Here’s how 3 real estate industry women are adapting to COVID-19

Alina Taber is a freelance journalist and architectural preservationist based in Chicago.

In the wake of the frightening reality that is the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a quick transition in normal operations within architecture and real estate industries. What once was a friendly meeting over a cappuccino and a Niçoise salad has now become a Zoom meeting, an Instagram story, or a long chain of emails. Despite these quickly-shifting circumstances, young women within the industry have found positive ways to adapt and overcome.

Michelle McSweeney and Shirin Reklaoui, founders of the newly born architecture and design firm Cocowa Studio (started in June of 2019), are utilizing their time in isolation to concentrate on the collaborative developments of their business. The name Cocowa, expresses both the cultural heritage of Michelle and Shirin (IoWAn and MorocCOan), as well as their admiration for community, collaboration, and coworking. The name, however, is only an introduction into the unique philosophies they are hoping to project into the architecture and design industry in Chicago.

Michelle and Shirin have had to innovate to carve out space for themselves and their new firm within a heavily male-dominated industry. Their journey started together at Booth Hansen, where from neighboring desks, they bounced around ideas of recasting the older narratives of architecture and design to ones more environmentally efficient and equitable for their clients. During their time at Booth Hansen, they quickly became aware of the compounded challenges that young, female architects face when breaking into the industry.

“The hardest thing with that is that if you don’t show up right at the gate, and are one of the smartest, hardest working people at the table from the very first meeting, you can very quickly be lost under the camaraderie of the men as they start to link up,” McSweeney said. “It’s just a balance of rechecking yourself and making sure you’re participating equally and being understood equally.”

The pair spent considerable time devising the principles on which their new firm would be based. Their experiences at Booth Hansen encouraged them to re-imagine the more classical definitions of architectural business, and create their own opportunities.

The challenge they now face however is much different. In the wake of COVID-19 and the need for self isolation, they are learning how to become more resourceful in regards to developing a new business. A heavy reliance on face-to-face interaction (as defined in many of the “co”-words they stand by) is indefinitely restricted.

“That kind of communication is so vital at the beginning of the business because you are spreading the word. Now that we are in quarantine, the question is ‘how do you do that?’” Reklaoui said.

Quick-witted and adaptive, Shirin and Michelle have shifted their focus to the encouraging; what they can learn from this period of isolation.

Their firm is now in the self-described “gritty” stage of business, which has offered Reklaoui and McSweeney a surprising amount of flexibility in this uncertain time. Relying on their home offices and online resources rather than co-working spaces, Reklaoui and McSweeney are taking the knowledge they are acquiring during this new experience to expand upon their hopes for Cocowa’s future office culture.

“Because our industry is highly collaborative, sometimes you don’t get time to think.” Reklaoui said. “You are just on the go. It would be great if after this happens, firms and offices adopt a better work from home policy that allows people to tap into their creativity a little more and have some of the quiet space that doesn’t seem to exist in our industry that much… There is value in working remotely… it allows people to have a bit of individual expression.”

Reklaoui and McSweeney said that they are hoping to define their philosophy through this period on quality of life and work, and the quality of their nascent firm. In a way, this is preparation for their future team and those with whom they hope to develop relationships. Time to think, time to collaborate, to slow down and design a superior, holistic experience for office design and spatial practices. With their experience of the challenges within the industry of being young women under their belts, they are now creating an adaptive work environment that provides an equitable experience for all- employees, clients, and partners.

McSweeney believes that after this period, there is no going back to the way things once were.

“Now we are going to start seeing these things embed and grow and evolve,” she said. As we start to permanently respond to the changes we are making now, I’m really excited to see the changes that will be made to business culture.”

In this sense, McSweeney and Reklaoui are hoping to build upon the transformation of the Chicago architecture and design world into one that is intensely collaborative, bright, and thriving; instead of forgoing quality for the sake of a deadline.

Valerie Sancrainte, a five-year licensed broker now working for Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, is also hopeful for the potential changes to come out of this chaos.

“Right now the level of patience and understanding that is being shown between brokers while we are navigating these types of circumstances for our clients has been really refreshing. I hope that we can continue that path and that behavior into the future.”

Although the life of a realtor and an architect can be quite different on a fundamental level, both professions share a similar elemental feature; the necessity of collaboration which sits at the heart of each industry.

The industry of creating spaces in Chicago, thankfully, has long been collaborative and connected.

“I think Chicago is fantastic. It’s a huge city, but it can also be a small town. Chicago has been amazing for me.” Sancrainte said. “There have always been a lot of resources available for me, which has been so helpful. I also have mentors within the industry at all stages of their careers. Each one of them has been invaluable. I don’t think there is another city in the world that I would want to be a realtor.”

This sparks hope for the future in the aftermath of all of this chaos. Chicago, inherently collaborative and unwaveringly Midwestern is the perfect place to be right now. The real estate and architecture industries within Chicago thrive on human connection, which this frightening period has only solidified. These young women provide not only an enthusiastic outlook for the future, but the drive for quality and collaboration that is desperately desired.

The shared experience of COVID-19 and what lies ahead in the aftermath is reassuring, especially in the eyes of these women who have already faced a number of challenges. The value of collaboration and interaction has already cemented itself amidst this crisis as the fundamental touchstone of which this community relishes; and we are only four weeks into a shelter in place of an indeterminate duration.

“Every person that we work with is another link into this web of Chicago, this community that only gets thicker and richer.” McSweeney said. “At the end of my career, when I look at that spider web of people, which is thick and it is rich and it is intelligent and exciting, I want to have a positive, amazing feeling about that spider web.”

Here’s how 3 real estate industry women are adapting to COVID-19 was originally published in Chicago Cityscape on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.