Artworks | Artworks: The Art of Architecture Part 2: Execution | Season 11 | Episode 5

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.

(theme music playing).

WENDEL PATRICK: “Artworks” is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

CARMINE CAFIERO: So, architecture is such a beautiful thing because it’s something that’s been around for eons of time, but it’s always been something that’s been reacting to the zeitgeist of any particular culture at any particular time, right?

And so, architects have, I think, have always found themselves in this really interesting point where they’re a little bit of these guardians for all of the things that have been done to date and why, and the best parts of those layered with what are, what are the things that we are finding ourselves in now?

What are the cultural things we’re finding ourselves in now, what are not necessarily trends, because those always come and go, but through understanding what trends are, what are the things that are timeless that carry through from eon to eon, era to era, style to style, those through lines, right?

Um, and so while we have a whole group of folks in the office that draw some of the most beautiful illustrations that you will ever see, and we should never ever lose that we have a whole host of people in the office that are also really interested in seeing new ways and new technologies and new abilities to kind of visualize maybe most importantly for clients what it, what their dreams are, right?

They come to us because they’re have something in their mind that they’ve been thinking about for a long time, and we are here to help make that real, right?

And so, part of one of the beauties of the new technologies that we find ourselves in, what is new rendering softwares and rendering engines, AI is something that we’re constantly trying to figure out how it kind of inserts itself into our process, right?

In different ways, right?

All of those different things help us visualize something for a client that maybe they might not have otherwise been able to see before, or we might have not always been able to communicate as clearly before.

And so that we always should be looking to see if there’s things that we can use to make our communication out into the world and to our clients and to our contractors, to ourselves, better, right?

That make us better designers, better architects, better partners, um, but also, I think, kind of make sure that we are always carrying through the best parts of, you know, what, what’s been done to date.

Like why, why architecture enjoys the importance that it does in our world, right?

Or the reason why people choose to build homes of the fun and the quality that we get to work through every day, right?

So, I think it comes hand in hand.

CATHY PURPLE CHERRY: Even your clients never know specifically what they want, right?

So, they know specifically that they want a kitchen, and they know specifically that they want two islands, but they don’t necessarily know that they want where things are gonna go, and they don’t necessarily know that it’s on the right side or the left side or the front or the back.

And that’s what our job is.

Our job is to take that, those parts and pieces and then assemble them into the best functional plans that really work for the site, the property, the sun, the views, and obviously for the client.

There’s one other factor that I think is really important personally, to bring into the conversation, which isn’t so sexy, is the budget desire.

So, everything costs something, and it’s, I don’t wanna say it’s easy, I wanna say it’s easier when somebody says, I have no budget at all, but never have I heard that in 40 years, okay?

So, the dilemma is to make sure that we’re sensitive to understanding what our client’s goals are and then working to continuously educate them as to why we can or cannot get to those goals.

So, it’s really important to be talking money, costs, budgets, intent, what they’re willing to give up, what they’re not willing to give up, and try to do those conversations very early in the process.

We continuously talk as our team, we will continuously talk through it, even through the whole project, because again, it’s as clients, while they know the 10 rooms they want, they don’t know the opportunities, right?

So, it’s our job to give them the creative opportunities.

It’s our job to create the unique conditions or to introduce the fun things that can happen within those volumes.

And then they go, “Oh my God, that would be fantastic,” right?

That’s what you want outta your client.

At the same time, you wanna make sure that what you’re doing is still fitting within their budget or that they’re increasing their budget to allow you to do the fun thing.

Make sense?

Okay.

MRS.

ATKINSON: So, home represents where family and friends come and feel comfortable, and you can open it up, and people will walk around in their bare feet and their jammies and their sweats, and it’s comfortable.

So that’s home.

And Maryland is my home.

Uh, I love it.

I love the seasons and I love the weather and the people and the culture here and how, uh, I like being near the capital, um, of Annapolis.

I think that’s special.

I feel like just being close to the water is a really special treat.

And, um, I feel very lucky.

When we first met with Cathy, um, we had already seen a lot of her designs and we liked what she had already done.

So, we were inspired by it.

Um, and we liked that we wanted this house to feel like it had been here.

Like it wasn’t all new.

Um, and she, of course, got that right away.

Light was important and windows and, and so just really the design process was pretty seamless, ’cause I think she already knew a little bit from, uh, just those descriptions of like what we wanted this house to represent and how we wanted it to look.

So, she really inspired us from some of her previous work, but then she was really thoughtful and helpful in helping us incorporate new ideas like the glass railings around, I think that was something that Purple Cherry maybe hadn’t done before.

And that was something that was really important to my husband to have clear views.

Um, the really big windows were really important to us so we could get the maximum light.

And we didn’t put curtains on any of the windows, ’cause we just wanted to maximize the light.

