Alan Schlossberg, AIA, LEED AP

Name: Alan Schlossberg, AIA, LEED AP
Firm: Perkins Eastman
Family: Wife Loretta, daughters Sarah (age 16) and Anna (age 14), dog Bruce (age 3, people years)
Years in practice: 27 (February will be my 20th anniversary with PE)
Education: Master of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University; Bachelor of Fine Arts, Theatre, Carnegie Mellon University
Your first job: Stock boy, frozen food aisle, Waldbaums supermarket, Long Island, NY. Always dress warm!
Favorite building: Any school. Schools hold the potential to shape the people who create our future.
Favorite outdoor space: Bryant Park, NY – perfect balance of formality and respite in an urban greenspace.
Favorite indoor space: Grand Central Terminal, NY …the ultimate city arrival experience.
Favorite city: New York.
What’s the best part of your job? Working with so many intelligent people dedicated to learning.
Project you’re proudest of: Reynolds Institute on Aging, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. One of the most challenging integrated teaching and research programs I’ve ever tackled; very rewarding to work with a team of scientists so dedicated to advancing our understanding of healthy aging.
Architectural quote to practice by: I might seek out an architect’s words for design inspiration, but not to guide my practice … One suggestion instead: “It’s not the customer’s job to know what they want.”  (Steve Jobs).
Favorite tool (can be digital, drafting, physical,…): Most powerful and useful tool, observation.
Favorite architecture book: One of my most recent reads, Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull; the story of Pixar animation and how to build creative culture.
If you hadn’t become an architect, what would you have been?  Theatre lighting designer. There’s still time!
Building you’d like to renovate into something else and why? Motor Square Garden in East Liberty … one of the truly exceptional buildings in the community with a great civic and cultural past. It would make a wonderful year-round public market house.
Favorite Kennywood ride: Phantom’s Revenge. I love moving fast!
Where you live in Pittsburgh and why you think it’s great? Regent Square – complex neighborhood including four municipalities (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Edegewood & Swissvale), economically and racially diverse, walkable, Frick Park access, 6 miles from downtown, and not a single national chain store in the business district!
I want to be remembered for: My ability to listen, collaborate, innovate, and act with integrity.
Advice to young architects: Find an area of the architectural profession to bring you lifelong curiosity.
I belong to the AIA because: I want to be part of a family who truly understands the challenge of our profession and the dedication it takes to be successful.