Illustrate Omaha | collecting creatives

Location: Lincoln, NE
Education: Bachelors of Science in Design – UNL ‘08
Masters of Architecture – UNL ‘10
Employment: Leo A Daly 2006-2009

Adam was born and raised in Omaha, NE. He received his Bachelors of Science in Design from UNL in 2008 and is expecting to graduate with his Masters of Architecture in May of 2010 from UNL. Adam studied abroad in London, England in Spring 2009 and traveled to 9 other countries in order to experience a full range of architectural style and history. He has received such awards as the Ron and Judy Hess Traveling Fund and the W. Cecil Steward Sustainability Scholarship during his time at UNL. Sustainability framed through the analysis of global and local waste is the focus of his current thesis topic, directing his final year of study at the College of Architecture.

How did you realize you wanted to go into architecture?
It wasn’t something I realized on my own actually, which is weird since my father is an architect and I have been around the business for so long. It was my uncle who pointed it out to me about half way through my senior year of high school. I was in the car with him one day and he caught me staring at the American National Bank building on 90^th and Dodge as we drove by it. He looked at me and asked, “You have the bug, don’t you?” I had no idea what he meant so I asked him what he was talking about, and he simply said, “The architecture bug…” It was like a thunderclap of realization. That week I switched my future plans from the culinary arts to architecture and have never once doubted that it was the right decision.

How would you describe your style or approach to work?
I’m not sure I have a style yet, but an approach, definitely. At the outset of a project I try to really immerse myself in it entirely…I love to go to the library immediately after getting a project statement and check out just as many books as I can about any related topics: history relating to the project, relevant artists and architects, precedent buildings, context…and then after I have absorbed as much information as possible, I usually write. I would say 75% of my sketchbook is actually writing. It’s just filled with questions to myself about intent, what I want to accomplish, lists of more research I need to do, concept statements…anything that comes to mind. Then there is usually an incubation period where I am tired of the project and I try not to think about it, haha. I wait for some sort of inspiration to drive me to design instead of forcing it to happen. This sort of kills my time management but leads to better designs. Perhaps this is why I “don’t have a style”, because I try to let the project tell me what it wants to be instead of forcing it to be something I want…

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
“Make beautiful things.” This is actually really hard advice to follow, but also something I tell myself over and over. Its hard advice to follow because just making beautiful things is easy, what’s difficult is to make beautiful things that have meaning and are functional, which is imperative in architecture.

What is your best way to break out of a creative rut?
I try to seek out new inspiration. Usually, if I am in a creative rut, it’s because my original inspiration hasn’t propelled me to the place in my design I want to be, or my design has evolved too far beyond the original inspiration and they don’t match anymore. This tends to leave me stuck re-inventing my projects a lot, but the process of trial and error is really invaluable…to me it’s unthinkable to say that I could achieve what I wanted on the first try, or even the second or third or fourth… If I am intent on sticking to my inspiration and I need to break out of a rut, I usually go for a walk around campus or downtown Lincoln. When I’m walking, I’m distracted just enough to not be completely agonizing over my design, and I am able to draw inspiration/direction from my surrounding. If all else fails, I sleep on it.

How do you use illustration in your renderings and what methods/programs do you use?
For me the greatest architectural renderings are suggestive, not definitive. Allowing the imagination of the viewer to fill in the vague areas of a watercolor or read the quick strokes of a scribbled sketch how they choose, engages them in the creative process. Photorealistic renders are flashy and awesome, but take all the mystery out of what you are seeing –  so I tend to lean toward the traditional “hand-done” methods of rendering. But relying on one method really limits your audience these days because there is so much competition. If a client doesn’t like what they see, they can go to someone else and get what they want. So while I may not be an expert at any one illustration method I find experience in everything from hand drafting, sketching, and watercolor to Adobe Creative Suite, V-Ray, and Revit is best.