Madi Goodrich on interior design’s role in architecture

Some people fell into the real estate and construction industry. Madi Goodrich was born into it.

Her father’s family is one steeped in the industry. Goodrich’s aunt designed the family home and her dad built it. When it was time to move, her uncle designed the next house.

“I’ve, from a very young age, been tied to the industry,” Goodrich said.

Goodrich continued her family’s work in her own way, taking on a career in interior design, first working as an in-house designer for a development firm and later joining DJR Architecture, where she became the director of interior design, a title she maintains, though she was promoted in January to principal.

This last week, Goodrich sat down with Finance & Commerce to discuss her recent promotion, the intersection of interior design and architecture, and talks through some of her favorite recent projects.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: I was hoping that you could fill me in on how you found yourself in the interior design space in the first place?

A: I’ll give you kind of where it started. Within my family, my dad’s side of the family is primarily all architects.

It’s honestly really been in my blood from the beginning. I would say one thing that’s really influenced my career today is I kind of always had a seat at the table with the architects in my family. Within our industry, there can tend to be a little bit of a hierarchy between interiors and architecture and that kind of didn’t exist in my realm. I always had a voice and insight they were interested in hearing, and that, I would say, directly affected my vision, my confidence in our industry. So, from the very beginning, I kind of knew where I was headed.

Q: What is the role of an interior designer at an architecture firm, and how does that differ from what we might typically expect from someone who’s just an architect:

A: The focus on the interior space is really coming from a different lens. It’s got a human scale that sort of influences all of its design and moves. I will say that the interior design ranges by firm and by region as far as what they produce and what they contribute. I’ll speak for myself and my team. I have always viewed our work as a little bit more like interior architecture. It’s really the built environment of the interior space. It’s not just providing finishes, it’s really providing the bones and the framework for how we move through spaces.

Within my team, because of my background, I have pursued hires that have an interior design background as well as an architecture background. I feel that many firms speak about this holistic connection and kind of bond together, and that doesn’t always come to life in practice as much as we want it to. I wanted to put in some foundational bones for how our team is backed by our expertise and knowledge in building out these spaces. And then further the connection with the exterior architecture of a building. That’s kind of a wide lens on it.

Obviously, when we’re working with developers specifically around multifamily housing, we’re strategizing from a business standpoint. What’s our competition look like here? What is the demographic, and then what is the design essence and vibe that is going to be successful? It’s coming kind of a little bit more from a business lens at first, and then tying into the human scale, who’s going to live here? How do we compassionately design so that this is a place that people are proud to call home?

Q: You recently became principal. I’m curious, how has your role changed since gaining this new position?

A: I love the culture at DJR. I love the environment. I think there’s a lot of magic that’s happening here, and in that, there’s a lot of growth and change that I see to be positive for the future of DJR.

I have been kind of influencing and prompting growth in different areas, really from the beginning, but at first I was utilizing my team as sort of that example. You know, “let’s reformat how we do this.” I will do a rollout and kind of experience that with my team. Find the success, find areas of improvement. And architecture was quick to step on board and see the value that I was bringing to our business and to our team, and they’ve always really believed in me and seen value in my lens on things, I sort of have had been operating in that mindset and in that role for a bit.

Then in my mind, I thought, “Well, it’s not going to be much different, like, let’s add the title.” And I was a bit shocked by that once I stepped in, there’s been a whole lot more than I’ve been immersed in, exposed to, and had a much larger impact in influencing, you know, all the way from business development to internal staffing, operations, finances and kind of the future of the firm. What are we pursuing? How are we doing that? Where are the areas that we want to specialize in? Kind of a real 360-impact.

Q: I’m sure that the number of projects you’ve had over your career is large. Is there anything that, when you think back and reflect, stands out to you as something you’re particularly proud of?

A: I’m always taking the most pride in the next project that’s starting and pouring into that. I would say, we’ve recently completed (The Nine at Lexington Station in St. Paul). That was a project we’d come alongside our developer and have been working on for about five years. Those who are focusing on the multifamily housing realm know that these projects can turn quite quickly. Usually, we’re in a year, two-year window. A long endeavor on this project, and it’s just been really fulfilling to see it all come to life and find the success that it deserves. I think that’s a really exciting project, more local to Minnesota.

I will say that the majority of the projects that (DJR Interiors has) underway this year are out of state. We have a lot of out-of-state work. We’re seeing a lot of student housing, a lot of affordable (housing) so we’ve got some really compelling and exciting projects out of state. I think those are always unique design challenges to step into a space that we don’t live in. We don’t have that insight and really kind of take a deep dive in research but also know that our lens being different is kind of a superpower in those projects.

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