Wellness is a key concept in Erika Sicam’s designs. She thinks buildings should help people perform their best in a healthy way. She strives to use space and materials to engage people psychologically in order to create a vital, energetic environment.

“Design should encourage action and interaction,” she says. “It should encourage community creation within any space, and a sense of belonging.”

Erika had a decision to make coming out of college: Voice or Architecture. Spoiler alert: she chose architecture. For her thesis, Erika melded her two loves by designing an opera house in Hawaii that addressed the needs of the opera singers and the orchestra. She explains, “I had musical performance anxiety backstage as a singer. As a designer, I wanted to help the performers combat their own anxieties and help them be confident when they perform.”

She has found that her performance experience translates to her chosen career: “When you perform, it’s not about you. It’s about the audience you perform for. In architecture, it’s about the end user and giving to the community.”