CARMINE: Well, we’re view-oriented people from the very beginning, right?

If you would ask us what our style of architecture is, most of the folks in the office will tell you that our style is view.

Because it’s not that we are a group of folks that are after designing one particular style of home, right?

Shingle style, George, and Victorian Queen Anne, any of those, right?

Federal, colonial.

We are so fortunate to be in the location that we are and to be able to enjoy all of these different view sheds that we have.

And so, when we’re on property for the first time and we’re thinking about a house, so we’re talking through priorities for a client or why they, why they wanted to be here is usually through the lens of what we’re gonna be looking at, right?

And so, we’ll always start off with where are we trying to see?

What views do you love the most?

I think that’s true of whether we’re along a beautiful coastal waterway or we’re a little bit more inland in farm country, right?

It’s, it’s always comes down to the, the same starting point.

CATHY: Sometimes people say, “Oh, I know that’s a Purple Cherry house,” but in my brain, what’s the Purple Cherry house?

What is that animal?

Right?

Um, we as a team, and I, always have taken the position that I like all different kinds of style.

I’m just waiting for the client to come along and ask me to do an Adobe house, which is kind of Mexican with the mud, or to do a, um, uh, something that is influenced by Japanese culture.

Oh my God, I’d love to do those two things.

Stylistically, I think that what we’re really good at is understanding what our client is attracted to and then morphing that attraction into something that is uniquely theirs.

A lot of alignment of spaces, you’ll see a lot of connections, you’ll see a lot of, um, thoughtfulness into functions of technical spaces such as kitchens.

And so, I think that’s one thing that’s true.

Then I think if I go to the outside, I think that we like classical proportions, classical applications, but yet we can still go into a more contemporary style.

So, I think we always do lean back on Classicism, if that makes sense.

CARMINE: I’ve been here for almost six years, but it feels like I’ve been here for almost 16 years.

Um, ’cause I’ve just, I’ve developed a really close relationship with Cathy and she’s been an incredible mentor to me, um, professionally and personally, just helping to understand what it means to operate an architectural company, right?

An architectural firm and all of the different things at play, and all of the different considerations and decisions, no matter how big or small, all along the way of the process.

So, from the very beginning, during design, through working through the team and getting that sketch into the model, and working through the model, going out into the site, right?

And watching for all of the different things that are coming along the way to be a good partner to a contractor to help participate, right?

And help anticipate and anything else you can think of, right?

Working with clients and help kind of educate them over time, work through sensitive material with them.

Every con, every client we work with has some unique thing that they are either bringing to the project or a unique personal circumstance that kind of makes the whole process so great.

And so, watching her work with clients and the sensitivity that she has to anybody she comes across is just something that really takes a practiced hand and takes a lot of experience.

And anytime we have an opportunity to observe that and learn from it and take it in and then kind of repackage it in our own way, is just a really valuable thing.

CATHY: People are uncomfortable stepping into personal situations between a husband and wife, and I’m not; it’s the trauma of my experience.

And then I think the third thing is, it’s the number of years I’ve been married.

So, 44 years, soon to be 45, these days is, you know, a long time, right?

And so, there’s absolutely, I’ve been in front of clients where they get ugly to each other, and that kind of situation, I will step in.

I’m not the one who won’t.

And when I step in, I’m gonna step in being compassionate to both sides of whatever that ugliness is, because I can look at one and say, I completely understand what it is that you’re wanting to accomplish.

At the same time, we’re trying to balance something else.

So, we need to be a, so let’s say that the husband is upset about the wife requesting something and knowing that it’s gonna have a dramatic financial cost to the situation, right?

So maybe offering forward, not only let’s just talk through how we might be able to make this happen, what else could we give up in order to offset this desire or goal, et cetera.

Or more importantly, advocating for, in this case, advocating for the mom or the wife, because, because what she’s asking for is actually solving something that causes her a tremendous amount of stress, but he never sees it, right?

And you can, ima, you can understand that, right?

So, I don’t, I could role-reverse this, too.

So, remember I’m the primary, so I could flip this around on myself, understanding that men and women are completely different first, ’cause they are, no matter what, we sit there and look at that spec of dirt on top of that table and it bothers us for a month and we’re waiting for you to wipe it off.

And you never do, ’cause you never see it and it doesn’t bother you.

And I’m terribly jealous of that, I wish I could turn that part of my brain off, right?

I’m very jealous of the fact that you all don’t see it, and maybe we do.

And trying to actually point out those differences when arguments occur with clients, and trying to make them understand that it’s okay to be difficult in a situation.

It’s okay to express something that’s very important to you, even if then your partner is getting angry at that situation.

I’ve even had situations where, um, in concept, the wife got up ’cause she was so unhappy with the way that the husband had spoken to her.

And then when the husband was in front of me, I, you know, offered what I’m gonna call the marital advice of what he needed to potentially say when she returned, ’cause he couldn’t understand why she was upset.

