My Story
In 2019 I moved to Germany for a year and got my time back. Let me explain. Growing up my life felt defined by long commutes to and from school, then internships, then work. Hours of my time that just disappeared in frustration staring at someone else just like me’s bumper. But in Germany I had no car. I could walk to get eggs, I went to dance classes in my free time and met friends at the bar down the street. I had gotten my time back. That’s when I understood that cities shape the conditions for how we live our lives and where we spend our time. That realization changed the trajectory of my career. It is why Studio Leonardo exists today.
After graduating from architecture school in 2020, I spent a year working in construction project management before making the leap and moving to Spain in 2022. Career-wise, my back was up against a wall. I couldn’t practice as an architect until I certified my degree abroad and my urban planning vocabulary in Spanish was limited at the time.
So I turned my love for explaining cities to the internet. Little did I know at the time, I would be stepping into the world of digital marketing. That led me to I worked part-time with Gary Vaynerchuk’s team, helping expand his international reach across 6 languages. That experience sharpened my content skills, eventually landing me a full-time role with Strong Towns as their Video Producer. There I helped grow the org’s instagram following from 50k -> 120k collectively earning over 10 million views across platforms. It was exciting, meaningful work, but something was still missing.
The most valuable asset we have in our life is time. Cities can be beautiful, financially resilient, environmentally friendly and all of this would be a big win fro urban planning and for you, the user of that space. But if can help us get our time back, to spend it on the people and activities that bring us the most joy in life, that is a next level win.
Studio Leonardo is my attempt to explore what that looks like by walking through real places, talking to locals and figuring out, together, what it would take for a city to give its residents their time back through design.
cracks knuckles
Lets get to work!