....launch!
email announcement, February 27 2006:
Dear Everyone-
As many of you know by now, I have officially left my position with Richard McElhiney Architect and am starting my own studio, with a focus on sustainable architectural design.
My pitch is this: ecologically sound design has an altruistic benefit to everyone which I feel is real and important – to ourselves, to our children, to our children’s children… you’ve heard it before, but I believe it’s true. This means the things you all know about - energy efficiency, doing more with less, using recycled materials, etc - but it also offers an aesthetic value which is at the core of what is exciting to me. The “green” improvements to the quality and feel of a building or space - the light, the air, access to views, etc – have the potential to combine with the architectural aspects – space and form, material quality, style – to produce poetry of the highest order and a psychological reconnection to “nature.” I am not necessarily talking crunchy-woodsy here, nor hyper-tech slickness. I am talking about the poetry of contemporary life in the year 2006 – the poetry of sending a man to the moon and knowing the smell of the dirt that we are still made of. I am talking about the position of the sun in the sky and the truth of the suburban McMansion. I am talking about the permanence of a metaphor, and the continued, unresolved coexistence of Newtonian and Quantum Physics.
Which is really just to say that I am looking for work, and am using you all to shamelessly spread the word as far as humanly (with the aid of this here computer) possible!
Clear as mud? The bottom line is this: I feel I am best able to serve a prospective client with high quality design work and professionalism that combines aesthetic beauty with sustainable principles. I operate within the rigors of time and money, and I welcome the challenge of proving the economic viability of the above (especially Quantum Physics!) For those of you who don’t already know my background, let me offer an abbreviated resume: My training is from the University of Oregon with a focus on green design and I have about ten years' working experience. Most recently I have been the project architect for several Manhattan apartments and several NJ and NY law offices. I have worked in a variety on NYC and Portland (OR) offices, from small boutique (Moneo-Brock Studio) to large and very large (Fox & Fowle Architects, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership). I have experience in a wide variety of project types, and I am LEED certified by the US Green Building Council. I also paint in ink and watercolor, and a couple years ago I was the recipient of the Nancy Davis Galantiere grant from the Art Students League of NY.
And now, on this cold and wintry February day in New York, I am launching the next phase of my trajectory, whatever it may be! Wish me well, spread the word, and look for future updates on how things are going!
Sincerely,
Ryan.