Professional Profile: Jinhee Lee
Jinhee Lee is the senior lab architect at HERA Laboratory Planners. Lab Design spoke to her about her career, diversity in the industry, and her Korean roots.
Q: How did you get started in your career? Did you major in your field in college, get an internship, switch careers mid-stream, etc.?
A: I was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. The house was small and lacked many of the modern amenities found in homes in the US today. We didn’t have indoor plumbing or even a refrigerator. With little room at home and nowhere to store food for long periods, my mother and I took frequent trips to an open-air market. It was there that my love for architecture was born. I loved the market! I loved the aromas of the fruits and vegetables for sale, the vibrancy of the vendors’ stalls and the people wandering amongst them, and the taste of fresh food. All senses were embraced in this space, and I was fascinated with how people chose to occupy it: the natural promenade formed by the rows of stalls, the path people took as they passed through the space, and the feeling of being present in the market. In those moments, I was inspired and began to understand the naturally human-centric side of architecture.
For my undergraduate, I went to Clemson University and focused on the idea of human experience in architecture. I thought about how I experienced the spaces I occupied: how my one-room home in South Korea had felt, how the market felt. I applied that to my studies. I traveled to Barcelona, Spain, and lived and studied/worked there to explore how other people experienced other spaces. I wrapped up my collegiate experience at Washington University for graduate school before entering the field as a professional.
My first job was at a firm that solely designed theme parks, an apt niche of architecture for someone fascinated by the human experience. More than anything though, I found myself most interested in the back-of-house functions. These spaces were state of the art, designed to facilitate not only the needs of the human guests and staff but also the animals. Marine animals especially required complex care, which included constant water quality testing to prevent illnesses from spreading and separate quarantine facilities if an animal did fall ill. These spaces showed me how science could evolve and be incorporated into architecture.
It was this idea that led me to HERA. We had the same mission, to support the sciences through architecture and through that, people. Designing labs led me to delve deeper into my interests in human-centered design. I learned that little things are often much bigger than those using the space every day. For instance, having integral pulls on casework prevents their lab coats from getting caught while passing through the space. These kinds of little design ideas not only meet the ADA requirements but also Universal standards.
Q: What is a typical day at work like for you?
A: Architects tend to wear many hats in their day-to-day work. Sometimes, we are the designer, sometimes the business strategist, and sometimes we interact and coordinate with our team. Those are the best times. I love getting to share my knowledge and work with my team! Working together gives me great hope for the next generation of designers and brings joy to my day.
My day normally starts the minute I sit in my chair. HERA is 100% virtual which means I get to reinvest the time I would normally spend commuting to working with my team, taking calls, and coordinating with our teaming partners. I enjoy working from home because it allows me more flexibility with my children. I have 2 young children and having the ability to clock in and out whenever the need arises is spectacular! I’m not tied down to an office or stranded at work all day, so I get to spend more time with them.
Q: What’s a common misconception about your job?
A: Most people see lab architect and think that I am either a scientist or a casework vendor. This is somewhat true. As a lab architect, I have to be multi-lingual in a professional sense to communicate with clients and teaming partners. I have to speak the architectural language for the architects, the scientific language for the scientists, the engineering language for the engineers, and so on. This skill is one I utilize often, translating between different experts in their field and fostering clarity across the team. Because of this skill, though, it can appear as though I am a scientist or engineer or the like which can cause some confusion. Teaming partners can end up coming to me for answers that should come from the scientists, or the client can ask me questions about casework when those are better served for the casework vendor.
Q: What is your favorite building, lab-related or not?
A: My favorite lab building is the Salk Institute by Louis Kahn. In it, he tested an open lab concept where instead of compartmentalizing each of the lab spaces into their room, he removed all the walls and opened them up as much as possible. Doing this opened the spaces to nearly infinite possibilities as it could be reconfigured to support any kind of research. This was also supported by the concept of the horizon. The horizon depends on the perspective of the observer and the height of the observer and thus is entirely centered on the human experience. He wanted you to be able to look across not only the lab, but the campus as well to see the bigger picture. In the interior, he turned what could have been a sterile, concrete environment into something warm and welcoming by bringing natural light into every space. For my favorite non-lab building, I always come back to my childhood and my love of open-air markets. The Santa Catalina by Enrique Miralles is a gorgeous market whose architecture is meant to echo the sensations felt within. The existing building was renovated and draped with a colorful tile rooftop façade. The undulating form and colorful tiles express the five senses that you experience while in the market; what you touch, smell, taste, see, and hear. The interior is filled with natural materials, meant to make the expansive space feel inviting and to the human scale.
Q: What kinds of changes are you looking forward to in the industry?
A: I am looking forward to a change in the way we think about these spaces. I want the industry to think more about the human experience. How you, the designer, would feel standing and working in your design and less about just designing the space and walking away? These spaces are occupied by people, and so they should be designed for them. Our industry has spent years studying how people occupy office spaces and how to better design them. In lab facilities, we have yet to see the same breadth of research. It’s sad. Many of these spaces, and the people within them, are still living in the past, in the same labs we’ve been designing for decades. The strategies used then just don’t work as well now and we need to evolve to meet today’s needs.
Q: How can companies encourage and retain young diverse talent?
A: Mentorship! And not just a few days a year, but constant and evolving mentorship. A mentor needs to have the dedication to follow mentees as far as they need it, providing support and guidance throughout their career. You want to be their advocate, giving them a voice where they might not have one. And you want to start this as early as possible. Help them set attainable goals from the beginning and give them the push they need to achieve them. Most importantly, be there to listen and be transparent.
Q: For someone entering this career field, what advice would you give them?
A: Be open to listening. There will be times when you need to check your ego and realize that there is always more to learn. Even with 15 years of experience, I am still learning something new every day! Be open to new ideas and new information. Speak up! Ask questions when you have them. There’s always more to learn.
Q: What is your favorite vacation spot?
A: My favorite spot isn’t something I think most people would hear and immediately think “vacation spot.” I don’t enjoy beaches or traveling to major tourist destinations in cities. I like visiting national parks. In the park, I can disconnect from the modern world and just be in the woods with my family. We fish and cook what we catch. We spend time together without the constant interference of work or day-to-day problems. We experience what nature provides. In some way, being in the woods reminds me of my childhood in Korea. I was surrounded more by people and in-person human experiences.
Q: What kinds of hobbies or interests do you have outside of work?
A: I’ll be honest, I travel for work a lot and so with my limited free time my only focus is my kids. I try to spend as much time as possible with them when I’m home. On the weekends, we go fishing or visit a national park. They love swimming at the community pool. We also love to cook together. Kimchi is a special favorite of theirs, and so we take the time to make it by hand. This helps them to connect with their culture through food.
Q: If you could tell your younger self something, what would it be?
A: Embrace every aspect of your life. Do not be afraid to voice your opinions and speak up for those who can’t.
