very nicely. I exceeded my goals. But like with any firm, you’re dealing with egos and different personalities when you partner with people. We were very careful, the four of us, adding partners. Maybe it is growing pains, but it was a lot to manage and tempers would run thin, opinions would run hot, and that was disappointing. But it was a business, and it was seriously run as a business. I really respect Niels for many things. One is his business sense and running the business. But getting along as partners, you’re basically married to each other. You have to respect each other. Even with the full support of the other partners and the resources of the office, sometimes you step on each other’s toes, or don’t agree with something that happens with a project. Generally, we worked everything out. We grew together and figured things out, and I think, really had a lot of respect for each other. Advice to somebody starting out in the field? Really get into the culture where you work. Do everything you can to contribute positively to the feeling of an office. It becomes a second family and it’s important to treat it like that. If you no smoking on campus. It really changed their culture. Imagine a building site with no Big Gulp cups! They started recycling much more of their waste — cardboard and sheetrock that they separated further and further so they could recycle it more carefully. The entire paradigm changed for contractors during this project. Talk about changes in the industry from the 70s through to your retirement. By the mid-80s, I had become a very good draftsperson and could get around the desk and drawing tools quickly and develop plans. But the era of CAD was starting, and that changed needed skillsets. It started with just floor plans, things that could be repeated — like different floors. Later, it became the whole set. Then Revit was another whole change. You could design everything in three dimensions! It was wonderful for the client to see the project develop in three dimensions. Of course, there was Sketch Up and other software that enabled us to sketch buildings in three dimensions. Sustainable design was a huge revolution. Until LEED, we were doing buildings generally that would pass silver certification. When LEED came out, I took the exam and became fascinated by the whole process of transforming: recycle, reuse and efficiencies and design for materials and where they are sourced. Envelope design became a very engineered approach for all the seams and joints and corners and roof and parapets and down at the base of the wall, taking into consideration condensation and the building needing to breathe but still be weatherproof. That became our Holy Grail over the next few years. At first, it was a struggle getting clients on board to spend money on components of the building — LED lighting or glazing — the things that would cost more, but pay off in the long run. It didn’t take long before developers were saying, “If I spend this much more on this building, I can get this much more for rents.” Talk to me about any disappointments you might have had. Partnership was this bright goal when I was a young architect and it turned out see a void where something’s not being taken care of, do it. If the firm needs some master planning and you can do that, or you feel you could take a stab at it, do it. Even if you’re starting off, you can still empower those around you with encouragement. As a developed architect with experience, it’s important to empower everybody on your staff. And don’t ever go backwards and put somebody down or hurt or punish anybody for doing something wrong. Just learn from your mistakes. Empower people to move forward and grow. To watch the full interview, please scan this QR code. https://youtu.be/qkEgomSnbyo 11
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