What is the value of AIA to you?

Supports our professional practice through education, training, best practices, contracts and advocacy.

What relationships have you created?

With a large number of folks in the local real estate community including developers, jurisdictions, general contractors, consultants and other architects in the area.

What interested you about being on the AIA Seattle Board of Directors?

Opportunity to share experiences and learn from my colleagues in the profession to better our standing in the local real estate and construction industry.

What project are you working on now?

Altitude Tower, a 50 story mixed use tower including hotel and residential in downtown Seattle and a large mixed use project in Tukwila.

How do you explain what you do for a living?

Most folks already have a perception of what an architect does; I talk a lot about the myriad of challenges we face with clients, jurisdictions, contractors, etc. and the importance of forming relationships to deliver a project from vision to concept to reality and coming out the other end with mutual trust and respect for each other and looking forward to working together on the next project.

What inspired you today?

Listening to some 60’s rock and roll.

Has your career taken you anywhere you didn’t expect?

Early in my career, I never expected the complexities and challenges beyond simply designing buildings that we encounter every day in the ‘business’ of architecture.

Where is the field of architecture, engineering or construction headed?

The ‘sky’ is literally the limit (no pun intended).

Can design save the world?

In the literal sense – probably not – too many forces outside its influence. But it can continue to inspire and evoke emotion.

What is your favorite Seattle-area structure?

Too many architectural styles that have evolved over the past 50+ years that I’ve grown up in Seattle to pick ONE favorite. We have a very eclectic skyline and there’s not one that separates itself from the others to be deemed a favorite. One I am fond of though is the Norton Building, the first curtain wall building in Seattle. There’s something about its simplicity and being the first example of the technology that all buildings continue to utilize in some form.

If you could sum up your outlook on life in a bumper sticker, what would it say?

Like picking a favorite Seattle building, there are way too many sayings that could sum up my outlook on life, given the particular moment in time.