APLA Alumna Bridges Architecture, Art with Urban Studio Students

From participating in juries to lecturing on different topics, students learn from a variety of working professionals during their time in Birmingham. Many of these architects return to work with students year after year.

Birmingham-based architect and artist Adrienne Retief ’84 has developed a deep relationship with Urban Studio. She is a regular during fifth-year juries and returns often to teach watercolor classes. This combination of perspectives demonstrates to students how architects see things differently and helps them develop their own perspectives and skills.

For Retief, time at Urban Studio is an opportunity for her to contribute to the future of her profession. She enjoys teaching and interacting with students and understands the importance of reviewing students’ work as an industry professional—to see what students aim to accomplish and provide valuable critiques that strengthen their work.

“Adrienne believes in the potential of strong ideas, even if they are not yet definable. She wants to guide you into achieving your vision rather than imposing her own,” recalls Alex Hamady ’21, Urban Studio alum and Associate Architect at ArchitectureWorks.

Growing up in South Africa, Retief was always interested in a variety of things—art, math, science, history. Her family eventually settled in Alabama, where she indulged her many interests through degrees in natural science and mathematics as a pre-med student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but then found a new direction that could combine her creative and analytical sides through architecture at Auburn.

In her architecture work, she is passionate about residential design where, according to her bio on the Pfeffer Torode website, “she excels in capturing the essence of space and scale.” However, Retief isn’t focused specifically on residences, she has worked on designs for large scale projects like Hoover High School and the Tuscaloosa’s Mercedes Benz Amphitheater, as well as smaller scale commercial spaces like Ovenbird, which she worked on with Urban Studio Director Alex Krumdieck ’86 and his firm, Krumdieck A+I Design.

“Adrienne is an excellent architect with wonderful insight and a lot of conviction in her designs. She’s also very open-minded, which makes it easy to discuss projects and ideas with her,” explained Krumdieck.

The location and style for Ovenbird had its own challenges. They had to deal with harsh sunlight and, especially for restaurants, maintaining a connection between the location, the structure, the chef and the diners. The atmosphere transports guests through a feeling of being somewhere, although they may not always know exactly where that somewhere is.

“She was able to understand my garden shed concept, and instead of us fighting with the light or blocking it completely, we were able to develop the idea of how light coming in through wooden slats would impact the feeling and create connection. We connected the expression of the light to a physical piece through our designs and filter the harsh sunlight to make it an asset and embrace it.” Krumdieck added. “Adrienne is a great design partner, especially with her ability to push me and push the idea with complete commitment.”

It isn’t just for her design sensibility that Krumdieck keeps asking her to return to Urban Studio. He appreciates how well she communicates with students and how clear she is in her critiques. It is her pragmatic side that allows her to identify flaws in students’ designs while being able to explain how they can address these challenges differently in the future.

Her painting and her architecture work continue to evolve together, often giving each side of her the opportunity to better express ideas. Retief can capture the emotion of a place through both design and painting. Bringing this sensibility to Urban Studio students through watercolor classes has been something the students continue to both learn from and enjoy.

“Adrienne challenged me to study my ideas at different scales and through a variety of mediums, forcing me to interpret my project in different ways and often leading to rapid and unforeseen discovery,” Hamady recalled. “Her approach encouraged me to embrace the process and express ideas differently as they progressed from something vague and unrefined into something clear and tangible.”

Hamady also reflected the lessons he learned from his time with Retief. He explained how he learned not to stifle his creative spirit and how exciting ideas are worth exploring before judging their value. This was echoed by Krumdieck as he explained how in her practice, she is constantly exploring ideas through both her design work and artwork.

Krumdieck described her as: “one of the most humble people I know, who is also incredibly knowledgeable, very aware, a deep thinker and restless in the best way.”

“How would I describe her? Vivacious, thoughtful and deliberate,” Hamady added.