Global strategy and design leadership group Design Intelligence recently published an article titled ‘Nourish the Soul’ featuring an interview with Vera Iconica founding Principal, Veronica Schreibeis Smith.
This article digs deep into Veronica’s journey, and how she became a Wellness Architecture pioneer.
Tracing back through her student days and early career experiences, Veronica’s search for meaning and purpose as a young designer led her to realizations on the importance of intuition as a guide; finding a human connection to history and nature, in the combined forms of space, design principles and timeless materials.
The process was not always straightforward, riding highs and lows, and overcoming the idealism that in early career made it feel like any project that was not perfect or had to compromise one ideal to achieve another, was not a success. Now, taking a step back, it’s easier to appreciate that no project will be perfect, everything must respond to client and real-world demands, and to celebrate every success.
Ultimately, it becomes about searching the world and searching ourselves for, as the the article is titled, what feeds our soul.
From the article:
As I go through buildings noticing spaces I love, sometimes they’re high-end, luxurious and beautiful, and sometimes they’re rustic and low-end. The questions I ask are:
- Why do we fall in love with this space?
- What makes us happy?
- What brings joy to our life?
- What ends up being that nostalgic sense that brings beauty and love and warmth to our life?
- What nourishes our soul?
Because at the end of the day, we’re people. Not cold or austere, not just going after something, grinding or punching a clock. There’s more to us. Our buildings need to reflect that. They need to nurture that aspect of our lives.
Click Here to read more about Veronica’s story, big plans for the future, and for inspiration on how you can make the most of your wellness journey.
