About

I’m a licensed Architect in California developing my career at local Architecture Firm.  I specialize in Commercial and Residential projects.  

I enjoy learning about design and am constantly trying to improve. However, I’m human and enjoy sleeping and just lounging around as well.  I am also a nail technician, though I don’t currently practice in a salon.

I have always found buildings interesting, especially residences.  They have always intrigued me as I wondered about how much thought and work goes into coordinating the location of a bedroom window or the extra closet space under the stairs.  During Jr. High, my mom bought me a home design program that I used to create iterations of my dream home (unfortunately the financing of this home was never fully developed).  In high school, once I had narrowed down my list of possible college majors (Architecture vs. Architectural Engineering), I decided to look for a job in an architecture firm. I had concluded at that point that Architecture was something I wanted to pursue, or at least learn more about.  Getting that job exposed me to the working world of architecture: I saw how proposals were compiled, portfolios were organized, and how meetings with clients were conducted. I saw the practical, every-day part of architecture and I actually enjoyed it.

At this point, I was torn between deciding which major to pursue and applied to schools with both Architecture and Architectural Engineering degrees thinking I could switch later if I didn’t like my chosen field. I had always been good at math, hated art, and was never very imaginative. I thought I’d end up in an engineering discipline, but ended up doing something different. In 2007, I was accepted to Cal Poly and started my Architecture career. Architecture school was challenging and often left me wondering if this was something that I really wanted to do. I felt that I was not very good at design, but wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. Looking back, I have grown tremendously and have learned skills I’d never previously considered learning.

Since graduating in 2012, I took a break from Architecture to pursue my other passion: nails. I worked at a salon for about 9 months before deciding to finally return to Architecture. I’ve been with my current firm for two and a half years now. It is a love/hate relationship. We work on a variety of projects and most days are busy. I do find some tasks mundane and those days drag on, but most days involve complex problem solving and fly by. I ultimately enjoy what I am doing, but still need to find my place, my passion, within architecture.

I chose to develop this site to:

• Share what is going on in my life and things I find interesting.
• Share my thoughts about architecture, design, and my role in this industry
• Create an online portfolio
• Offer freelance design services to broaden my experience and to build my portfolio
• Learn about website development

I am always interested in opportunities to learn and enhance my portfolio. If you are interested in working together, please review my resume and portfolio. Then contact me if you believe I can help you!

I welcome all comments, suggestions and thoughts. Please send an email to cordelia@cordeliaraymond.com or leave your thoughts as a comment on the site.