Meet Victoria Bell, Curran’s newest architectural designer! Victoria grew up surrounded by world-class architecture in Columbus, Indiana, where famous architects designed community buildings that inspired her career path. As an architectural designer, she brings both technical expertise and creative vision to the team, along with a passion for creating equitable spaces that strengthen communities. Read on to learn more about Victoria, her love of textile arts, and her architectural travel adventures.
How did you decide that Curran was the right place for you?
When I was thinking about my future career and investigating the opportunity, Curran turned out to align perfectly with where I wanted to grow professionally—expanding my typologies and receiving good mentorship. Since it’s a smaller firm, I felt like I’d be able to get more hands-on, direct mentorship. I also have a good friend from my IU graduate studies who works there and encouraged me. Multiple things just fell into place, so I said yes to the opportunity.
What are you looking forward to accomplishing in this role?
I want to make a positive impact and provide strong assistance on the projects I work on here. I’m looking forward to working with individual PMs and principals with more independence. I like to be involved and help where I can. Eventually, I’d like to get into project management and work towards my licensure. I believe Curran is a great workplace and has resources to help me develop those skills and support my career path as a licensed architect.
What drew you to architecture to begin with?
I was born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, which is a little south of Indianapolis. It’s known for mid-century modern architecture—a lot of famous architects came and built schools and other community buildings there. When you’re growing up there, you don’t really pay attention to it, but in high school, my interests were in the creative arts, and I was also very good technically in math. When I was thinking about what I’d like to do, I was naturally drawn toward architecture because it served both my creative and problem-solving sides. Having such great inspiration from where I grew up and the buildings around me, I was encouraged to go that route.
That makes sense because you saw everything that architecture could do, right?
Yeah, especially for our community. They built the schools and some churches and institutional buildings. It wasn’t just residences or banks or private buildings—there was a lot of community-based work. I think it was a really awesome example that made me want to take part in it.
What values drive your work?
What really inspires me is building environments that help grow and support a good, strong, and equitable community where everyone can lift each other up. You can also design things that give back to the environment. I think that’s what I like about architecture—you can do things in simple ways in each project that impact the world around us. It’s about making everyone’s everyday life a little bit better and being thoughtful in the design of where they live, work, and play.
What do you think is a fact about architecture that people would find surprising?
Architecture is a very interesting field. Some people look at it as either more technical or more artsy, but it’s very much a combination of the two. You have to be pretty strong in your technical skills and understanding details. On the flip side, you have to be creative in your problem-solving skills and your people skills. You have to be very well-rounded, and I don’t know if people truly understand all that goes into it. It’s a lot!
What’s feeling exciting and fun for you right now?
I just like expanding my knowledge and learning new typologies. I’m one of those people who is driven to learn things, so I’m always excited about working on something different. Starting at Curran will be very different from my previous jobs, but it’s a new opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge overall, helping me become a more well-rounded architect.
When you’re not at work or learning new things related to work, how do you like to spend your time?
I’m more of a homebody, though I do have a group of friends who hang out and play board games and go to events together. I’m a big crafter as well. I like to create things with my hands—I love to crochet, knit, embroider, sew … any kind of textile art or craft. There’s such a variety that I’m constantly learning new things and aspects of each craft, so I just find it really fun. I also love to thrift shop. Shopping at second hand stores feels like finding treasure and supporting the environment in a reuse cycle at the same time.
Is there anything else you’d like to add about yourself?
I’m also an animal lover—I have three cats, so I guess you could say I’m a cat lady! I like to travel to see different Frank Lloyd Wright buildings and other famous architects’ work. I’ve gone with a group of friends to travel around Wisconsin, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, and we explore all the famous architectural spots. It’s fun because you know you’re going to a place for a specific reason—you know that’s the place you want to go to—but then everything else allows you to explore all the surroundings.