Achieving her dream
Keep focusing on the goal
by Christopher Key

Sharon Robinson knew she wanted to be an architect as early as the fourth grade. While the other kids were drawing pictures of trees and grass, Robinson was drawing floor plans. She remembers trying to improve on house designs she saw in her mother’s copy of Better Homes and Gardens. Achieving her dream was not easy.
“I grew up in Ohio and did my undergraduate work at Syracuse University,” Robinson said. “There were very few women in my classes. Some of the professors at Syracuse didn’t want women in their classes. Others would accept women, but give them very low grades.”
Robinson did her graduate work at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, where there was a more accepting atmosphere.
“There were a lot more women in that program,” she said. “I was very successful there, graduating with honors. Still, women are not easily accepted as architects. The industry couldn’t bar us, but they made it difficult. Architecture was way behind law and medicine in accepting women. Construction is the last bastion of male domination.”
Despite those obstacles, Robinson knows women can succeed in architecture if they want to.
“Women aren’t discriminated against anymore, but they still have to prove themselves in areas where it’s assumed men are competent,” she said. “There is no glass ceiling, though. Women can go as high as they want.”
Whatcom County is more open to women in male dominated fields.
“I occasionally feel isolated in meetings with a lot of older guys,” Robinson said. “But I’m not easily affected by innocuous comments.”
There’s also reverse discrimination.
“Some women come to me because they think I will understand them better,” Robinson said. “Women are perceived as better communicators.”
Architects have often been perceived as arrogant.
“You have to overcome that whether you’re male or female,” Robinson said. “We have to develop our listening skills because what we do is so important to our clients.”
The design build paradigm in the construction industry is having an effect.
“We’re starting to team up with builders,” Robinson said. “That helps us bridge the gap between disciplines. It’s good for us to have construction experience on board early in the process. Teamwork is better for customers.”
Some contractors still try to keep architects out of the picture, according to Robinson.
“Not everyone is willing to spend money on the value architects bring,” she said. “You don’t need my services to design a cow barn, but I can help design a space that works for you. It’s important to figure out which design professional is right for you.”
The Zervas Group, of which Robinson is a partner, doesn’t have a recognizable style.
“There are four architects here, each with our own style and sensibility,” she said. “We’re regulated by the state because we affect the health and safety of the public. You have to work in the field three years before you can take the licensing exam.”
Robinson was the first woman architect in Whatcom County.
“I’ve been here 13 years now and it’s a good group of people,” she said. “We’ve worked together for a long time and our skills complement each other. Ideally, we tailor our work to the client. It’s not a woman/man thing.”
She chose not to have children.
“I wanted the career more than a family and didn’t feel I could succeed at both,” Robinson said. “I’m not really the parent type and didn’t feel like I needed that. I love the variety of architecture. You have to be an artist, an engineer, a psychologist and business person. You can branch out in any direction. One of my specialties is affordable housing. It’s important for architects to contribute to society, not just build monuments to our own egos.”
Robinson is living proof that some childhood dreams are worth fighting for.