Why I started Pocono Modern

If you have ever read this blog, I suppose you have come to know alot about what I think about the current states of things.  Like most Architects, I have quite alot of opinions about how things run and I do my best to try and affect change where I can. I think that's all you can really do. 

When I worked for other companies I found that clients were seldom interested in my opinion about things.  In most cases they had already made up their minds about what size workstations they wanted to use or how best to layout a space.  I was merely a facilitator.  I was the one who put it all on paper and validated their theories about how many people could fit on a floor.  That kind of work makes you money but doesn't give you much else. 

When I would drive to meetings, I would think about the kind of job I REALLY wanted.  It would be the kind of job where you could create things that matter to people.  And when I say 'matter' I mean things that were important in the context of a person's life. 

A number of years ago there was this documentary on Frank Lloyd Wright that I saw on PBS.  One of the stories that was recounted was about a couple who had commissioned Wright to design a home and were very pleased with the result.  Unfortunately for this couple though, they could not agree on much else and so it was decided that they would get a divorce.  The only problem was that neither one of them wanted to leave the house.  Apparently, the only thing they could agree on was how magnificent the house was.  And so they both stayed, one on one side and one on the other.  I hope to design anything that matters that much to someone.

Four years ago I decided I was going to try and do something that mattered to me.  I bought a piece of land. I designed a home.  I managed to find a way to build it without getting a loan.  I was really proud of it. 

I believe that anyone can have a great place to live.  It doesn't take alot of money. It doesn't take a big piece of land.  The only thing it takes is a person to pay attention to how they live and then to create the kinds of spaces that serve those needs.  I believe that we are doing that at Pocono Modern.  I am thankful that we have found a group of clients that believe many of the same things that we do about what a home is.  I will end the year with a quote from cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead:

'"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

She was from Northeast PA after all.  See you all in 2012.