Why #WeLoveBuildings
The first rule of building a successful team is to find talented people who share a passion for the mission of the company. At PocketBuildings, we love buildings because we recognize that buildings are a part of the foundation of our everyday lives. From homes to restaurants to hospitals to offices, we work and live in the comfort and safety of buildings.
Why do you love buildings?
In the spirit of sharing for the Thanksgiving holiday, we asked our PocketBuildings team to answer the question - why do you love buildings? It turns out that our answers are very different - and so much the same!
Here are our answers:
Bryan Chong, CEO
I love buildings but my first love was homes. My parents were obsessed with planning family vacations to historical homes in the Southeast like the Biltmore Estate, Mount Vernon, and Monticello. It laid the foundation to deeply appreciate and see the beauty in all kinds of architecture and construction -- classic, modern, wood, metal, concrete, residential, and of course BUILDINGS.
Greg Moulton, SVP of Sales
For me, it's the ability of concrete and glass to transform into an icon. The Sears Tower (yes I know the name has changed), Empire State, and closer to home for me "The Superman Building" in Providence all represent iconic architecture that reminds us they're not just buildings. I can remember standing in the lobby of the Empire State building waiting to ride the elevators up to the observation deck quite well. Why do thousands of people wait in lines every year? I believe it's about connecting to an icon.
Damian Bartosik, Director of Engineering
The power of our civilization can be perfectly presented through buildings that, despite their age, do not cease to surprise with their magnificence, and those that are modern, breathtaking architectural works. One of my favorite objects is Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore, which impresses with its scale, combining nature with great engineering work. I am glad to be alive during times when technology and its progress has a constantly bigger impact on the building and construction industry.
Alex Rothenberg, CRE Technology Consultant
For me, buildings represent one of our best and most tangible opportunities to leverage design and technology for the reduction of carbon emissions into our atmosphere. The built environment represents a significant carbon portion of the carbon emitted on this planet. Thoughtful design and appropriate technology can transform new and renovated buildings into masterpieces of carbon-neutral or even energy-producing structures. Great design and technology can literally breathe light, air, and life into a building.
Hunt Baker, CRE Technology Consultant
I love buildings because every building is a reminder of how engineering and architecture progresses. To see a building that has curved exterior walls or a building that stands 100 stories tall is amazing to me. Buildings are landmarks. If I showed someone a picture of the Empire State Building, they'd know what city it was. If you showed me a skyline with a building with two tall spires extending above the rest of the skyline, I'd say "oh that's Chicago's Willis Tower." That's really cool how someone can recognize a city they've never even been to just by seeing a building.
Zach Eyster, Portfolio Specialist
I like buildings because you get to see somebody's creative effort go from a paper rendering to something you can physically walk through and admire. It's critically important for architects to carefully choose things like texture, lighting, style, floor plan considering we spend 90% of our lives indoors. It's always been interesting to me to see how these choices directly impact interaction, productivity, mood, etc. when we are introduced to a new space.
Ilias Aboubeker, Full Stack Engineer
For me, buildings reflect the hard work of teams across many disciplines. When I look at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, UAE or Porte à faux Marseille, France, it reminds me that when humans work together and put their hearts and souls towards a given goal - the impossible all a sudden becomes possible.
Lizaveta Buraya, Full Stack Engineer
Buildings are capable of evoking a variety of vivid emotions - both positive and negative - and I think that's pretty awesome. My favorite buildings are multi-story houses built during the late Soviet era and the early 90s. Many people think that they are quite ugly, but most of my peers in Belarus grew up in such houses and, for me, they will always be associated with home and happy memories.
Diana Bourgeois, Marketing
Buildings are a historical marker for society representing a sense of aesthetics during a time period. The shapes and styles expressed in a building by conforming stone, glass, and metal into a large work of art alive with the people who use it every day adds something distinctive to a location that stands the test of time. The loss of a building, like Notre-Dame in the fire of April 2019, is a reminder that buildings are deeply connected to humanity - our past and our future.
Thanksgiving Wishes from PocketBuildings
We invite you to share with us why you love buildings. No matter where you celebrate Thanksgiving, the PocketBuildings team wishes your family a safe and happy holiday.
Ready to learn more about PocketBuildings? Find out more about the ways PocketBuildings helps bundle, curate, and share your buildings with others.
