Name: Paul J. Tellers, AIA, AICP
Firm: Paul J. Tellers, AIA, AICP, Architect/Planner
Family: Married to Leah Rubenstein, daughters Kate (35) and Alice (29)
Years in practice: 35
Education: B. Arch., University of Detroit Mercy
Your first job: Delivering papers in Erie.
What’s the best part of your job? Thinking about the built environment, and actually doing something about it.
What’s the next big architectural trend? Large buildings designed for natural ventilation, without air conditioning.
Advice to young architects: Think of architecture as a craft—as a cabinetmaker thinks about making furniture or a musician making music—before you think of architecture as a business.
The one thing you wish they’d teach you in school: The business of architecture.
Best gift to give an architect: A straight answer to an honest question.
Wish list for downtown Pgh: Effective public transit.
Favorite building: The church of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona.
Favorite outdoor space: Schenley Plaza, Oakland.
Favorite indoor space: The Great Hall at the College of Fine Arts, Carnegie Mellon University.
Favorite city: Barcelona.
Favorite architecture book: Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King.
Architect you’d like to have a drink with: Antoni Gaudi, although I doubt that he drank.
Architectural quote to practice by: “Architecture is my delight, and putting up and pulling down one of my favorite amusements.” Thomas Jefferson