GYDE Principal and Partner Katherine Koriakin. Growing up as an air force brat, and later as a tireless traveler, Katherine was exposed to many places and cultures, but the incredible beauty of Jackson Hole has been a singular inspiration for her since her earliest forays into architecture.
“I was so moved by the beauty of this landscape that it inspired me to focus my Master’s thesis project on rethinking a visitor’s center in Grand Teton National Park.”
She was first introduced to Jackson in 2000. At the time, she was studying architecture at Tulane University in New Orleans, when she decided to spend a summer about as far away from the creole city as culturally possible. She got a seasonal job working at Heart 6 Ranch situated in the remote region between two national parks.
How would you describe your first home/apartment/living situation in Jackson?
It was what you would call “rustic.” Dorm-style housing was included with the summer job — think bunk house. Things were a little less upscale back then, and the ranch had a western authenticity to it that gave me the perfect introduction to Wyoming. I worked the kitchen by day, sipped whiskey by the fire at night, and befriended real cowboys as well as J1 workers. But the most impactful part of my living space, was the natural environment — the mountains enveloping us, the millions of stars in the night sky, and the miles of unspoiled wild.
What was the moment or thing that made you want to become an architect?
I lived in lots of different houses, in different cities around the country. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but there’s a “je ne sais quoi” that arises from your living environment and permeates your life. It made me realize how impactful the built environment is. When I realized I could be involved in designing that impact, I was hooked.
It has always been about design for me. If I weren’t an architect, I would probably have been a costume or stage designer.
What are you excited about right now?
In life, I am excited about my 8-year-old son, who loves adventures big and small. Sometimes that adventure is trying to follow him down a ski run that is above my skill level, and other times it is bribing him with gummy bears to accompany me on a hike.
In architecture, I love seeing architects and clients embracing non-traditional living concepts or trying ideas that are a little more unexpected. It’s inspiring to see design professionals step outside of the framework of single-family homes to tackle the challenges of modern living in creative ways. “Car-less communities,” for example, are finding creative ways to address climate change and sedentary lifestyles; or, Alejendro Aravena's incremental housing, where residents build out the details of their houses over time to make them more affordable and personalized.
What are your tips for a well-designed home?
Focus on how you want to feel. Be honest with yourself and your family about how you want to live and feel in your home. Just because the trend is “x” or “y” does not mean that it needs to be in your home. There’s an emotional element to our surroundings, and many times we have to lean into that to find the right design. Recently, we asked a client to describe how she wanted people to feel when they saw the entrance to her home and then walked through the threshold, rather than relying on design inspiration from photos. From there, the systems and the aesthetics are led by the intended experience.
Details matter, especially the ones you touch and feel. What are the details that reinforce the “must-haves” for your design? How can we bring those forward in a way that supports the design as a whole?
Prioritize and focus. Don’t put every design idea into one room or one space. What are the feelings and the main ideas you want to embrace in your home’s design? Once we identify the “must-haves,” let’s take those ideas and reinforce them so you end up with one cohesive concept rather than having 20 small, disjointed ideas competing with each other.
Be real. Whenever possible, choose materials that are real rather than materials that mimic another material. The eye can usually, subconsciously identify the “fake.”