Daniel Rowen Architect

A couple of weekends ago, I went out to East Hampton to pay my respects to Dan Rowen, who sadly passed away at the age of 56.

I am lucky to have worked under Dan at his firm Daniel Rowen Architect, in my first job as an architect; a job that brought me from Virginia to NYC...10 years ago.

Dan was passionate about architecture and loved his family more than anything. I'm grateful to have known him as a generous mentor from whom I learned most of what I know about running an office.

Dan, you'll be greatly missed by all of us.

Artwalk NY

Tonight we're heading to ARTWALK NY Benefiting Coalition for the Homeless. An's painting "Lavender Light" (pictured above) is available in the Silent Auction from 6:30-8pm, with the Live Auction beginning at 8pm. Come support if you can!

The Neighborhood Seems Quiet

Sabbatical

Had two great conversations this week about working hard, having pride in what you do, and the power of taking time off. While having dinner with Lisa and Jeff [two incredibly talented individuals], I was reminded of how important that last item [taking time off] can be. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this "down time" might be one of the most essential parts of the design process.

Then this past weekend An and I took a little time to cheer on the nyc marathon runners and to grab a quick brunch at the rabbit hole with James and Jen. Later, they came by for a studio visit and the next day James sent me a link to this TED talk by Stefan Sagmeister, titled "The Power of Time Off." I particularly liked the part [at 1:30 mark] where he shows a time line of a life that includes learning, working, and retirement and talks about the decision to cut off 5 of the retirement years and embed them into the working years at 7 year intervals. I think for me, the learning part also needs to be represented in those later years, but it is nice to see the success they are having in spite of and as a result of taking a year off for every seven.

I travel all the time for work and to teach, but I think the last time An and I really got away was for our honeymoon five years ago. Here we are at a secret spot in Costa Rica where the rain forest runs right down to the beach and which just happened to be one of the best [at least most consistent] hidden surf spots in the world. There is no phone, no internet and minimal electricity. Your internal clock is reset to the rising and setting of the sun and you wake up to this view every morning at 5 am.

As I've found my calling in teaching and practicing architecture, I know that I couldn't live there permanently [at least for now], but it is reassuring to know that when the time comes, such a place exists...maybe in 3 more years at Tacklebox's 7 year mark.