Due to a robust design and architecture program at NC State as well as the rapid growth of our city, Raleigh is quickly becoming a hot spot for young architects and designers. As the city population expands, so do the opportunities for these creative industries to flourish alongside the changing “face” of Raleigh as rehabbed spaces and new building projects continue to pop up all around us. New to the scene is The Raleigh Architecture Co. (and The Raleigh Construction Co.).
Owners Robby Johnston and Craig Kerins studied together at UNCC College of Architecture and left with a dream to eventually start up their own firm. Their first project together was a house design in Concord, NC in 2010. With Robby’s experience in project design and management and Craig’s background in construction and fabrication, the two have jumped into the Raleigh design/build scene quickly and prolifically. Some of their completed projects to date are the new Sling Shot Coffee space at Oak City Cycling, a major kitchen/master bath remodel in Cary, an addition/renovation in Oakwood and more.
Upcoming projects in the works are a few total gut-renovations of some local historic homes, a renovation of the Videri Chocolate Factory (with Clearscapes Architects), two ground up house in Oakwood and the design of the new Crank Arm Brewery and Donut Theory spaces downtown Raleigh. So clearly, things are going well for these guys!
Follow along with their projects on Instagram @the_raleigh_architecture_co, on Facebook, on Flickr, or online at www.raleigh-architecture.com.
We got Robby and Craig to take a moment out of their busy schedules to answer our Creative Spotlight Q&A so we could learn a bit more about their business, backgrounds and who they are as creative entrepreneurs. Check out their answers here:
Describe your business in one sentence.
The Raleigh Architecture Co. and The Raleigh Construction Co. are two separate but constantly collaborating companies that share a passion for designing and making architecture with a modern approach.
What makes your company unique?
We are architects that build. Our passion is making buildings and being both architects and general contractors allows us to be involved in the process from start to finish.
At what moment did you know you wanted to pursue architecture?
Robby: My great uncle was an artist & draftsman. Being the only one in the family interested in the arts, he left me all his drafting equipment. When visiting his house I stumbled upon a box of immaculate drawings. I didn’t know or understand at that time what an architect did but I wanted to make drawings that were full of space and information like this… that was it for me.
Craig: I’m not sure if I really knew what I was getting into until the first day of architecture school. I got there knowing that it was a logical culmination of my interests, and it blew me away to finally see the art, science, and passion behind the process. The next several years of school created a lifetime’s worth of inspiration.
What is one of your favorite things about living/working/creating in the Raleigh area?
Robby: Raleigh’s best ten years remain in front of it. Not many moderately sized cities can say that. It’s exciting and inspiring to be surrounded by a critical mass of creative and passionate peers. If we’re all in this together, there’s no stopping Raleigh.
Craig: Raleigh has a great creative community and plenty of fresh energy. It’s inspiring to be starting a business alongside many other people at the same time. We’re working with several relatively new businesses now – Sling Shot Coffee and Crank Arm Brewing – and we’re an upstart ourselves. I’m actually relatively new to Raleigh; I lived in Austin, Texas for the previous eight years. I got there at the start of a creative boom and I see the same thing happening here in Raleigh right now. It’s an exciting time.
What is your favorite creative resource to learn about innovative ideas and industry inspirations (blog, magazine, forum, website, etc.)?
Robby: Other architects. It’s not even necessary that we share a creative eye. I visit archdaily and dezeen daily. These blogs provide a plethora of work. Outside of that I have a small list of “preferred” architects. I monitor their work via web, book collection, lecture, and travelling.
Craig: Honestly, I don’t read blogs at all and barely read magazines. I do love to travel and see both old and new buildings. And, I love buying books. A good city with a good bookstore can saturate me pretty quickly. Also, being involved with construction forces me to do my own research on materials and construction via the web or through conversations with suppliers and sub contractors.
What part of the architecture project process is your favorite?
