Sofia Gutierrez

About Sofia Gutierrez

Sofia Gutierrez (they/them) is the Founder and Executive Director of Futures in Public Space, a participatory design studio in Syracuse, NY. Sofia is an architectural designer pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture at SUNY ESF, holding a Bachelor of Architecture & a minor in Political Science from Syracuse University. They lead zine workshops, host community events, and design aesthetically interesting media. As a McNair Scholar (2022-24), and SOURCE Fellow (2023-24), they received the McNair Reinventing Scholarship Award for their research project “Futures in Public Space: El Carrito” with SOURCE & Directed Research Faculty Advisor Edgar Rodriguez. They are passionate about fostering community and promoting diverse perspectives in the arts. They work in a variety of mediums, including tattoo, muralism, fine arts, sculpture, digital design, architectural modeling, wood construction, and more. During their time at SU, they served as a Syracuse Architecture Peer Advisor and long-time Executive Board member for the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (Syracuse Chapter). They worked to create a space for students to voice their concerns and ideas to the student body, faculty, and administration. They recently worked as the Community Engagement & DEIA Art Fellow at CNY Arts managing a grant for Onondaga County, created the Syracuse Art Trail, and are working to bring DEIA education to their arts & culture community. Sofia offers a fresh and innovative design perspective as well as an aptitude for socio-spatial relations and vernacular architectural aesthetics. As an architecture student, they cultivated design skills through architectural design classes, including: architectural design studios (10 semesters), arch theory (6 semesters), arch history (10 semesters), structures and building systems (5 semesters), Professional Practice (1 semester). They have extensive knowledge in hand-drafting, as well as using computer programs such as Revit 20••••20, Rhino 6/7, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD and Chief Architect. Through their work in the field of architecture, they look forward to gaining further knowledge and experience through hands-on architectural planning, urban planning, and community-centered design. As a future urban planner, arts administrator, and artist, they hope to reinvent public space use, support culturally-sensitive design, and promote access to the arts in low-income communities of color.

Experience

1. Alumni Advisor

   Syracuse Nomas

   Oct 2024 — Present · Syracuse, NY, US

Education

• State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

  Master's degree, Landscape Architecture

• School of Architecture at Syracuse University

  Bachelor's of Architecture, Architecture

  2019 — 2024

• Moorestown High School

  High School Diploma

  2015 — 2019