Interview with Jeff Goldberger

I get excited when a project gears up my imagination and reasoning skills. Usually, a client’s perspective is the fuel. People differ so often in their backgrounds, priorities, likes and dislikes, that finding out what motivates them can be extremely energizing.

When we complete a project and the client gets excited, it reinforces that urge to design something new and unique.

I’ve always held interests in artistic representations as well as scientific rigor and a love of exploration. Prior to pursuing architecture, I worked on a team of medical researchers, which was super exciting. However, before making medicine a permanent career, I had to scratch the itch of expressing myself through discovery. In taking the time to do so, I realized that the joy of creating spaces, manipulating light and teasing out emotional wonder gave me a reward I cherished.

I design spaces that create an emotional response. We all do. Sometimes it is simply to feel peaceful, other times it is to bring about wonder.

Some projects are vibrant and uplifting, like the Urban Mountaintop rooftop renovation. Others are moody and chic, as at the new Rubin and Chapelle boutique. Tranquility and luxury is forefront at the Christian Dior Parfums offices.

I’m looking to design both large and small projects and show how each can be impactful. We have been studying designs for a residential tower with a community focus as well as a series of pavilions with other architects meant to harmonize disparate perspectives as a reminder that we all can live and support one another.

It’s important to be thorough in one’s thinking and preparation to be a professional. Do not forget the design goals you explore in school. What is it that you are trying to achieve, what emotions to evoke, when is one emotion relevant vs another? Then work for others, be open to learning how to communicate with clients and contractors, both verbally and through drawings. Learn how to build and to detail. These will make your designs the best they can be.

A great designer is one who knows how to incorporate the concept with the practical, one who knows how to edit out the irrelevant so that the core concept shines through. Then your design will resonate with people. Additionally, good design cannot be realized if it is not built correctly so a great designed appreciates the craft of building.

One that makes people feel connected to the space, whether it is one of understanding a story through contextual or historical recognition, or in elevation of what is displayed within. It could also be through a sense of ownership, or simply a sense of wonder.

In our boutique for Rubin and Chapelle we looked at the designers’ workshop to design a sultry rustic space suited to the display of the luxurious clothing. In our North 6th project we searched thorough historical records and were inspired by the original bakery in that location. In the offices for Christian Dior Parfums, we designed a calming, elegant place that the client loves. In our design for the underground nursery school, we incorporated design elements throughout that engage the children so they know the spaces are for them and they are contributors. The 31st Street apartment building design was based on the family history of the developers. This design, while serving their business needs also expresses their past in a way that gives them pride to be behind it.

Great design feels purposeful and meaningful. It makes you want to experience the space over and over. It has an impact on people. These carry resonance that brings emotional and financial value. The spaces serve a purpose, whether to dine in or to work in. They make us inspired, or perhaps relaxed, making our lives more enjoyable.

At the rooftop “Urban Mountaintop” project, our client, a graphic designer, and our landscape architect Placescape were involved in every step. The client chose the colors, setting the tone for the entire experience. He feels a connection to the place he could simply not get anywhere else. He loves to entertain and his guests share the feeling of being someplace special.

Architectural design is empathy made into experience. It takes abstract ideas and shapes them into usable, meaningful places that solve problems and reflect the cultures they come from. Good design listens first, creates with purpose, and improves how people actually live.