November 14, 2013  |  By pswrealestate

I proclaimed to my parents at the tender age of 8 that I would become an architect! It was a bit overzealous considering I didn’t know anything about the profession nor had I even heard of an architect before that night. In retrospect it felt more like a serendipidous occurrence.

Graduation at UTSA with my parents and grandparents

I was over at my friend’s house and she showed me her sister’s room who was away at college… I had never seen anything like it, her walls were a tapestry of exquisite drawings, her shelves contained beautiful basswood models and her drafting board displayed an infinite array of pens, colors, markers, and every other drawing tool you can think of! “My sister is an ARCHITECT” my friend said. I didn’t know exactly what that meant but I was sure that if I got to draw, color, make models, and find ways to repurpose my little debbie boxes after I was done eating them that I would be happy being an architect.

I studied architecture at the University of Texas in San Antonio. I remember on my first day of studio they told us to close our eyes and draw lines on our sketchbook without any further instruction. Once we all opened our eyes everybody seemed to have these rebellious curved lines that didn’t obey the perimeter of the paper. Mine in contrast, were short, repetitive, and within a uniform boundary… Welcome to Architecture School.

Traveling to Santorini during college

I received my bachelors of architecture at UTSA and about two months later moved to picturesque San Diego California to attended NewSchool of Architecture & Design. One of my most memorable experiences was studying abroad in Rome, Italy for an experimental studio observing the “virtual morphology” of ancient cities. There sprung my passion for patterns, scale, and structures of connectivity, and in turn urban planning became my concentration of studies.

I came back to Texas in 2009 and I currently work at PSW Homes in Austin. The interdisciplinary collaboration among architects, civil engineers, land acquisition, investor services and sales (all in-house) has proven to be the best experience in comprehensive design methodology which promotes affordable, and conscientious urban living in Austin. I get to contribute in the design of master plans for sustainable communities, as well as engage in the intimacies of designing someone’s dream home. Its a perfect combination!

Graduation from NewSchool of Architecture and Design at the Salk Institute by Louis Kahn in San Diego, CA