And I can understand why he couldn’t understand why she was upset, but I could understand why she was upset, because it’s those differences between men and women.

It’s not because anybody did anything wrong in this situation; it was just that moment in time, right?

Where the man and the woman don’t understand each other.

And then I, let’s come out of that for a moment.

We certainly use a lot of tools to try to help.

So, it’s, uh, not unusual for one client to see very well three-dimensionally and another client not to see it at all.

And so, the ability to sketch three-dimensionally, the ability to use the three-dimensional technology that our firm uses all the time, are the two tools that we can use to help bring along the one who can’t see, while I’m expressing to the other one, you know, just be patient, sit for a second.

We’re gonna, we’re gonna get through this.

We’re gonna explain what’s going on.

We really need him or her to be on board with what we’re talking about.

Does that make sense?

It’s just really about being patient and being comfortable in talking about these things.

I know that I’m more comfortable than most in having any conversation about anything.

MRS.

ATKINSON: It’s probably sometimes, we’re a husband and wife, and so our emotional needs, my husband is probably more, um, in some ways more modern than I am.

And I’m probably a little bit more traditional in our styles.

And so, in working with, you know, Purple Cherry, we have a very traditional front of the house, but with a modern door.

Um, and then the back is more modern in a way, in it’s look and type, and she just brought it together seamlessly for us.

So, it’s, it’s a lot of, um, as you look around, a lot of traditional elements and then a lot of modern.

So, for the bowling alley and the golf simulator and all that, that sort of speaks to where we started this conversation around home and family, and what can we all do as a family on a rainy day, and when it’s, it’s night and you can’t be outside, what can we do as a family to have fun together?

That was really the inspiration for the bowling alley and the golf simulator.

And also, I think also, as my husband’s dream, he loves bowling, so he, he’s always wanted a bowling alley, so I have to put that in there too, just that dream.

MARK KOSKI: Mark Koski, I own a company called GYC Group Limited.

Our main office is in Westminster, Maryland, and we build, uh, off-site custom homes.

I’ve been doing this for almost 40, well, 40 years now.

And every time you think you’ve done it all, there’s always something that comes up.

And on the Atkinson residence, it was the bowling alley.

Up until then, we’ve done all kind of custom things in all types of homes, but we had never done a bowling alley up to that point.

So that was a lot of fun, and it was a learning experience, but it turned out really well.

It’s, uh, it, it, it, that’s again, one of the things that makes the, the work so interesting and, and working with Purple Cherry fun is because, you know, we have to figure those things out.

It’s not something you see every day.

Uh, obviously, it’s been done a lot of times around the country, but every builder doesn’t get to do that on a daily basis.

And figuring out those details and making it turn out as well as that turned out, um, is a fun part of the process.

Figuring out those things to the 16th or 32nd of an inch is, you know, it, it definitely takes some time and some effort and some very talented people to make it all happen.

CARMINE: Working with a contractor that you have a deep relationship is really important when we’re working on projects like this, because they’re complicated and they have some things that not everybody has covered along the way.

And so, when a contractor’s out in the field trying to put a house together and there might have some questions that come along the way or some things that they haven’t seen that they need some clarifications on, we’re, we’re there to help answer those questions.

And we’re just all along the way are here to just be as, as good of a support to the contractor as we can.

Because they’ve supported us as we’ve been trying to design the house, and they’ve been giving feedback over time.

They are always available if we have questions, even if they’re not on the project, right?

And they’re just here as a resource to us.

So anytime that we can be a resource for them or help them work through things, that’s what we feel is our job.

MARK: It’s definitely all about, uh, communication and teamwork.

So, uh, and everybody has to have the same vision and the same passion, and it works really well when, uh, everybody loves what they do and, and, uh, works well together.

CATHY: I think that when you look very closely at the intersection of all of these spiraling beams and the craftsmanship that was done, not by us, by the general contractor of this project, I think that’s what makes custom architecture so successful, is the talents of the trades and their ability to implement design that’s drawn by others.

There is a casual sitting area here consisting of obviously Belgian limestone, fully dug fur room in a semi-circular space.

Uh, the clients are big collectors of all different kinds of unique things, so you’ll consistently see carved bears throughout the house, things that remind him of trains because his father was actually, this is his connection back to his father.

MR.

KELL: We didn’t know Cathy before this project, and I just talked to two or three architects and, uh, she seemed, you know, uh, uh, well, we just hit it off.

So, it was a good, it was a good personality mix and, uh, and I guess we worked with her pretty intensely for like five years, two years probably getting ready and then three years during the construction.

And, um, and, you know, she was always a good listener, always came up with, uh, good ideas and she, she and I and my wife would have long discussions and we’d say, well, this, you know, we’d show a picture of what we liked and she’d say, okay, you know, uh, I’ll give you some sketches along those lines, or, you know, we were interested in sort of tying the house to the 19th century arch, architecture of the Eastern shore.

