FOR a person with innate design skills and a love and instinct for art, marrying the two is effortless.

Maggie Go is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), with degrees in both fine arts and architecture. Commonly known as the ?Harvard? of art schools, RISD has the reputation of giving the highest workload of any college in the US, thus making Maggie?s double degree truly an accomplishment. Considering, also, the fact that applicants must complete the school?s ?infamous? home test?three drawing assignments?and that only 30 percent make it to freshman year, one better appreciates how Maggie hurdled the school?s tough application process and curriculum.

With its 45 galleries housing 80,000 works of art and its international mix of students, the school gave Maggie an endless source of inspiration. Living in New York also exposed her to beautiful architecture, her favorite being the landmark Chrysler Building.

Her background and exposure served her well in her stints in New York and in Los Angeles, where she worked as project manager on a Frank Gehry project with Liedenfrost/Horowitz and Associates.

Reflecting her way of thinking, Maggie?s design aesthetic is contemporary, clean and sleek, abhorring clutter. She has a way of combining materials, mainly glass, wood, natural stone and steel. She thinks it?s important that her clients actually experience the space and ?feel? its texture. She?s a favorite architectural designer for restaurants, corporate interiors, and select homes, Maggie?s strong suit being the detailing.

Detailing is also what she looks for in clothes. Years of living in New York developed her taste for designer clothing. Her preferred ?80s designers were Yohji Yamamoto and Jean Paul Gaultier. These were designers whose works were three-dimensional, textured and sculptured, breaking the mold used for design construction then. In the ?90s, she favored Prada and ... she never looked back.

If she could choose one designer for all her clothes, it would definitely be Prada (MIUMIU included), though Marni and Marc Jacobs are among her choices as well.

Having to trek to job sites, she likes her clothes to be casual and comfortable, but still stylish. Nowadays, she is more particular about bags and shoes, rather than clothes because, as she says, our weather does not let one layer in a fashionable way, unlike in countries with four seasons.

Maggie balances work with her varied interests. Born athletic, she?s into gymnastics, tennis, skiing, and diving, and in her student years was captain of the hard court and track-and-field team.

A diehard Rafa Nadal fan, she never misses his matches on TV and always hosts championship dinners for friends, who are lucky to savor her cuisine.

Maggie is also a foodie, who not only enjoys good food but can also whip up mouth-watering goodies in the kitchen. Italian cuisine has become her forte after she spent one winter in Rome. Her desserts always get a rating of 10 from friends and her supportive, but otherwise critical, brothers, who do not hesitate to frown at her dishes should they fall below par. Growing up, she loved to try out all kinds of dishes with them?and on them.

Nicknamed ?Sunny California? by eldest brother Jeff, Maggie is loved by family and friends for her easy-going and positive disposition. Her laughter is contagious. Her deep dimples?a trademark?make people feel cozy with her. She?s sensitive to the needs of others and sometimes puts them ahead of hers.

Maggie lives and breathes design and art. But even as she finds her work very rewarding and satisfying, what makes her feel absolutely fulfilled is living and breathing the love and closeness she has with family and friends.