Rose Morrison is an experienced architecture, construction, and better-building writer, who has also dabbled in writing for real estate and home organization publications across the web. You can find her work on a plethora of sites including Apartment Therapy, Realtor Magazine, Earth.org, and Renewable Energy Magazine.

Rose grew up in a dichotomic environment. Half of her family are hammer, chisel, and concrete deep into construction and deconstruction. In contrast, the other half are meticulous business management and supply chain academics.

Although Rose appreciates her upbringing, she's a bit of the unicorn-sheep of the family, pursuing her love for writing, architecture, design, and the digital world rather than following the well-worn routes of her kin.

She may not have embraced the academic world or gotten the familiar calloused hands from construction and renovations. Still, she carved a unique path to explore the intersection of art, building, construction, and sustainability in built environments.

Where it started

Rose's love for architecture started with a family trip when she was five to EPCOT in Florida—the iconic geodesic sphere or Spaceship Earth mesmerized her. Visiting London with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London further fueled her passion and intrigue.

Then, when Rose was 16, an art history teacher at school introduced her to Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry, and Le Corbusier, which transformed her thinking about architecture, design, building, and form following function.

After briefly flirting with the idea of becoming a full-time photographer, Rose decided to attend university, majoring in journalism and visual studies. The dual majors gave Rose an appreciation and critical understanding of space, expression, and technical aspects of architecture. At college, she discovered that buildings, sites, and spaces held emotion, even trauma, igniting the need to travel and find significant architecture around the world.

The significant visit

The concept of spaces exhibiting human attributes like hate, sadness, joy, and freedom revolutionized Rose's view of architecture and her life. A pinnacle moment that solidified this perspective was her visit to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg.

The architectural consortium—known plainly as the Apartheid Museum—represents the rise and fall of apartheid. Segregation laws split the nation and represent a harrowing period in South African history. The end and struggle against the regime—a story of true grit and power in unity.

The museum celebrates the best and worst of times. Several leading architectural firms created it, and exhibits from a multidisciplinary team of filmmakers, designers, historians, and curators demonstrate the true horror of segregation and the freedom and unity that cost sweat, blood, and action from individuals and groups.

The architecture, design, and exhibits marked the end of Rose's exploration of the world. She decided to stay and write with renewed vigour for pursuing causes, assignments, and volunteering roles to make the planet a place with a little more hope and grace.

The frivolous things that mattered before seemed to melt away. Seeing hanging ropes from the ceiling and sitting in a recreated jail cell at the museum spoke to Rose about inequality and the need for individuals to take a stand to improve the planet.

From this point, she took on writing assignments and roles focused on sustainability, better-building, and content that uplifts people. When not freelancing for a cause, Rose is managing editor at Renovated Magazine.

She uses her keyboard and training in visual studies and journalism to help individuals and organizations take practical steps to reduce their carbon footprint. She keeps her finger on the pulse of the latest environmental innovations in architecture, design, and construction and the impact of materials used.

Rose looks for strategic ways to use renewable energy while still having aesthetic benefits—like using solar windows as an alternative to panels and shares this on various platforms. Rose even looked into how organizations can leverage horse droppings for biomass fuel while watching her horse playing in the paddock.

Rose's fiery passion for making the world a better place is why she writes about things that matter and things that inspire action or emotion. As a full-time freelancer, part-time columnist, and avid contributor to various publications, Rose takes every life experience from the Epcot to the Apartheid Museum and integrates it with the latest innovations to create clever, captivating, and compassionate content.

Feel free to connect with Rose on LinkedIn or X.