Interview by Lacey Howard, Senior Content Editor

Tamara White
Global Trends: Who in the field of architecture (or any field for that matter) inspires you and why?
Tamara White: I come back to Charles and Ray Eames over and over for inspiration. They sustained a continued exploration and study of creation and design. From objects to buildings, they covered incredible ground and made great design accessible to all. No one quite compares to these two.
GT: What is the first room or building you remember falling in love with?
TW: When I was very young I went on a trip with my father to the newly built Yulara Resort at Uluru, Australia. I was struck by the relationship between the buildings and the landscape that surrounded it. This was the first time I became aware of how a space could influence an experience and create a connection—in this case to the surrounding environment.
GT: Did this space or building influence your career choice?
TW: Absolutely. It also influenced my desire to experience different places and cultures and has led me to have lived and worked in three countries!

Woods Bagot Studio, Sydney, Australia
GT: Do you have a signature design element that you find yourself using time and again?
TW: I wouldn’t say that I have a signature visual element. Part of the great thing about each project is that you get to work with really different clients and respond to each of them individually, creating something new and unique.
"I believe that the best design outcomes are the result a highly collaborative approach." —Tamara White
GT: Tell me about your personal design philosophy.
TW: I believe that the best design outcomes are the result a highly collaborative approach, so my personal design philosophy really revolves around getting people together and working through design challenges as a team. It’s with this approach that we can really start to see our clients’ needs from a variety of perspectives. One person might add something that someone else would never have thought of. There is a great deal of value added with this approach, and I think it’s the best way to translate and realizes our clients’ vision into a great outcome.

Woods Bagot Studio, Sydney, Australia
These next 10 questions originally came from a French series, "Bouillon de Culture" hosted by Bernard Pivot. They are better known as the questions that James Lipton asks every guest at the end of "Inside the Actor's Studio.” We have tweaked them just a bit to be relevant to architecture.
GT: What is your favorite architectural word?
Cantilever and proportion
GT: What is your least favorite architectural word?
TW: That would be when we, as designers and architects, fall into “archi-speak,” using unnecessary jargon that overcomplicates what we are trying to communicate and befuddle our audience.
GT: What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally about architecture?
TW: I love traveling and experiencing different places through the architecture, people, culture, and history. There is an unbelievable amount of diversity in the world, and it’s incredible to see how this is expressed in different cultures and geographies. When you think about the amazing villages in Morocco and the palaces in St. Petersburg and the Taj Mahal in India, the differences are astounding, and inspirational.
GT: What turns you off?
TW: Harsh, non-welcoming, non-human edifices to an individual’s ego.
"I love traveling and experiencing different places through the architecture, people, culture, and history." —Tamara White
GT: What is your favorite curse word when on a project?
TW: Do you really want me to answer that? I’ll remind you I’m Australian.
GT: What sound or noise when a client visits a project do you love?
TW: It’s the excitement in their voice when the project is just completed, and they see the finsihed space for the first time.
GT: What sound or noise when a client visits a project do you hate?
TW: It’s a long awkward silence when you know that something is wrong.

Woods Bagot Studio, Sydney, Australia
GT: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
TW: If I wasn’t a designer, I would love to be a travel writer.
GT: What profession would you not like to do?
TW: I definitely couldn’t have a profession that was highly repetitive and mundane or anything that kept me at a desk 24/7.
GT: If Heaven exists, what style of room would you like God to escort you to when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
TW: It would be a Balinese pavilion, open, crafted, comfy and integrated with the landscape with vistas out to the ocean one way and the mountains the other.