Continuing our Meet the Team series, today’s post highlights Amlin Iqbal Eshita, Ben Feiger, and Holdt Jones. If you missed our last two be sure to check them out! We’ve already met Marisa, Colbi, Ben S, Gina, Cliff, and Erin a bit more intimately. We love sharing more about our team, our different backgrounds, and how we unify. Similar to the last two posts in this series, we will begin by introducing Amlin, Ben, and Holdt then dive into a Q+A on architecture and outside of office questions.
Meet the Team: Amlin, Ben F, & Holdt
Amlin Iqbal Eshita
Amlin (AE) has the most infectious laugh on the team and shows care through her check-ins with her office mates throughout the day. Inspired by kindness and love, Amlin emulates an empathy daily that is felt by all. Her favorite place is her grandmother’s village home where she spent her toddler years and she holds a similar love for traditional courtyard houses of South Asia for their functionality, materiality, and earthiness. Amlin was 100% certain she wanted to study architecture since middle school. Upon reflection, Amlin isn’t sure how she became so certain of her passion but has a sneaking suspicion that part of it may have been from playing in the plaza of the parliament building in Dhaka by Louis Kahn. Outside of architecture, Amlin also nourishes her creativity through her photography!
Ben Feiger
Ben (BF) became interested in architecture in high school where he worked in construction over summers and between semesters. Always gravitating towards drawing and painting, Ben knew he wanted to be in a creative field. Ben’s always been fascinated by how things are assembled and how building systems interact with one another. On another note, Ben is a proud pioneer of a utensil trend in the office, the Snactiv- finger chopsticks he saw on Shark Tank. Eating Takis with no residue on his fingers, Ben is someone who comes up with creative solutions to any problem. He’s also a loving uncle who won’t always hold back on a Mario Kart match with his nephew.
Holdt Jones
Holdt (HJ) shares his apartment with two cats, Ronald and Oscar, and one dog, Bacchus. Bacchus occasionally joins Holdt on his site visits to make sure everything is looking according to plan. With plans to move upstate permanently, we’re sure Bacchus will eventually join the CM team. Holdt always makes the office laugh and keeps us on our toes with his witty and punchy jokes. He’s also very generous in offering to grab someone a quick refresher during the day and knows where to get a good lemonade.
Digging In
After reading a little bit about Amlin, Ben, and Holdt, now is the time to dig a little deeper. Next is the Q+A portion of our Meet the Team series. These questions range from Studio MM related to outside the office.
What is your favorite part of the process when working with clients?
AE: bringing life and peace to someone’s comfort and needs into a tangible art form.
BF: I love getting to know our clients and learning about their unique lifestyles. The client questionnaire can be so illuminating and the pre-design and early schematic design meetings are always fascinating. Understanding their likes and dislikes and helping them to visualize their dream home is really special. The process can get very personal and earning and maintaining our clients’ trust is a part of the process I find very special.
HJ: I like both the front-end SD phase and the back-end CA phase the most when working with clients. SD is exciting because I get to meet and connect with the clients and begin to learn their personalities. I find great value in this part of the process because I have the opportunity to learn about their vision for the project and help them to articulate their goals and dreams. During CA I get to meet the clients in the field and watch their reactions to the various things happening on site. It’s fulfilling to watch the moments when they realize that their vision is becoming a reality.
Why residential architecture?
AE: I think residential architecture is a fruit of a person’s lifetime dream and aspiration, it needs a lot of care to begin with. So personalities who can hear the needs of other people and can provide an empathizing service to them while keeping in mind the art and practicality of their profession, are well suited to design houses, and I am driven to reach that point in my lifetime.
BF: There’s something really special about helping someone to create their home, it’s so much more than just a building. Understanding how someone is going to live in their home and tailoring our designs to their unique lifestyle is always an interesting process. What do they find inspiring and why? How are they going to use the different spaces in their home? Our clients’ dreams and aspirations truly breathe life into our designs and having the opportunity to work closely with them to achieve this is always a rewarding process.
HJ: I have always been inclined towards residential architecture as I feel it is much more personal. I have worked in the commercial world and I was missing the personal connection with clients, it always felt very stale. I feel this relationship brings a deeper level of detail to a project and creates more meaning behind the work.
What do you like about working with team of fellow creatives?
AE: As cliché as it sounds, for me, mutual respect, understanding and space to hear each other out are the most important aspects of working with a team. After that comes the creative input and forward looking mindset of solving problems.
BF: Gaining different perspectives and getting useful feedback. I believe that constructive criticism is the key to good design. Constantly questioning if something can be done better or differently makes for engaging and higher quality work. This is only possible with a diverse, creative team.
HJ: My favorite thing about working with creative people is that I feel like I never have to overcome a problem on my own. In the office, we frequently seek out input/ideas from one another. The ability to get multiple perspectives on a single issue always results in exciting solutions.
What advice would you give your younger self/young architect?
AE: You did great!
BF: Take more risks and allow your thought process to be more fluid
HJ: Not everything has to be perfect. Challenge the rules more.
Favorite comfort food?
AE: chips, cause no one can eat just one, bum bum!
BF: Ramen, it’s the best and there are so many different ways to prepare it!
HJ: My favorite comfort food is definitely my mom’s chicken and sausage gumbo. Being from Louisiana, I have a big love for southern food and as soon as Fall rolls around I get excited to break out my family’s recipe book and recreate this dish and bring a little bit of Louisiana to NYC.