And she knew a lot about that.

And, uh, uh, and we’d have these sessions where we’d come in with a couple ideas and then the next week, she’d have it all drawn up and, you know, we worked together for about a year just coming up with the plans.

And, uh, we, she was so good to work with because, uh, we were kind of on the same wavelength all the time.

And, uh, I don’t think, uh, I know we had not a single disagreement, you know, over that five years, uh, we’d come up with an idea, she’d come up with a response, we liked it, we’d move on.

And, um, uh, so she’s just a, a delight to work with.

You know, architecture is, you know, a, a very distinct form of art, and I think you can get pleasure from the art of architecture like you can from, you know, great painting or a lot of other artwork.

And for me and for my wife, it’s that, you know, every time we’re out in the neighborhood walking or arriving, coming home after being away for a long time, you know, we get to the house and we said, you know, wow, you know, can’t believe I live in such a beautiful place.

It’s a pleasure to get out.

You know, it just gives you great pleasure just to see how well the architecture works and how it fits well in this spot in the land on this creek.

And it’s a kind of everyday art that you can enjoy.

ALEX EPSTEIN: My name is Alex Epstein, or Alexandra.

I am the lead interior designer at Purple Cherry Architects, and I am from Baltimore, Maryland.

So, especially with color, it’s so important to do and to listen to the client.

A lot of times, like if you go really bold or really soft, it’s gonna evoke different feelings and different emotions.

Um, and that vibe that you’re trying to evoke and change is really important.

For instance, like if you went with a really bold room that’s like really dark and really moody, then you’re gonna also wanna add textures that are really soft to kind of balance that out.

So then that way the space doesn’t feel too overwhelming to the client.

Um, for a lot of people that like want a really soft, like serene space, you would go a lot lighter.

The texture is gonna be like really yummy and like soft and have lots of like depth to them, not necessarily a lot of pattern and a lot of color.

And that always changes the way a space is gonna feel.

LAUREN NEUVEL: Um, so we are a bit unique in that our firm is both an architecture and an interior design studio, which means that our architects and our interior designers sit together in one big open collaborative space.

They’re constantly talking to each other, learning from each other, interacting with each other.

Um, and what that means for our clients is that the process, the design process from start to finish, can really be as seamless as it possibly can.

Um, because they’re not interacting with multiple parties, interacting with multiple companies and organizations, their team is really all together.

So, it makes for a really highly efficient process, um, and as turnkey as possible for our clients, which is obviously our goal.

CATHY: So, architects can practice doing nothing but the shell.

And when I say the shell, what we’re talking to specifically are the exterior walls and enclosures.

There are places where a lot of architects in custom world is the architect doing the shell, the walls, sometimes the moldings and millwork, and then the interior designer comes in and does what I’m gonna say, attaches to the walls when you shake the house upside down.

So that takes in tile, paint color, cabinetry, light fixtures, plus the things that fall out, which is furniture, rugs, accessories, window treatment, okay?

We have 11 interior designers that are all degreed on staff, and they don’t know what our architects know, but they all, we all sit in the same space and we all all day are collaborating.

So, whether we’re early in architecture, we want the interior designer’s input on what might be the scale of the sofa, furniture, et cetera, so that we can make sure to accommodate the spacings between whatever functions.

And then vice versa when they’re getting into that place that we’re over here going, oh gosh, that’s not gonna work.

We need this much chain, the ceiling height, blah, blah, blah.

What do we need to do with the beams?

Um, that collaboration is seamless in our office because we have it in our office.

When it’s not in the office and it’s two parties, it doesn’t happen real time.

It’s a lot more laborious because you’re dealing with not even having those discussions about those possible conflict areas until they real time happen.

LAUREN: So, we’re excited about the future of Purple Cherry, um, we love the idea of continuing to grow our portfolio across the country, I think, but what the most important thing for us to keep in mind when leaving a legacy is how we treat our clients.

That’s the most important thing for us, and that’s really been instilled from Cathy Cherry at the top down.

Um, we, the most important thing at the end of the day is that we treat our clients, our clients’ goals, and our clients’ budget with respect.

Um, and so for us, that is our legacy.

We, we are known for being a group of talented design professionals, but I think more importantly, we want to be known as a team that takes care of our clients and advocates for our clients.

(music plays through credits).

WENDEL PATRICK: “Artworks” is made possible in part by the Citizens of Baltimore County and by the Ruth R. Marder Arts Endowment Fund, the Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Endowment for the Arts, the E.T.

& Robert B. Rocklin Fund, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation Arts Endowment in memory of Ruth Marder.

♪ ♪ NARRATOR: Second Story Books, celebrating 50 years of dedicated book selling.