Jay’s approach to design inspires and integrates the ideas of team members from all disciplines and levels of experience. His leadership across all phases of complex, large-scale projects is enhanced by his strength as a conceptual and analytical thinker. Jay recognizes the reciprocal relationship between ideas and making: the process of making can inform an idea, just as an idea can inform the process of making. Together, the two allow for new ideas and unexpected results to emerge.
What attracted you to the architectural field?
I always loved creating and inventing things with my mind and hands. I eventually started thinking about buildings and how they shape experience. I studied Psychology and was intrigued by our perceptions of our surroundings and how we respond to art, material, color and space. These factors come together in architecture, so the educational process always felt more like a calling than a path to practice. I grew to truly love architecture as I gained more insight into the unique interaction we experience with its combination of art, building and landscape.
Do you have a design philosophy or professional guiding principle?
For me, it’s not about applying a specific theoretical outlook to elicit a specific result. However, I do recognize that the concept of philosophy is fundamental for our profession, as it allows the possibility for a greater understanding of why we do what we do and what greater forces are influencing our decisions. Theory does not tell me what to make or how to make it, but allows me to look at and reflect on the process and its result.
What aspect of your job are you most motivated by?
I love to draw and to make things. These processes have allowed me to better understand all that is possible and to clarify a design direction in educating, mentoring and reviewing the work of others.