Q: Tell me about your background
E: I grew up in east bay, in Pleasant Hill, CA near Walnut Creek. I went to Diablo Valley College and UC Berkeley. I was at DVC for 3 years, then in 2014 I transferred and finished my last two years at Cal. Ever since I became interested in architecture I was interested in Berkeley; so I made sure I had all my requirements and units lined up then switched.
Q: Who’s in your family?
E: My dad is a contractor, so a lot of my early architecture exposure was hanging out with him on job sites. He still works as a contractor now and sometimes he asks me to do drawings for him. My mom works in the city, for the State Bar of CA. She isn’t an attorney herself, rather she manages an ethics branch for the bar exam for lawyers. She deals with ethics for any attorney that practices law in CA. I guess you could think of it as similar to a building code for architects. I also have a younger brother, seven years younger than me actually, who is still in high school.
Q: When did you first develop an interest in architecture?
E: When I was eleven years old I was given a school project to build a scale model of a house. A lot of people built dollhouse looking things, but my dad suggested that I build a replica of a Don Olsen house instead. I ended up building a scale model of his modern house. All these kids had little McMansion looking things and I came in with a modern glass box. It was the first architecture project I ever worked on; I remember thinking it was super fun to build and do something architectural hands on. I didn’t really think about it again until applying for college, when I realized I probably wouldn’t become a professional baseball player.
Q: What kinds of projects do you most enjoy working on?
E: At this point, I don’t think I’m constrained to liking a specific style or type of project. Anything that gives me a unique challenge or a fun puzzle to solve is what I enjoy. I’ve worked on some urban residential, commercial, and houses in rural settings, and they all present interesting design challenges that are fun to attack in their own way.
Q: Are you excited about any projects in particular right now?
E: Right now I’m really excited about the Portola Valley View, which has just gone under construction. It’s a remodel of an existing house in Portola Valley. It’s a cool concrete structure that we’re completely remodeling. I’ve worked on a few projects at Feldman, but this is the first project I’ve worked on from feasibility study through schematic design and its complete construction set.
Q: Do you have any odd pet peeves?
E: This is a tricky one. I feel like I have a lot of pet peeves, I don’t know if they’re odd though. I feel they’re very generic things, like one of my biggest pet peeves is people chewing loudly, or with their mouth open. Nothing else is coming to mind…
Q: How long have you worked at Feldman Architecture?
E: I interned at Feldman three years ago in the summer of 2015. I then finished up my senior year of college and came back to work full time in the summer of 2016. Being an intern meant less responsibility and more fun. I worked on tons of tiny little projects, just doing renderings, models, presentations… you now, just bouncing around. I worked on 15 different projects in the 6-8 weeks I was here! But all tiny little tasks. Now I’m more focused a larger aspects of fewer projects.
Q: What do you think makes our office unique?
E: This is the only real job I’ve ever had and I’ve never worked at another architecture firm, so I have no point of reference. But I think our collaborative culture is exciting, and it’s such a tight knit group of people that are really fun to work with. That, and the fire pole in the middle of the office.
Q: What’s your favorite part about coming to work?
E: Dogs.
Q: Do you have a professional role model?
E: I guess my favorite architect is Peter Zumthor. He’s a Swiss modern architect who is extremely good at creating simple, understated, beautiful, buildings without over-designing. I don’t really know how much to say about him, but I think the type of architecture he does responds incredibly well to the environment in very simple and elegant ways. It’s a lot of what I aspire to design. I actually wrote a paper about one of his projects, a little chapel he designed in Germany, when I was a junior in school. He has a skill for making architecture that is considerate and appropriate while still being moving.
Q: What’s your own design process like?
E: I’m a very young architect with very little experience, so I would say it’s constantly evolving and changing. I don’t think I have a specific style or way of designing other than I like to look at each project as a new journey or process. I try to follow a process that allows me to respond to the unique challenges of the client and site; just responding to the environment and in elegant way. It draws from the same exact experiences I was talking about before, with Peter Zumthor. I think having a goal of designing something that’s simple and understated that makes sense for its context is really important. I also really like to look at other professions for inspiration. For example I love looking at artists, comedians, and chefs. I think their approach to the creative process is incredibly interesting. It applies to anything, and all of those professions and their unique processes can all be translated into architecture in some way or another.
Q: If you could switch places with one living person for the day, who would you choose?
E: I suppose Elon Musk. He gets to design things, shoot things into space, think about public infrastructure, influence society, and drive a Tesla.