Robby: I never saw coming when we decided to take this plunge. Traditionally I’ve had a penchant for making (models and drawings, mostly) and conceptualizing (giving a building meaning/order). As an employee, opportunities to make are essentially handed to you. Now, there’s no making without first creating opportunity. I find myself currently favoring the process of creating work but I couldn’t be happy without continuing to make.
Craig: Figuring out how things go together. Much of my background is as a fabricator and craftsman, and those skills teach you to be very conscious about everything you assemble – a building’s design, the structure of your business, budgets, schedules, etc. – and to appreciate the craft with which it’s done. A well crafted solution to a problem is very satisfying.
Do you have an aspect of design/architecture that excites/challenges you the most?
Robby: Without challenge, is there excitement? As a young designer and business owner, the challenge is constantly seeing the big picture. Literally, there are hundreds of hard decisions to be make everyday. It’s a challenge to successfully pick the right battles to fight. Each resolution must benefit the company, the project, and all others involved while meeting the initial intent and expectation.
Craig: Focusing on design specifically, what excites me the most is composition and details. Trying to achieve an elegant solution where there is harmony, economy, and restraint. Knowing materials and their inherent properties and putting them together elegantly is not easy, but when done well it’s pure beauty.
What is your idea of a perfect day?
Robby: Waking to dry conditions, breakfast with my family, a passed inspection, a new client, a new idea, a new pair of denim, a hearty sip of bourbon, a bite of 90% cocoa, a well prepared meal and an episode of Arrested Development.
Craig: A site visit plus a few hours in the shop. Then spending hours cooking a huge meal for friends. At the end of the day the job site is clean, the tools are put away, the dishes are done, and I’m ready for a good book.
If you could organize a panel discussion on design/architecture and could have any 4 people sit on it (living or dead) who would you choose?
Robby: Julius Shullman, Ray & Charles Eames (this counts as one, right?!), Thom Mayne, and Peter Zumthor.
Craig: Louis Kahn, Tom Kundig, Richard Serra, and Donald Judd.
What city (domestic or foreign) have you traveled to that has most inspired you creatively and why?
Robby: As cliché as it certainly is, I feel renewed and re-inspired every time I fly out of LaGuardia. Not sure I’ll ever wrap my head around the density and the energy it creates.
Craig: San Sebastian, Spain. It’s this perfect little city right on the coast with beautiful buildings and urban spaces. Also, the care with which daily life is lived is inspiring; people really take the time to enjoy their surroundings and daily routines. The food especially. And the Chillida foundation is there – some of the most incredible sculpture I’ve seen.
What is the best professional quality about your business partner?
Robby: Loyalty (to people. to ideas. to quality.)
Craig: Passion and dedication.
What quality do you most admire in others?
Robby: Loyalty.
Craig: Passion and dedication. Bruce Springsteen gave a great keynote speech at South by South West a year or two ago and talked about this. He makes one kind of music and does it really well, but he also appreciates people who make other kinds of music and do it really well. His point was that it’s important to care no matter what you’re doing.
What local design, architecture, arts or creative industry organization locally have you been the most impressed with?
Robby: I relocated to Raleigh because I realized if NC was to remain home, Raleigh was the only place I could practice my passion. What other regional city boasts progressive fashion/clothing, architecture, art, industrial design, graphics, gaming, theatre, etc. I see each of these design facets assisting each other. I was raised in the south and believe in the South’s potential and I see Raleigh leading the charge.
Craig: It’s hard to single one out, but CAM, VAE, Artspace, Design Box, etc. are all great places with a lot of energy.
What is always in your kitchen?
Robby: Bacon.
Craig: Coffee.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Robby: The “Royale” _ Poole’s Diner.
Craig: Tasty Beverage in Raleigh and the Thirsty Monk in Asheville. Robby and I spent six months studying abroad in Antwerp, Belgium. The Belgians take their beer very seriously, and it’s hard not to leave there with a similar attitude.
Describe yourself in 3-5 words.
Robby: Not scared to fail.
Craig: Go be it.