RON STELMARSKI FAIA, LEED AP

Design Director, Principal - Perkins & Will

What is your best childhood memory?

My best memory, something that really unleashed my senses, was spending time in my grandfather’s basement woodshop. It was a very personal and intricate space. I loved the sweet smell of the cut wood and the range of tools hung on the pegboard. My grandfather and I would descend into the woodshop and reappear with something one-of-a-kind that we built. I learned about craft, machinery, and materials, but looking back I can point to important lessons in partnership and patience also.

What are you most proud of professionally?

Since it is still so fresh, my recent elevation to AIA Fellowship stands out as the single most important professional accomplishment. I’m proud of the way this recognition consolidates the past decade of my work – in fact, all the projects in my fellowship submission were designed and delivered while in Texas. What I really enjoyed about the process was detecting themes that have defined the work and how a single arc of an idea can be formed over time. Some of these themes include “architecture as social infrastructure,” “buildings as connective tissue,” “galvanizing communities,” and “work that interprets culture and context.”

What three qualities contribute most to your success?

Inquisitive, Optimistic, Persistent.

I usually strive to understand the essence or the origins of people and places. If you don’t ask questions or try to see things more deeply, you likely won’t raise the bar (in anything you do). But in the profession of architecture, you need equal parts optimism and persistence. Nothing comes easy, and if it does, I usually find a way to bring our team out of our comfort zone for the benefit of the project.

What hobbies do you enjoy?

Travel, Photography, Books (reading, buying, collecting).

I like living at the intersection of culture and context. Travel has been the best way for me to see different ways people live. Work has taken me to many interesting corners of the world - Beirut, Riyadh, Cairo, Dubai, Dubai, Shanghai, and Mexico City, among others. I always cherish coming across photos I’ve taken over time – they jog memories in meaningful ways. Memory finds an important place in my work, and my hobbies support that. I can’t leave out this hobby. I own an old Porsche 911 (964), which always needs a lot of TLC ($) and I’m always looking for the time to learn more about the history, engineering, and beauty of that car.

What’s your favorite book and why?

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig

A lot has been written about the meaning of this book, but I remember my first read came between my first and second years in college, so there was a lot of soul-searching going on. I’m going to over-simplify things, but this book really made me take a deep look inside myself. But it did so through a compelling story that was told “on the road” and through a mechanical armature – I could relate on so many levels.

What phrase do you say most frequently?

I have two phrases that I say a lot and have similar connotations. “Less jaw, more paw,” is a phrase I picked up working in blue collar Chicago. And while it may not completely align with how people want to communicate today, I find that the more I draw, the better the work gets. The other phrase is “Rule #18: Knowing it ain’t the same as doing it,” which I borrowed from Alan Webber’s book Rules of Thumb. Architecture is a very theoretical and conceptual profession, but I measure success at this point in my career with the quality and importance of built work…transforming ideas into buildings…this is where the ideas can have the largest impact on the people they serve.