Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Fajkus.
Hi Matt, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From a young age, I knew that I liked to draw and create, all with an attention to detail, though it was later that I realized I could harness those skills and build upon them for a career path. I started my undergrad degree in Architecture at UT-Arlington, where I was also a college tennis player. While at UTA, I was inspired by professors such as George Gintole, and I was fortunate to get a job with Max Levy, Architect during and after I completed my degree. I went on the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where I was not only inspired by many accomplished classmates but also by professors including Sarah Whiting, Rafael Moneo, Yoshi Tsukamoto, Momoyo Kaijima, and Rick Joy. I was recruited to work for Foster + Partners in London, where I spent a total of 5 years working on major international projects, and I also began teaching some at The University of Lund in Sweden and participating as a critic at other European architecture schools. I accepted a tenure-track professorship at The University of Texas School of Architecture in 2010 and launched my own practice shortly after. I was awarded tenure at the UT School of Architecture while the practice continued to grow and evolve, all with the help of Sarah Johnson, who is also a Principal Architect at Matt Fajkus Architecture.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been many challenges along the way, but many more rewarding and meaningful aspects. Challenges have included balancing teaching and practicing, as well as sustainably growing the practice from scratch and implementing systems. We believe that architectural design is about creative problem-solving, so we translate this mindset to all challenges we face. We embrace obstacles and challenges since they push us and they inspire us to be better creatives, developing new skills along the way. The rewards come in various ways, including the publications and awards, but moreso by positively changing the lives of our clients, functionally and experientially, and also working internally as a team to be better than the sum of our parts.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The design work of Matt Fajkus Architecture is based on the belief that each project is unique and it should be driven by the client, the site, and the functional requirements rather than a singular, preconceived aesthetic. The firm aims for clear and simple solutions to complex problems by blending expertise and experimentation. The practice brings collaborative energy to every project and is simultaneously an academic think tank directly connected to theoretical and technological research at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture while also practicing with a deep focus on realizing exceptional buildings.
MF Architecture possesses advanced knowledge in sustainable design principles, including energy-efficient strategies, passive daylighting, and intelligent material choices to promote healthy indoor air quality. The office believes that the current sustainability-driven era is the most all-encompassing movement since Modernism, as it reaches to all scales of design including lifestyle choices. Thus, the firm is driven by the optimism that we live in an ideal time to affect positive change locally and globally, all accomplished by intelligent design.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
We’ve learned to be more flexible in every dimension. This includes communication and the way we interface with each other, our clients, contractors, and consultants. It also includes adjusting our schedules as needed in response to this new paradigm. We pride ourselves in being nimble and ready to adapt to changing conditions, and our employees have bought into our strategies and they have stepped up to make it all work.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@mfarchitecture.com
- Website: www.mfarchitecture.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mf.architecture/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MFArchitecture
Image Credits:
Photos by Leonid Furmansky, Casey Dunn, and Charles Davis Smith. (the specific credit is in the label of each respective image)
