{"id":381201,"date":"2026-04-08T10:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/381201\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T10:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:26:09","slug":"archinect-meets-abigail-happel-of-abby-architecture-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/381201\/","title":{"rendered":"Archinect Meets: Abigail Happel of Abby Architecture | Features"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Abigail\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Abigail Happel, architect and creator of Abby Architecture. Photo: Phelia Barouh.<\/p>\n

For today’s Archinect Meets<\/a>, we had the pleasure of chatting with Abigail Happel, better known to her vast online audience as Abby Architecture<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While studying architecture as an undergrad at NC State University<\/a>, Abby discovered that her TikTok videos about renderings and studio work were not only well-received but also quickly trending. So she continued posting also during her grad school years at UC Berkeley<\/a>, further building an audience with fun, informative, and authentic videos. Now, working as a Junior Architect at Goettsch Partners<\/a>‘ Chicago office, Abby keeps discovering new video topics for her combined Instagram and TikTok audience of nearly 300,000 followers.<\/p>\n

We asked her how she got into making videos, where to find her favorite ‘Corner Talk’ detail, and which ‘Sexy Library’ she will be touring next.<\/p>\n

How did you get into making social media videos?<\/p>\n

During the pandemic, I was deep in the TikTok hole while also in the middle of my architecture undergrad at NC State. At the beginning of 2021, I posted a TikTok with a few of my renderings, and the reaction was… not what I expected. Suddenly, people were asking me for advice, asking each other for advice in the comments \u2014 it kind of turned into this mini architecture forum overnight.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I realized that people were really just looking for an architecture community on the app. So I kept posting throughout school and honestly just never stopped.<\/p>\n

You also shared lots of videos from the architecture studio during your time at UC Berkeley. What was your main source of inspiration?<\/p>\n

When I first started posting on TikTok, there was little to no architecture content in short-form videos. So I didn\u2019t really have a reference; I was imagining on my own how architecture could enter this space, on an app that was mostly music and dancing.<\/p>\n

I focused on sharing my own work and my real experience in studio, but there was also a level of experimenting with how to translate something like architecture into a format that wasn\u2019t built for it. And honestly, I was looking at completely different corners of TikTok like geology, pottery, farming, and seeing how they were building communities. That made me think architecture could do the same thing; it just needed someone to push it there.<\/p>\n

As more architecture creators started showing up and I began posting on Instagram, where architecture content already has more of a presence, things started to shift. It felt less like I was carving out space, and more like I was part of something that was building momentum. That shift made my ideas sharper and my videos more intentional.<\/p>\n

Your Corner Talk videos, in which you analyze corner details of (mostly) historic buildings, are a popular recurring series. How do you select featured corners, and what’s your production process? Do you have a favorite corner?<\/p>\n

I love making my Corner Talk series, and I\u2019m honestly just lucky people like them, because this was going to happen either way. I can be on my way to work or the gym, and I\u2019ve already silently judged at least ten corners before I even get there. The only difference now is I\u2019ll pull out my camera for a second to document it so I can pick it apart on video later. The voiceovers are basically just what was already going through my head in real time.<\/p>\n

Most of the time, I just run into them in my day-to-day life or while traveling; I almost never go out of my way to find them. The one time I did was the Boston Public Library because I needed to unpack that in person. It was exactly as complicated and Tetris-like as I imagined, and it\u2019s definitely one of my favorites. But honestly, nothing beats a corner with a bad column or pilaster resolution. I kind of love having something to pick apart.<\/p>\n

We’re also enjoying your Sexy Libraries video tour series. What has been the most impressive library so far? Any exciting ones coming up soon?<\/p>\n

I have to say, the University of Zurich Law Library by Calatrava is one of the most amazing and sculptural pieces of modern architecture I\u2019ve seen. The way it interacts with the existing university building is really thoughtful; it doesn\u2019t try to compete with it but instead creates this really strong relationship between the old and new.<\/p>\n

The experience inside was also unlike anything I\u2019ve had before. There were hundreds of people working, but you couldn\u2019t really see or hear anyone beyond the people right near you. As a loud person, that was a little unsettling, but I did sit down for a bit just to take it in. I definitely need a louder environment to actually work, but the lighting in there was ambient and perfect. I\u2019ll be back in Europe a couple times this year, so I\u2019m excited to have a lot of new buildings to explore for the series.<\/p>\n

You share your videos on Instagram and TikTok. Do you notice any differences in responses between the two audiences, or do they mostly overlap?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s definitely a big difference between my TikTok and Instagram audiences. It\u2019s crazy how the same video can get very different types of interactions, and honestly, I still don\u2019t fully understand which platform something will take off on when I hit post.<\/p>\n

On TikTok, the community is younger, but it also feels a lot more broad. It\u2019s not just architects and designers interacting with the content, which I think makes the responses a little more unpredictable in a fun way. The comments are usually kind of chaotic, and I do actually read through them because they make me laugh.<\/p>\n

On Instagram, the demographic is older, and I tend to see a lot more people in the field engaging. It\u2019s more common for people to jump into an analysis with me, which I really enjoy. I like seeing how other people are interpreting the architecture I speak about, and what critiques they bring to it.<\/p>\n

Has social media affected your views toward architecture or the way you portray it in your videos?<\/p>\n

Social media has affected the way I talk about architecture, maybe not so much how I see it, but how I translate it. When I make videos, I\u2019m always thinking about how someone with zero background in this field can still follow along, enjoy it, and not feel like they accidentally signed up for a lecture.<\/p>\n

Architecture language can feel very polished and analytical in a way that unintentionally pushes people out, which is unfortunate because buildings are something everyone interacts with every day and should feel more included in understanding. Social media made that really obvious to me, you can tell immediately when something is landing or when people are completely checked out. So I\u2019ve focused on keeping the ideas the same, just saying them in a way that actually pulls people in, which I think is part of how architecture is starting to step out of its own little corner online.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favorite video you\u2019ve produced, and what has been the most popular video so far?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to pick a favorite or even say which one people liked most because my content has changed a lot over the past couple years. In the beginning, some of my most popular videos were my model-making ones, where I\u2019d document the whole process through quick half-second clips of me cutting wooden dowels, pouring concrete, and gluing basswood. I actually miss making those; they were very fun for me.<\/p>\n

Now my most popular videos are my corner talks, which feels fitting. The Boston one has done the best so far. My favorite, though, is probably the episode I did in Sofia, those corners were kind of insane.<\/p>\n

What are your favorite profiles to follow?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve followed creators @archi.mado<\/a> and @tomrowstudios<\/a> on Instagram for several years and have since had the opportunity to collaborate with both of them. They consistently produce strong, thoughtful content for architects and creatives, and it\u2019s been rewarding to see their work and audiences grow over time, very well deserved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also drawn to architecture firms that share more of their process, including models and behind-the-scenes work.\u00a0@officialheatherwickstudio<\/a> and @studiogang<\/a> have been two of my favorites to follow for this type of content.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t