How do you explain your profession to people outside of the industry? What do you find most exciting and/or rewarding about this work?
We as architects lead and drive a project forward. We coordinate the different disciplines and we make ideas come to life. It’s also our duty to watch out for the health, safety and welfare of the public in our built environments. The most exciting and rewarding part of our job is creating original concepts and designs for spaces, then standing in a finished space at the end of the project, watching a client enjoy it. Whatever the path was to get there, that’s when you know it was successful.
What milestone or accomplishment have you made in your career that you are most proud of?
Passing all the Architecture Registration Exams within 10 months and getting my architecture license.
What is one notable achievement (personal or professional) that you've made over the past year?
Designing and opening an ice cream shop in a greenhouse at a park. The client’s choice to use an existing greenhouse presented some unique challenges to solve such as sunlight management and heat gain mitigation.
What is a piece of media that has inspired you professionally?
“The Stuff You Should Know” podcast covers a range of topics and has inspired me to push myself to learn and understand as much as possible about my profession. One is never done learning and growing as an architect, especially when it comes to new materials and building technology.
Please share one fun or surprising fact about yourself:
Growing up in west Michigan, each June my friends and I would jump off the pier at our favorite state park into Lake Michigan. The average water temperature of Lake Michigan is about 59 degrees in June.
