Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Loe, AIA
Hi Daniel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
There’s a passage in Italo Calvino’s novel, Invisible Cities, where Marco Polo reports of his explorations to the Great Khan, not with details of spices or relics as other explorers had chronicled, but of “the thoughts that come to a man who sits on his doorstep at evening to enjoy the cool air.” There’s a shared kinship I have with the fictional protagonist for exploration of the unfamiliar or unknown and a curiosity to comprehend the idiosyncratic, atmospheric, “invisible cities” of other cultures and places.
Architecture was the profession that married these varied interests and provided an outlet for creative expression. As architects we’re often tasked with understanding the thoughts and desires of our clients and then translating this into a form that works in concert with the environment. The scope of projects range from a single family house, the master plan for a city and everything in between.
It’s been a journey of starts and stops with numerous detours along the way, but I’ve been fortunate to call numerous cities ‘home’, including: Minneapolis, Oaxaca, New York, Florence, and, most recently, Austin. The thoughts of men sitting on doorsteps contemplating the cool air has been vastly different in each.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
With any endeavor, creative or otherwise, it’s challenging starting out when your skills are not on the same plane, or even the same planet as those you’re modeling yourself after. Self doubt creeps in and it’s easy to start questioning all your life choices up to that point! With experience, however, comes understanding to trust the process and the realization skills are incrementally improving proportional to the work being put in.
Especially in our social media world today, there’s a fine line of being inspired vs overwhelmed by the collective volume of great work everyone else is producing. At some point, you just need to put your head down and do the work without looking up.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I’m an architect specializing in residential design and construction as a principal at Forsite Studio. Our thoughtful, site specific approach is what sets us apart from others. Unlike traditional architecture firms, Forsite is a design-build firm, which means we build most of the projects we’ve designed. By taking ownership of the construction process, we’re able to control the quality, cost and schedule of the final product.
We realized a shortcoming of the profession which is that most architects are not current with construction pricing, or worse, completely uninformed. With the traditional architecture model, it’s not unusual for contractor bids to come back at the end of design substantially over budget, requiring more time to redesign and often resulting in a disillusioned client. Having both design and construction services under one roof eliminates a lot of duplicative effort and generally results in a 20% faster timeline than traditional methods.
We aspire to be a design firm at the forefront of innovation and creativity, and having direct access to the individual construction trades facilitates and expedites this process. Daily communication with the various subcontractors fosters a deeper, more thorough understanding of each respective scope. The learning curve is steep, but ultimately it’s a much more holistic approach to building design and construction.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
There seems to be a misconception that architects are math wizards working on advanced calculations all day. Many young people tell me they love design but are considering a different profession due to less than average math skills. My response is always, don’t be a carpenter or an engineer with subpar math skills but, for architects, the ability to generate and communicate ideas is paramount. Yes, basic math skills help, but computers now do the heavy lifting. There’s also a wide swath of vocations within the profession that allow one to choose the best fit based on an alignment of skills and interests: designers, project managers, project architects, information technology, etc.
Also, understand that architecture is a slow burn. The timeline for design, permitting, and construction is always measured in years if not decades. In Barcelona, Antonio Gaudi’s Sagrada Família has been under construction for 150 years. However, assuming a more normative timeline of a few years, the payoff of seeing a completed building, that, if done right, will outlast anyone alive today, is extremely gratifying.
Lastly, there should be joy in doing the work. The profession, unfortunately, doesn’t always compensate commensurate with the considerable time required, so it better be enjoyable. If it isn’t, consider what changes would affect positive well being, perhaps a change of firms, area of focus or scale of design. If all that fails and it’s still not enjoyable, understand there are infinite other ways to work less and make more money!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.forsitestudio.com
- Instagram: @forsitestudio
Image Credits
Amy Corley, Ryan Baldridge
