S teve L opeS blacksmith
design solutions in metal
Working with Elster: “Mark has built this quality of being a student and teacher at the same time. He loves to learn and pass on what he’s learned from others. When you work with Mark, he asks a lot of questions, and I really appreciate his ability to try to understand what I’m trying to do [in my line of work]. He’s very humble, and he truly wants what’s best for each project.” —Steve Lopes, Steve Lopes Blacksmith, Port Townsend, Washington
when I had to walk away from a problem and come back to it later. That’s when the subconscious is able to look at the overview and produce a solution almost magically. Be patient. Clients can make you groan when they are harming their own prospects, either unintentionally or intentionally. I take slow, deep breathes and tell myself to slow down. Clients aren’t trying to make your life difficult. They have legitimate reasons for doing what they’re doing. I do my best to help them out of self-sabotaging behavior. Quickly build a rapport with the client. A really good architect knows design is the easy part, it’s the intangible things that are the toughest to master. Early on, you need to illustrate in advance how you will take care of the client, their time, money, and brain cells. If you can give them a glance at that, you should land the project more often than not. Trust is a two-way street. I have trusted people, families, individuals, and developers who didn’t warrant that trust. I ignored the warning signs and made costly mistakes. Stop problems before they snowball, and learn to say “no.” I love making things for people. Architecture is the ultimate expression of conceiving something and boldly, unabashedly making your ideas manifest. Many of us are able to think up ideas, but are rarely able to execute them when it comes to making physical objects. Fortunately, I have the ability, resources, and access to the talented people and tools needed to build virtually anything I can conceive of. In my career, I get so much out of the collaborative experience of working with a whole orchestra of people who also enjoy making things for others. It’s one of the great joys of the profession.
traditional techniques
contemporary design
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Strive to be well rounded. When I was in college, I decided I wouldn’t let architecture become my whole life. At that time, a significant portion of students were obsessed with architecture— it was their whole life. That experience and others in life have taught me to not let myself be absorbed by any one thing. I treasure the time I have with the people I care about— my family, friends, and peers. Focusing only on business can drive those things out of your life. Having multiple pursuits keeps you physically and mentally young. To relax, I pursue my hobbies, which are a form of pleasurable work. I’m a photographer, furniture builder, gardener, and amateur magician. When I need a break from my hobbies, I bike, mountain climb, volunteer, and read. When I’m not doing those things, I love to literally do nothing to decompress. a