This week, we featured five remote interviews with our management team on Instagram. Inspired by our current work from home environment, we asked staff some questions via “Facetime” about what they’ve been up to since lockdown, what led them to their fields, and more!
Meet Alex, Simeon, Jessica, James, and Wayne in our first installment of #TTCFacetime below, and follow along on Instagram (@turettcollaborative) to keep up with the TTC crew!
Alex Nizhikhovskiy
ROLE: Project Architect
HOMETOWN: St. Petersburg, Russia (but really Brooklyn is home)
WHERE HE’S CALLING FROM NOW:
Lucky enough to be “locked down” in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn – surrounded by leafy streets, beautiful Victorian homes, and a great community.
WHY HE CHOSE ARCHITECTURE:
This could be a much longer answer, but to put it shortly, it’s the multifaceted nature of the work. How no two days are the same and the various people, places, and situations you’re exposed to. And lastly, the depth of relationships built in realizing an architectural project – with the place in which you’re building and with the people with whom you’re working with.
A BOOK HE READ RECENTLY:
Not a book I’ve read yet, but one which I’m starting now is The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. It looks at how cities and neighborhoods were shaped and consciously segregated by government and business policies in the 20th century and the aftermath of those efforts. I’ve been thinking more about the role design (whether urban or architectural) can play in solving issues of inequality and there’s no way to get there without first understanding how we got where we are today – so this is a start.
A FILM HE’D SUGGEST:
High Rise is a 2015 film based on the great 1970s dystopian novel by the British author J.G. Ballard. It’s not a great film (though still good) and the book is much better, but visually it’s very compelling and the story of architecture, class inequality, and unrest is very timely.
SOMETHING HE CAN’T WAIT TO DO WHEN LOCKDOWN ENDS:
Pre-lockdown I was playing hockey once or twice a week outside of my life in the office – it has been 3+ months since I’ve last touched the ice…so that’s something I’m desperate to return to – assuming I still remember how to skate!
Jessica Shaw
POSITION AT TTC: Director Of Interior Design
HOMETOWN: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
WHERE SHE’S CALLING FROM NOW: Fort Greene Brooklyn
WHY SHE CHOSE DESIGN: The profession of Interior Design has had a lasting appeal to me since a very young age when, as a teenager, the thought struck me of how designing interior spaces would be a unique creative expression in three dimensions, and that the end results would endure affecting everyday life for those who occupy and experience it. The fact that designing for interiors is a very particular exercise in problem solving which holds within it endless possibilities was and still is exciting to me. It’s a puzzle of a mysterious picture, which can only be revealed through a conviction to the design process and compassionate relationships with both those one designs for and with.
DESCRIBE LOCKDOWN IN 5 WORDS OR LESS: Undoing, Revisiting, Family, Appreciation, Change
HER WORKING FROM HOME TIP: Take that extra time in the morning that you would spend commuting and do something good for yourself to start your day on the right track. For me that’s meant enjoying my rooftop for early morning yoga, or simply some quiet solitude to clear my head and set intentions for the day.
A BOOK SHE’S READ RECENTLY: Healing with Pressure Point Therapy, Jack Forem
A FILM SHE’D SUGGEST TO ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN LOVERS: In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-Wai. Blade Runner by Ridley Scott and Blade Runner 2049 by Dennis Villeneuve
SOMETHING SHE CAN’T WAIT TO DO WHEN LOCKDOWN ENDS: Travel, visit my family in Canada and my husband’s family in Greece
Simeon Siegel
POSITION AT TTC: Frequently hunched over. Need to work on that.
HOMETOWN: Originally from Freeport, Long Island. Nowadays: Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn.
WHERE HE’S CALLING FROM NOW:
My college-aged son left his bedroom in perfect home-office condition. Wish he were home, but so long as he’s away… I’m making good use of his old desk.
HIS WFH TIP:
There are pluses and minuses, but being able to share three meals a day with my wife and daughter is pretty great. I will miss that a lot when we eventually return to the shared studio… so my “tip” is to remember to enjoy the upsides, whatever they may be, while they last.
SOMETHING NEW HE’S BEEN COOKING:
Check out this pizza. To be fair, this is mostly my wife and daughter’s doing. They made the dough from scratch. But it was really, really good. (That’s fake meat, btw.)
A FILM HE’D SUGGEST TO ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN LOVERS:
Ok, I’ll do some counterprogramming here: just watched “Into the Unknown: the Making of Frozen II”. (Because… too many channels!) No, don’t necessarily bother watching that… but it gave me a huge appreciation for the world-building and intensive design that goes into some animated features. The reason I thought of it here is that it was great to see the armies of artists and technicians working together toward the Big Goal. Tons of talent, not a lot of ego. The artistic product is impressive, but the process reminded me a lot of what I love about Architecture (the profession) at its best: collaboration amongst experts in disparate fields, turning a complex but hazy vision into a concrete reality, merging the needs and contributions of so many parties. (Ha, now I am starting to miss the office!)
SOMETHING HE CAN’T WAIT TO DO WHEN LOCKDOWN ENDS:
Greet friends with a hug. Walk around Prospect Park without a mask. Go grocery shopping at some time later than 7am.
James Saisakorn
POSITION AT TTC: Partner
HOMETOWN: Chicago, IL
WHERE HE’S CALLING FROM NOW:
I’m splitting my time between my apartment in the financial district and my partner’s summer house in Breezy Point, Queens.
WHY HE CHOSE ARCHITECTURE:
I chose architecture because as a child , I was always fascinated by school buildings especially the brutalist concrete ones that were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s. Any time I entered one I tried to memorize the exterior forms and interior spaces and redraw them when I got home. I used to try and plan the ideal school. I knew at a very young age that I wanted to be an architect because of this.
DESCRIBE LOCKDOWN IN 5 WORDS OR LESS:
Unexpected shock, opportunity to evolve.
HIS DAILY ROUTINE DURING LOCKDOWN:
I start my morning with 30-50 minutes of strength training and yoga, followed by a shower and the first cup of coffee. Then I’m ready to start my day. At the height of the pandemic, we’d tune into Cuomo’s daily briefings and review the running text commentary from friends.
SOMETHING NEW HE’S LEARNED DURING LOCKDOWN:
I thought lockdown would be the perfect time to learn how to knit. I’m working on a cabled scarf at the moment with interweaving sections of knitting.
SOMETHING NEW HE’S BEEN COOKING:
No Knead Bread, courtesy of a recipe by Jim Leahy from Sullivan Street Bakery. It takes 18-24 hours, but is pretty amazing and so easy.
Wayne Turett
POSITION AT TTC: Principal
HOMETOWN: Manhattan
WHERE HE’S CALLING FROM NOW: Greenport, NY
DESCRIBE LOCKDOWN IN 5 WORDS OR LESS: Good, bad, maybe not, ok
HIS DAILY ROUTINE DURING LOCKDOWN: Get up at 6 am, make coffee, read, meditate, exercise, shower, dress, work by 9 am
WHY HE CHOSE HIS FIELD: I was always fascinated by buildings and making things. I also worked as a carpenter at high rise buildings in NYC in the summer from my junior year in highschool to my senior year in college.
SOMETHING HE CAN’T WAIT TO DO WHEN LOCKDOWN ENDS: Wear real clothes and shoes.
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