Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Vrazel.
Hi Jennifer, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
When I was a kid, one of my favorite toys was Etch-A-Sketch. And I remember that I would draw these elaborate building sections through a multi-story house (although I didn’t know what a “building section” was at the time). One level would be the living room, next level would be the kitchen, next level would be the bedroom/bathroom and so on. I was always interested in art and loved drawing and painting, and when I told my parents that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up, my mom jokingly said, “no, they don’t make money. Be something like an architect instead!” So, by the end of high school, I was determined to pursue architecture, attended and graduated from the architecture program at UT Austin, and hit the ground running.
I started working for Robert Steinbomer (Steinbomer & Associates, Architects) back in 1999, a couple years after graduation. In 2011, I became a partner/principal and have been here ever since, through a couple name changes and location changes. We are now Studio Steinbomer Architecture and Interiors, officing in a new building we designed on Medical Parkway. And having a mighty good time!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
HA! I think that most architects will agree that our profession is one of feast and famine. We weathered the housing/bank crisis in 2008, the pandemic in 2020, and this subsequent, current downturn that no one wants to say is a recession. Thankfully, through those lows, Austin was not hit nearly as hard as many other cities throughout Texas and the rest of the nation. It was still challenging, but could have been a lot worse.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Studio Steinbomer Architecture and Interiors?
Our firm was founded in 1990 by Robert Steinbomer, and I joined as a “baby” intern back in 1999. At the time, the firm focus was mostly high-end residential, but Robert’s philosophy was that of diversity. We started doing more commercial work ranging from institutional to medical to preservation. That slowly evolved into adaptive reuse – most notably, we converted the first Walmart in Texas (in Lockhart, specifically) to a new justice center for Caldwell County, then shortly thereafter, we converted an abandoned Albertson’s grocery store into the New Braunfels City Hall.
Robert was also active in the film community, and we worked closely with Austin Film Society to convert defunct aircraft hangers into film stages. That evolved into numerous other projects centering around film and television production, and most recently, we designed the new home for Austin PBS at the ACC Highland Campus.
Austin has a prolific and lively architecture and interior design scene, and competition can be tight! One of the things that sets us apart is that we don’t have a signature style. You might think that wouldn’t set us apart, but it’s the result of us catering to our client’s vision, goals, and needs. We’re adept at tailoring our designs to “what the building wants to be.” Sometimes that’s more traditional, or modern, or contemporary, but it’s always a reflection of the client’s desires.
We also pride ourselves on being excellent team players. Working with an architect is a short-term marriage – we tend to get up close and personal, especially with residential clients, to tailor designs to the way they live their lives and move through their days. And we always encourage them to engage a preferred contractor early – really early – in the design process. Like, when we are creating the initial design schemes. We love working as a team with the contractor to provide the best possible product for the client, one that is excellently designed and expertly crafted (and all within budget and schedule!).
Most recently, we have integrated an interior design team within our architecture practice. I received my interior design license several years ago, but after seeing our talented interior designers do their thing, I don’t even like to call myself an interior designer! They are pretty brilliant, and we strive to present both architectural and interior design services as a necessary joint offering. Truly, it’s difficult to have one without the other for most projects, and the result is always cohesive and elevated.
How do you think about luck?
Good question! I’m not sure if it’s luck, but timing certainly has everything to do with success or the lack thereof. For example, when the pandemic hit us back in March of 2020, we might have been dead in the water. What saved us was that a few months prior, we made the move from desktop computers to laptop computers. We purchased and started using more shareware software, understanding that remote work could be a possibility in the future. We had no idea how close that future was! We also had a large and significant project in the office at that time that kept us crazy-busy, to the point that we had a waiting list to start new projects. Had these things not been in place, our story would have had a very different trajectory, and quite possibly had ended. We considered ourselves really fortunate, and we didn’t take it for granted.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.steinbomer.com
Image Credits
Alejandra Gutierrez
