Check The Box
Deanna Van Buren
Licensed 2018

For Deanna Van Buren, getting licensed was a box she need to check to pursue the work important to her. She left corporate firms and founded her first company, FORUM design studio, in 2011. She spent a year as a Loeb fellow at Harvard University, researching the impacts of art and design within the public realm from 2013-2014. Then in 2015, she co-founded her current firm, Designing Justice Designing Spaces to use “architecture, design, and real estate development to attack the root causes of mass incarceration.” To fully take charge of the projects she wanted to do, Deanna needed to have her architecture license. This was not something that was not on her mind. Deanna started the process in 2007. She found the process and structure of the exam frustrating. This led to her focusing on other parts of her career and life. As she gained success in her work and had opportunities for her firm to be the lead architect on projects, having a license was more important and a necessity. She also realized the exam passes she had received earlier were going to expire. In 2016, Deanna channeled the same drive and passion for her work to get through the exam process.

When asked about her take away from the process, Deanna had several insights. First, she sees a need for different types of licenses depending on the work an architect is doing. Second, she enjoyed refreshing her knowledge of structures, a subject she enjoyed and found satisfying to revisit the material. Third, as an architect who is also in the field working closely with contractors and trades people, she believes that learning Spanish to communicate with workers on site regarding construction of her projects is just as important as what she was being tested on for the licensure exam. It is the next skill she is tackling.

For architects, the exam process can be all encompassing. Time is devoted to studying rather than spending it with friends and family. Deanna had support from many in her community who valued her passion for her work and wanted her to succeed. Friends and family helped her as she was studying and taking exams. This included family members quizzing her with flash cards and other architects reviewing material with her. When she completed her test in 2018, she had a party where she celebrated those helpers and gave gifts to the people who assisted her through the process. With that box checked, Deanna is looking forward to growing her work to fulfill the mission of Designing Justice Designing Spaces.

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Learn about Deanna’s work here.