Interview with Designer Goil Amornvivat '88

What are you doing right now?

After I left Robert AM Stern Architects to start my design firm, TUG, I appeared on Bravo network’s show, "Top Design". In addition to further developing my design practice in New York, I was on TLC’s "Trading Spaces". At TUG, our work is composed of a wide variety of projects, from custom residential, corporate offices, and what we call “special projects”. We use the umbrella of “Constructed Environments” to describe our more normative and exotic works, for example, we designed the Japan Society’s Centennial Art Exhibit and very recently completed a set design for “Head Games!” produced by Whoopi Goldberg. I am on the faculty at Parsons, The New School for Design and I am a regular guest critic at Universities around the country. Every day is different, and I enjoy that.

Did you know you wanted to become a designer? Did your time at Eaglebrook influence your later career decisions?

Ask Rachel Blain, who was one of my fabulous floor advisers. I was [am still] one of those “overly –energetic” kids who just can’t seem to sit still. I also wasn’t good at many things… but thanks to the resources at EBS I had the chance to try everything once!

So no, I didn’t know I wanted to be a designer at a young age. When was at EBS I was also new to the country and didn’t speak much English. I had many other things to worry about… things that related to the near future like expressing what I wanted for lunch rather than a long-term goals and future profession.

I remember taking every art class because the teachers were nice, they looked at me as though they could see the adult I would one day become. I was able to make things to express words I hadn’t yet learned. I think it set me to the trajectory toward studying architecture. After graduating the top of my class with my Masters of Architecture from Yale in 2000, the first thing I did was to drive back to EBS and breathe in the air that gave me the inspiration.

Where are you heading with what you are doing now?

We’ll see. The exciting part is not knowing precisely. The journey I am on is fun, serious fun. Design has the ability to have an enormous impact on people’s lives and comes with a lot of responsibility. I am working to reach a larger audience, through working in and outside of traditional means, to create unique environments that have a positive impact on the future.

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