Gemma Ross

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Gemma moved to Columbia, Missouri at age 10. She brought with her an Aussie vocabulary and an early knack for forging her own path. In middle school, she played wide receiver on the football team as the only girl on the roster, even though the team was open to all.

Gemma earned her Master of Architecture from Drury University, where she also minored in graphic and digital design as well as fine arts. She originally chose Drury for both its softball and architecture programs. But after a conversation with the softball coach, it became clear that the time demands of studio wouldn’t leave room for college athletics. She embraced the path of architecture and dove in fully.

Her studies took her to Venice, Italy for a summer abroad, and she completed an internship with the City of Springfield where she gained insight into civic planning and public design.

At Kala, Gemma is excited to work on projects with high-performance elements. She enjoys the design challenges that come with building to rigorous standards and finds inspiration in the constraints.

She still finds herself occasionally translating from Australian to American English. Markers are “textas,” erasers are “rubbers,” and sweatpants are “trackies.” Just ask, she’s happy to explain.