We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Isabelle Alice Jolicoeur a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Isabelle Alice, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Me and my business partner have decided in 2018 (a year after opening our business) to earn our living only from creative work and not building work. It was a huge decision for us in the socio-economic context in Haiti. Architects in Haiti frequently build themselves their project in order to be profitable and control all aspects of the project. However we felt that we were not serving our clients as best as possible, and making interesting projects and spaces with this traditional way of practicing. It was especially hard not having any role models to look to when we had questions and doubts. I personally took from my experience working in Canada in order for us to put in place protocols and systems to make the work efficient but still enjoyable.

It was not easy. Starting 2018, Haiti has experienced unprecedented political and social instability, making it very hard for people in general to earn a living, and especially creatives whose job are not considered as essential as others. And so we had to navigate working from home for large periods of time, coordinating projects through Zoom, not being able to go on-site for particular projects in problematic neighborhoods, and so on.

I don’t think I would have changed one thing in the major steps and milestones we experienced as a firm. I think that part of what makes me still going is that belief that the Haitian landscapes and people deserve beautiful, just and liberated spaces to evolve in. I think it’s something that is worth to fight for. And even though the obstacles we had to overcome and the deceptions we experienced (even within the architectural community) probably shaped us and impacted us, our desire to make a change is still there, and that, tells us that our hears are still in the right place.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am an associate architect from my own firm based in Haiti. I studied architecture in Montreal and came back to Haiti in 2017 to start Ateliers Co-Lab with my business partner Christine Laraque. We set out to open an architecture firm whose strenght would be collaboration, transparency and ideas! A lot of concepts that often times are dismissed in our field and in the male-dominated context we evolve in.

I think what sets us part is our sincere desire to create spaces that make an impact on people lives, disregarding sometimes our own interest or profit. We are definitely dreamers and eternal optimists looking out for our clients and trying to make the best out of challenging situations.

I am most proud of being able to say that Ateliers Co-Lab is still standing up after 5 years of hardship and challenges by designing only, and not building. That means that our work of advocating for the importance of architecture in the making of a more just, fair and beautiful landscape is reaching more and more people. More clients come to us already convinced of the added-value of architecture and what it means to slow down and think spaces, instead of rushing in and building right away. It is a long process of communication but hopefully it will bear fruit for generations to come!

I am also proud to see how spaces we created impacted peoples lives, students I taught to (at the University where I teach a studio class to second year) thriving and evolving in the field.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Clients often times are puzzled by how creatives charge for their services. When starting our business, it proved very hard for ourselves to put a price on what we were doing, because we had that desire for fairness and transparency. Architetcure is one of these fields where you only understand the architect’s role and importance in the project once they are absent. Otherwise, if nothing goes wrong, it usually means the architect is doing their job well. Ans so it has been a challenge to prove to clients the added-value of paying a creative upfront before even the slightest of brick or block has been lifted. This is where we try to show the impact of our work rather than the product we deliver (plans, sections, etc..). It also helps to have past projects to show to clients in order to convince them, but it can prove a challenge when you are first starting!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative, for me, is to see your work finally being used and being appropriated by the users. Sometimes there are surprises like maybe I didn’t place that space would be used that specific way. It is also very bittersweet, because the project is no longer yours but someone else’s.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.atelierscolab.com
• Instagram: atelierscolab

Image Credits
Ateliers Co-Lab