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I am ready to continue my profession that is faced with economic challenges and requires more from everyone involved.
APC, Santa Monica, CA, US, Designer
Alex Babich, a co-worker from Studio PCH called me up a week after leaving and asked if I wanted to join a start-up architecture firm with a friend he went to USC with. Next week I was working with Arthur and Alex on a variety of smaller projects. The position allowed me to utilize both my new found technical and visual skills of architecture together. The job was very fast-paced with tight deadlines, but it was good experience. I quickly learned how to put together a set of drawings for submittal, and how to detail a restaurant. The most notable client we had was Bulletproof Coffee, who we worked on a number of stores with.
Studio PCH, Inc., Malibu, CA, US, Designer
Designer who was focused on technical drawings. Worked on high-end residential houses in Malibu and surrounding areas. As well as worked on Nobu Ryokan in Malibu. Due to a loss of a large client, the firm had to downsize to half its people.
Bitmap Studios, Minneapolis, MN, US, Co-founder
A close friend and I started Bitmap Studios after leaving RSP in 2014. We did renderings for clients.
RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, Minneapolis, MN, US, Designer
RSP offered me my first architectural job post-graduation. During my time there I developed many skills and learned what it's like to work in a fast-paced corporate setting. I also had the privilege of working under Derek McCallum, who is one of the most enthusiastic and talented designers I have met. He gave me enough rope to hang myself, and always encouraged exploration of new ideas and designs. Though it was extremely fast-paced, it helped me transition from the pace of school projects to real-life.
I worked on the Corporate Design Team while at RSP. We were responsible for coming up with front-end designs whenever a large corporate client would come to RSP. Therefore, we spent a lot of the time conceiving new ideas, sketching them up, and then transitioning them to the computer. Initially I was hired to be the guy responsible for renderings on the team, but gradually I was given more responsibility and given more input on designs. I transitioned back-and-forth between designs and rendering throughout my time there.
Our design process would usually start from sketches during an initial team meeting. We then would transition them to SketchUp. Sometimes the client would just want the project left in SketchUp, but most of the time we would render them in 3ds Max. After the rendering process we would use Photoshop and InDesign to create the final presentation board or document. On few occasions while I would make animations using 3ds Max for the client..
One thing that I learned was important there was efficiency. A lot of the time we would have tight deadlines with a set budget. We would also have payable hours compared to billable hours. This made it difficult because sometimes you would have to pick your battles. I feel that a lot of people tend to rush when put in a time crunch, and end up sacrificing the quality of design within the process. I would always make deadlines, but sometimes would sacrifice my time to do so. It took a while, but I became good at time management. Setting realistic goals that are achievable within a set amount of time and money.
Eventually I made a decision that due to payable hours compared to billable hours, it was more profitable to work for myself. A few good friends and I decided to start a rendering business in Minneapolis. I left May of 2014 to start Bitmap Studios. Though I left, I am extremely grateful for the experience that RSP Architects provided me. Derek gave me an great opportunity to work with some extremely talented and hard working people. I am very pleased to have been part of the team there.
Frederic Borel Architecte, Paris, FR, Intern Architect
For the fall semester of my final year at the University of Kansas I had the great opportunity to travel to Paris, France and work as an intern for Frédéric Borel Architecte. The internship program was setup through Professor Wojciech Lesnikowski who keeps in frequent contact with many top architecture firms in Paris. Frédéric Borel runs a small boutique firm with only three full-time employees working directly under him. During my time there I worked on a handful of projects mostly assisting the Project Managers with essential tasks. My first task was to construct a physical model for a housing complex, Grand Quevilly, in the nearby city of Rouen, France. After working ondifferenct aspect of Grand Quevilly I was tasked with my very own project. My project was an apartment complex renovation just south of Paris in the suburb of Villeneuve St-Georges. For the remainder of my time there I worked solely on this project while intermittently helping out on other projects. The experience was more than I could ask for and it definitely influenced my style and helped guide me to become a better architect.
The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, US, BArch, Architecture
During my time at the University of Kansas I had the privilege of studying under some amazing professors. They provided me with great opportunities to explore my own style and develop an identity of my design.
Ecole Spéciale d'Architecture (ESA), Paris, FR, BArch, Architecture
I took a French proficiency class here the Fall of 2009, as well as a two week architecture studio.
Centro Linguistico Italiano Dante Alighieri, Firenze, IT, Italian
This was an summer intensive course for Italian that was through the University of Kansas. At the end I passed a low-level Italian Proficiency Test from the school.
