When I started my career as an architecture student, we did our first two years in a building called the Architecture Annex. It had no air conditioning, no heating - nothing. But what it lacked in amentities, it made up for in building character! I liked the name of the building so much, that I adapted it for myself.
I'm just a kid with a laptop and a few ideas. Architecture has been a part of my life for as long as I remember. When I was a kid, my dream was to be a builder, but as I grew up, I found myself more interested in drawing lines to make 3D shapes and floor plans, or, when not in class, building with Lego bricks. In early 2012, I was introduced to a little game called Minecraft - which fully kicked my architect dream into high gear. Many hours were spent in the game's Creative mode, still to this day.
Minecraft was the main avenue for architecture until high school where I enrolled in a CAD class, where I learned first how to create technical drawings traditionally - think T-squares, triangles, architect's scales, etc. After our skills were developed physically, we then moved to AutoCAD, which I picked up relatively quickly, then to Inventor, and finally Revit. It was when we were learning Revit during my senior year of high school that I was fully confident that my career would be in architecture. I had lots of fun looking for floor plans online and creating them inside of Revit and changing the wall and floor colors, moving around windows and doors, dropping in furniture families I found online, and creating renders for them.
In late 2019, I was accepted to Illinois' Architecture program to work toward a Bachelor's degree. Thanks to what went down in 2020, doing so became very, very difficult, but I pushed through (despite the thoughts of giving up plaguing me the entire time.) I finally graduated with a degree in May 2024, and an internship at a firm a few towns over from home. If my time at university was spent learning about the "form" of architecture, the internship taught me very valuable information about the "function" of architecture, especially in Revit (see the Portfolio or Experience tab for more information...!)
For better or worse, I'm still young, which means I have a lot to do before I've fully made it in the arhitecture world, but I haven't come this far just to stop right where I'm at. I still have a lot of dreams I wish to accomplish in my career, and those dreams are the strongest forces that push me forward.
I have a lot of dreams, ranging from somewhat conceivable to a complete shot in the dark...
I don't have one yet! After I got my bachelor's, I went to work as a change of scenery... but now, I'm open to going back to school to tick that box off ASAP, or, if my employer permits, get it over time while working for them.
I've had this dream since my early teenage years! I still think it's within the realm of possibility, despite how much I've learned about the design process being a source of many headaches and money issues (and the housing market being what it is.) Out of all the dreams in this list, this is the one that I hope succeeds the most; the proverbial "cherry on top" of my architectural career. It's always been important to me that my future kids grow up in a house that comes from a place of love and care, and what better way to guarantee it than to design it yourself? A lot of factors will play into what the final product becomes, such as location, family size, etc., but I'm confident that when it's time to put pen to paper (or lines to computer screen,) my architectural pedigree will be more than sufficient.
To a certain degree, this dream has been realized, albeit in very, very minimal fashion, as I've picked up some experience as the "BIM Guy" here and there. Being responsible for the location of a few walls is indeed nice, however, my goals are much further than working within a bosses' design criteria. Eventually, I'd like to visit a building where I was the project lead. When that building gets completed, to me, it would be like a gift from my heart to the world, one which would hopefully last a lifetime and for many generations, even after I pass onward. I hope whatever that building is, is a source of joy to others and makes the world a better place than before.
I had the blessing of growing up in a well-off household, but it meant that the ills of society rarely found their way to me. As I grew up, however, I began to learn more about what was happening to others. The more I knew, the worse it sat in my conscience, and the more I wanted to figure out how to help, given my skillset.
My hope is to design places that assist in easing the lives of those who aren't as fortunate as I am; places such as food banks, shelters, healthcare facilities, libraries, public places, affordable living spaces, and more. It's important as a person in society to have a strong foundation in life, physically, mentally, and financially. Without those, it gets all the more difficult to push through the rest of life's obstacles as they come.
I've always considered my creativity and imagination among the most prevalent qualities I have, and I would be remiss if it didn't get put to use, at least once! The top of my priority list in the "fun" category would be to design a combination arcade, bowling alley, golf simulator, batting cage, go-kart track, etc... something that attracts patrons year-round and keeps them coming back for more. The idea to design an arcade has been in my head since my early university days, probably even earlier.
Some other fun things I've wanted to design (and have drafted ideas for) are hotels/resorts, amusement parks, museums, concert venues, and malls. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime, however, to design a baseball stadium for a Major League Baseball team! Very unlikely it would be for my hometown Cardinals, but I heard the Athletics or Rays are looking for a new facility soon...
I have another tab on my site called "Ideas" where you can find more detailed information (as well as projects I've done in the virtual world...)
Similar to Dream #3, but outside the realm of architecture. It stems from my recent interest in researching projects that try to solve the issue of car-dependency in various cities, or at least making the existing car-based infrastructure safter for those who aren't driving. The goal I have in mind is to look at existing parcels of land that see minimal use and revitalize them into urban cores with affordable housing, local businesses, parks, and places to gather - all within walking or biking distance, and without the worry of one's safety when cars are nearby.
I noticed the issue pretty quickly after returning home from school and starting my internship. While living at university, everything from education, food, housing, and entertainment was either a reasonable walk away or not too long of a bus ride. However, at home, it was a fifteen minute drive to the nearest grocery store and a twenty-five minute commute to work. In other words... if I worked every Monday-Friday and bought groceries every Saturday, I'd be spending over four and a half hours every week just driving. All that driving (and not walking) can take a toll on one's health, too. It's not the worst, but if I had the ability to make it better, I would, and I would try to make it better for as many people as possible.
I'd probably start with taking care of those pesky "minimum parking" requirements that eat up at the usable area in a parcel of land, move the storefront right up to the street, then shove any parking in the back. Maybe further down the road, I'd do something about those huge neighborhoods put in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do nearby...
It's not likely that I would secure the necessary funding and talent to run an architecture firm myself, but if some divine blessing does come my way and I find myself in a leadership position at "Annex Architecture," then I'd be using it almost exclusively to fulfill Dreams 3 and 5... well, I'd love to also work on Dream #4, but as an aside.
There's no question that I take pride in being from the St. Louis metro area, even if the challenges it faces sneak their way into the spotlight. The biggest goal I have in this life, and by far the most difficult, is to bring some magic back to the city to where people will consider visiting us here instead of other places such as New York, California, Florida, etc.
I know we don't have a lot compared to them, and our circumstances certainly don't help us much, but it's still possible to turn things around and make our dot on the map stand out just a little more. Each neighborhood would have something unique to offer for businesses, tourists, and people looking to move. You could go anywhere easily and safely, and there would always be something fun to do nearby. You would never be too far from where you work, play, or live... It would take a lot of sweeping changes in society to get St. Louis to stand tall once again, but those changes are possible. Hopefully I'll be able to make a significant contribution, but if not, I hope to at least live to see it...
(There's no mountain you ever climb that's higher than the one you build yourself.)