Name: Larry Fabbroni
Firm: Strada
Years in practice: 15
Education: BArch and Masters of Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon
Your first job: Surveying assistant for my father’s business. I was around construction sites from a very early age, learning about site planning and observing all of the disciplines that contribute to new buildings.
Favorite tool (can be digital, drafting, physical,…):
Story-telling. A great narrative that people connect with is so often key to inspiring great architecture.
Favorite building: NY Public Library Main Branch
Favorite outdoor space: In Pittsburgh: Schenley Park (also maybe the beer garden at Grist House…)…outside of Pittsburgh: Las Ramblas and Assateague Island beaches.
Architect you’d like to have a drink with: Marilyn Jordan Taylor
If you hadn’t become an architect, what would you have been? Much more boring?
What’s on your iPod/Pandora/Spotify? LCD Soundsystem; Japandroids; Spoon; Talking Heads; Yeah Yeah Yeahs…and many many more.
The secret to my success:
I try to learn from all the people I meet and experiences I have. I love great movies and books that mix character development, excitement and a great plot twist. I think whatever “success” I’ve enjoyed draws parallels…I try to always be developing who I am; I try to find interesting challenges and to accept situations that inherently make me uncomfortable; and I recognize that while planning is great, the most important people and opportunities in my life are things I could never have predicted years ahead of time.
Advice to young architects: Choose your own mentors. Don’t settle for an “arranged marriage” – decide who you want to learn from and pitch them on the mutual value of the relationship. I am constantly tapping new and old voices to teach me and challenge me.
Architectural quote to practice by: “We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.” – R. Buckminster Fuller
