As a kid, of about 7 or 8, Rachel Wolf would draw one thing, over and over and over… houses. She was obsessed with getting it “just right.” Around the same time, she was gifted her first set of Legos. They instantly became her favorite toy, one she still enjoys today. The ability to take ideas from her drawings and turn them into physical form was engrossing. Fast forward to high school and her art teacher, one of her first mentors, encouraged her to try an internship with a local architecture firm. The meeting of art and creativity with logic and organization suited Rachel.
To this day, as a Project Architect at CSHQA, as she draws each line and adds shadows to each image, she thinks about how the space will be used and strives to make it comfortable, safe and enjoyable, envisioning how each space and it’s use will foster happiness, thriving, and a wholeness to be at one’s self. “The most important aspect of architecture for me is function. Our ethical imperative, as architects, is in creating spaces for real people to live out real lives, and architecture at its best is thinking about ways our building organizational efforts will make those lives easier, more seamless, and near frictionless when interfacing with our creations. In that way architecture becomes supportive of human endeavor and this naturally leads to beautiful and sometimes provocative design forms.”
Though Rachel has dabbled in commercial work, such as surgery center design and fire station design, her expertise lies in residential design, ranging from luxury to low-income housing. Areas of specialization include soft skills of understanding the nature of human beings, mindset, and psychology. This uniquely positions her to be a great listener and often able to discern the underlying meanings others are trying to convey. “As an architect it’s a powerful gift to be able to listen to what the client is saying, hear the deeper level and translate that into design directives we can act on.”
Rachel is always learning and exploring what life has to offer and loves to have fun, outdoors especially. Being a wonderful mother and strong mentor to her daughter is a responsibility she is deeply serious about. She is grateful to share adventures and many hobbies, like hiking and scuba diving with her. “Exploring new places and being creative in anything are my happy places, still nothing tops beautiful moments with your kid.”
Education
MArch, University of Idaho
BS Arch, University of Idaho
BA Spanish, University of Idaho
Licensing and Certification
Licensed Architect: CO, FL
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
Professional Affiliations
American Institute of Architects (AIA)