Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Fajkus.
Matt, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
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.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
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.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I owe the success of MFA to the team that works with me. This starts with Sarah Johnson, who is an MFA Principal Architect and has worked with me since nearly the founding of the practice over 14 years ago. Sarah’s broad range of expertise has greatly contributed to the practice in countless ways, and we have complemented each other extremely well to creatively solve problems of all sorts across administrative and design realms. Ingrid Gonzalez Featherston is an MFA Senior Architect, and she’s a powerful asset who brings such a positive and intense level of energy to both design and logistical work. She facilitates project teams to stay on track regardless of the particular role she needs to play, over her 8 years with the practice and counting. Leah Ferguson is our primary administrative wizard, with a diverse set of skills from financial responsibilities to general management of the office, and her positive can-do attitude is contagious, making us all better over her 6 years with the firm so far. Tony Marco is an MFA Senior Architect and a key contributor in a low-key manner, as he brings a wealth of experience in both the commercial and residential realms, paired with a patient and sophisticated design sensibility through his 6 years with the practice to date. Laine Hardy has been an MFA Senior Associate for nearly 6 years, and she uniquely blends expertise in both architectural design work as well as graphic design and PR leadership – all with both intellectual depth and general design talent. Andrea Alvarez Barrios is an MFA Architect, and since joining the team nearly 5 years ago, she has demonstrated her strong and dynamic design skills and the ability to be an overall “swiss army knife” to advance a variety of our projects in multiple ways. Dominic Armedariz, once a student in one of my UT graduate design studio courses 5 years ago, joined MFA more recently, and has hit the ground running as a versatile and valuable Design Associate whose skills and resourcefulness have been instrumental for each project he’s been involved in. Beyond each of these incredible individuals, I believe we’re even better than the sum of our parts, and I feel fortunate to work with this synergistic team every day to create meaningful work.
Pricing:
- Pricing in the architecture and construction industry is relative, dynamic, and difficult to predict. There are so many factors that drive costs, including timing, inflation, fluctuating material and labor costs, as well as broader market factors. We mitigate this uncertainty in a variety of ways, including:
- -Establishing a clear budget target from the beginning, including for hard costs (vertical construction and infrastructure) and soft costs (professional fees and permits, etc.)
- -Bringing a General Contract onto the team in the early phases of design to provide pricing estimates at a stage where design changes can readily be absorbed in the process.
- -Creating multiple design options for consideration, each with an estimated construction cost, in order to help our clients make informed decisions regarding the scope and likely costs.
- -Pulling from our wealth of knowledge on custom residential, speculative residential, and commercial work, which have a wide range of budgets and associated construction costs, allowing us to dial in the most cost-appropriate solution for a given project on a case-by-case basis.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mfarchitecture.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mf.architecture/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MFArchitecture
