In 1998, I was traveling through Spain, and this new building just opened: the Guggenheim Museum. In the obscure industrial port city of Bilbao, the Basque Country of northern Spain, this museum was the talk of the industry. So I wrapped up my tour of Barcelona, then hopped on a short flight to check out the buzzy Guggenheim structure. No doubt, it was a work of genius.
I didn’t know what to expect when I got the phone message. It was the late 80s. I recently graduated from architecture school, relocated from California to New York, and worked at a no-name corporate firm in Midtown Manhattan. Surprisingly, I received a job offer through voicemail from the famed Robert A.M. Stern Architects (“RAMSA”). Accepting the offer, I felt a little guilty jumping that no-name ship. But it wasn’t much of a Sophie’s Choice: staying at a generic architecture company vs. joining a leading voice of the groundbreaking Postmodern movement.
As architects, who do we serve? As a client business, we serve our paying customers. As licensed professionals, we serve regulatory standards and safety codes. As community members, we serve society. As creative individuals, we serve an artistic agenda and the zeitgeist.
At Poon Design Inc., we evaluate the completion of each project. The question is this: What percentage of the original design is evident in the built work? If we are successful, the final results capture the initial concept, and we pat ourselves on the back for achieving 95% or higher. But sometimes, we get only 70% or lower, meaning the original design got compromised along the way. Why/how?
VoyageLA, the flagship publication of the Voyage Group of Magazines, takes a fresh approach to media, within multiple cities across the country. With stories on artists, entrepreneurs, underdogs, and risk takers, VoyageLA states, “We respect people and organizations that take the path less traveled.” Below are edited and abridged excerpts from my interview with VoyageLA.
A contemporary phrase often recommended is, “Read the room.” In business, everyone is required to have skills of observation and deduction, as well as awareness, both in general and self. But this is also required–whether a corporate boss or high school teacher, a police officer or nurse, with family or friends. In life, it is imperative to understand a setting or situation, whether professional or social.
