Interview | Growing Up Irooni: Gisue Hariri on Nurtured Imaginations and Building Bridges in a Male-Dominated World
Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation
Chai & Conversation
4.9 • 548 Ratings
🗓️ 31 August 2023
⏱️ 76 minutes
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Summary
In the latest episode of the "Growing Up Irooni" podcast series, I had the unique privilege of sitting down with the iconic Gisue Hariri, one half of the brilliant duo behind Hariri & Hariri Architecture. In this intimate conversation, Gisue delves into the intricacies of growing up in the southern part of Iran, where the environment fostered imagination, resilience, and a profound connection to nature. She candidly shares the challenges and triumphs she faced as a female architect, breaking barriers in a traditionally male-dominated profession. From her experiences at Cornell University to designing a coffee shop in New York City with Colombian architects, our discussion traverses the intersections of culture, architecture, and womanhood. Whether you're an architecture enthusiast or someone intrigued by personal narratives of struggle, triumph, and identity, this episode promises a heartfelt journey through the eyes of one of Iran's pioneering architectural minds. Tune in to witness how Gisue's unique upbringing influenced her path and her passion for creating more inclusive spaces in architecture.
Related Links:
Gisue Hariri on Instagram
Website of Hariri and Hariri Architecture
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Learn Persian with Chaiang Conversation. |
| 0:02.4 | Growing up Ironi interview with Gisu Hariri. Hello and welcome to growing up |
| 0:28.1 | Irini, an interview with Gisu Hadidi of the incredible New York City-based architecture |
| 0:33.4 | firm, Hadidi and Hadidi, which she co-founded with her sister Morghan Hadidi in 1986. |
| 0:40.9 | My name is Leila Shams, and I'm your host today. I actually studied architecture at the |
| 0:45.7 | University of Texas at Austin and got my professional degree, a bachelor in architecture, back in |
| 0:51.1 | 2006. When I was a student at the university, I learned about Hadidi and Hadidi. |
| 0:56.9 | Architecture is a very male-dominated field, and at the time, they'd made a huge name for themselves |
| 1:02.0 | with their innovative and eye-catching designs. And finding out that they were too Iranian woman |
| 1:07.0 | was mind-blowing to me. So anytime I'd visit New York City, I would visit a coffee shop |
| 1:12.4 | they'd designed, the Juan Valdez flagship coffee shop, and I was so enamored by that design. |
| 1:18.5 | This past summer, I decided to move to the city for a few months and escape the Texas heat with my |
| 1:23.5 | family. So the first person I contacted when I decided to this was Gisuhari. I asked if she'd been |
| 1:29.9 | open to an interview with me about her upbringing, how she and her sister developed the confidence |
| 1:34.9 | to start an architecture firm, and much more. She graciously agreed and invited me to her beautiful |
| 1:41.0 | New York City home for some chai and conversation. I'm so excited to share that |
| 1:45.7 | conversation with you today. I hope you enjoy. Gisu Haridi, thank you so much for talking with me today. |
| 1:52.0 | Thank you. It's a pleasure to see you and have you in New York. Yes, same. So I was telling me this is my |
| 1:58.0 | second in-person interview, so I'm very excited. And we've been talking a little bit before this. It's switching back and forth between Farsi and English, but now we'll just do English so that our audience can understand. So it's so exciting to be here today. That's perfect. The only thing is I won't guarantee I still don't switch between English and first. That's okay. But I've been a fan of your work for a really |
| 2:19.2 | long time. I think I told you in my email. When I used to visit as a student, I would look up the |
| 2:23.8 | coffee shop that you and your sister had made and I would always go to that coffee shop. |
| 2:27.9 | That is so amazing. That coffee shop was made a long time ago. But what was fantastic was that we worked with the coffee growers of Columbia, and this was their |
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