Building Communities by Building Buildings
Contacts: 021 1125 087 Camia@ohu.nz
Bio
I am a Social Intrepreneur; my work brings together projects that bridge the entrepreneurial world and local government. I am passionate about building 21st Century cities. Since moving to Christchurch I have been involved in several community minded initiatives including Ohu (Office for Holistic Urbanism), XCHC (Exchange Christchurch), Te Pūtahi: Christchurch Centre for Architecture and City Making, the Gap Filler Pallet Pavilion, and Studio Christchurch. Before moving to New Zealand, I practiced as an Architect in Europe with Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Holland and Herzog & de Meuron in Switzerland. While there I worked on a number of large scale civic projects and urban master plans. Today I serve as a trustee on several boards, I am the Director of both Ohu Development and XCHC, and I work for Development Christchurch, the Christchurch City Council’s urban development agency.
A superbly trained American architect could live anywhere in the world. She chose Christchurch. WILL HARVIE explains why.
Camia Young remembers the day she decided to make Christchurch her home. It was August 30, 2011, her 37th birthday and she was out for dinner with new friends. She'd been in Christchurch for only a couple of weeks, here to see the place six months after the February quake. It was "unbelievably depressing, the [damaged] buildings and the red zone. I was overwhelmed," says the American-born architect.
She'd recently resigned from one of the top global architecture firms, where she worked on some of the highest-profile commissions on the planet and was looking for somewhere to start again.