They say when the heart wants something, you will stop at nothing in your pursuit to achieve exactly that, even if it takes difficult decisions at a later age of your life.
Such is the story of Christelle Muhimpundu, who today is one of the outstanding interior designers in Rwanda and beyond, in a journey that has taken her from Burundi, where she was born, to the U.S where she studied and worked before returning home to Rwanda, to pursue what is turning out to be an impressive career in interior design.
She is a senior designer with MASS Design Group, one of the leading engineering and architectural design firms with operations in Africa and North America, where she has been able to work on mega projects, including the Rwanda Institute of Conservation Agriculture (RICA), the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) Office Expansion, the African Leadership University (ALU), Butaro Oncology Support, among others.
Born and raised in Burundi, upon completing her secondary education she moved to the U.S in 2001 where she pursued her higher education, including her bachelorette and master’s degrees and later work.
Her undergraduate studies were in business administration although interior design is the profession she ultimately ventured into, after nearly a decade working in the hospitality industry.
Little did she know that her venturing into hospitality would actually trigger her passion for architecture and design, which she harboured from childhood. Had she continued in hospitality, she probably would equally be very far, having already attained senior roles by the time she switched from the trade.
"I actually knew that there was something that I always wanted to do, which was architecture. That&039;s when I switched paths at that point and decided to go for design school,” Muhimpundu recalls.
She joined the New York School of Interior Design in 2015, where she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Interior Design. It is something she had always wanted to do.
"When I was young, I did want to be an architect. I actually came across architecture back at home. I was introduced to architecture through a home in the neighbourhood that was being designed and built by an architect. This home was very different,” she recalls.
A high school student at the time, she didn’t know what architecture was, but the house which was being built in their neighbourhood triggered her curiosity.
"Once they finished the housing unit and I saw what it was, it was very different from everything else that I had seen, anywhere. The way it was designed, the thought behind it, the spaces and how they were arranged.”
"The interior was very different and it was super attractive to me. I was already into art, drawing a little bit, but without much information about it. So, then I decided I will do architecture,” she narrates.
As she figured out how to join architecture, she learnt that it was a male-dominated field which was hard to get into, but that did not deter her, even after enrolling for a different course at university.
"The passion was there,” she says, noting that traveling outside the continent helped her to see the world differently and eventually she decided to do her last degree in something she had always wanted.
"I had to decide it was an opportunity for me to pursue something that I was passionate about instead of staying in the same field that I was in. At the same time, I learnt about interior design along the way,” she adds.
The more Muhimpundu learned about interior design as an aspect of architecture, the more she fell in love with it and found it more attractive than general architecture, because it goes beyond just the structure.
"Interior design is not just about decoration. I found that it&039;s space planning, it's deciding what material goes into the space, you decide how space is being arranged, the material that goes on the floor, on the ceiling, on the walls, how the lighting is going to be to the space,” she says.
There are many things that go into interior design, which many people might not pay attention to, including deciding on the furniture, how the people using that space will feel about the design, whether they will be comfortable or not.
It's all about the small aspects that make a home feel homely or an office a conducive work place as well as the creativity that comes with that.
"That is what made me decide to go into interior design. I felt like it takes space to the next level,” she says.
Her career involves turning empty spaces or shells into beautiful and cosy environments that align with the taste and requirements of the client.
On a typical project, Muhimpundu works with the client to identify their needs, draw concepts, come up with the material needed, and put together budgets. She then works closely with contractors and artisans to get to the actual work of transforming spaces.
Having worked in the hospitality sector, where hotels and other facilities pay attention to detail, Muhimpundu had the know-how to know what design suits what, based on the purpose each facility serves. For instance, a hospital ceiling or floor might not look like those of a hotel.
Coming back home
Having acquired the skills she needed, Muhimpundu made a decision to return home and join the Model of Architecture Serving Society (MASS) in 2017, first as an intern. She was later hired in 2018 after she completed her Master’s degree in the U.S.
"I joined MASS because of how they work. It's not about what building they design and construct, it's not about the beauty only. It's about being involved,” Muhimpundu says.
MASS believes that architecture has a critical role to play in supporting communities to confront history, shape new narratives, collectively heal and project new possibilities for the future.
"They believe that design can bring positive change for the local and the global community. Design is not just making a space beautiful. It's seeing how it's going to impact the people who are using the space,” Muhimpundu says.
A good example she gives is being in a space that is not well lit or well ventilated, the impact it can have on the people living or working in that space.
"A good example will be hospitals. If a hospital is not well ventilated, we all know that natural ventilation is important for a good airflow and can help avoid contamination within the hallways of hospitals,” Muhimpundu says.
The other important factor that made her join MASS is that they use local material, local fabrication and local craftsmen to design and bring life to structures, which empowers local artisans, especially women.
Muhimpundu says working with local artisans, especially women, to come up with the materials for which they get paid, transforms their lives economically. This, she says, is something that makes her proud.
"Over the last five years, we have been working with 85 plus Artisans and manufacturers in Rwanda, to produce over 15,000 pieces of furniture, over different projects,” she says.
"Most of the people we've been working with are women and I think it was one of the things that, again, attracted me to come back home to Rwanda and to work with MASS,” she adds.
The projects and the challenges
At the beginning, she worked on small projects before taking on the big ones. She notes that it hasn’t been a journey without challenges. As a designer, she spends a lot of time in the studio, working on plans and designs.
That can come at the expense of her personal time and that of her family, as a young working mum.
"It's a very demanding job because we have deadlines and sometimes you find yourself working late,” she says, adding that she is learning how to cope with it all and balance it.
The other challenge is with local fabricators and artisans who require ample training to understand the demands.
"This is just the beginning. I'm still learning. I have one child. It's not easy. It's a learning journey,” she says, giving an example that sometimes there are sites out of the capital Kigali where she has to travel with her child, which is sometimes not easy.
Thankfully, her employer, MASS, supports remote work, letting her stay close to family while staying productive.
Convincing local fabricators and basket weavers that they can produce high quality products and furniture was an uphill task but today, they have been able to win minds and hearts, and now, they produce for the high-end market.
To young girls looking to follow in her footsteps, Muhimpundu says they need to do research and understand what interior design is and what they really want to do, what they are passionate about.
She says that as long as you want to pursue something you are passionate about, age doesn’t even matter, because one can switch careers at whatever age, just as she did.