Today we’d like to introduce you to Rockland Berg.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a kid I could draw and sketch like a bandit. I used to go to old architectural re-sale shops and sketch circular stairways, furniture and windows. I took three years of drafting and architectural design at Richardson High School. These skill serves me well as I competed for a spot in the Texas Tech Architectural School. Only 30 of over 300 graduate after five years of architectural studies. I planned to go west to New Mexico or Arizona to pursue solar and earth sheltered architectural design, but alas we are in a recession when I graduated so I returned to Dallas and gleaming glass office building and hotels. I came up through construction documents into design. I worked with the early tools of CAD and worked on projects like the Crescent and The Melrose at Shepherd & Boyd Architects. During this season I went to Melbourne, Australia for two weeks and stayed for three years working on a high rise office building and hotel complex that incorporated a registered historical dome, called Collins Exchange. Upon returning home S&B began to break up. Too much success? Following that I worked with Donna Vaughan & Assoc. doing high end corporate interior design here in Dallas. After two years I moved to Aguirre Assoc. and became the Director of Design. The firm grew from 25 to over 250. I grew weary of the large firm business protocols and yearned for a boutique design concentric firm. That’s when I found Three Architecture, known as three: living architecture today. I have spent the last 25 years growing professionally and transforming the senior living industry though over 30 constructed communities.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Upon graduating and stepping into the world of design, one learns this is not the world of “The Fountainhead”. Architectural Design is a process and “changes” are an integral reality in the evolution of a design. As a collaborator you learn to play well with others and appreciate the diversity of creative ideas resulting in opportunities to innovate. Anyone related to the construction industry understands the economic roller coaster that make the design-world spin. The design and construction of building types fluctuate with the appetite of the financial market place. The design world is usually the first affected both in a rising economy and a deflating market place. It is a time and services industry, hopefully with appreciation for the value we add in the built environment. I have experienced the ups and downs of multiple market fluctuations both as an employee and as an owner. It can be exhilarating and brutally painful from both perspectives.
Please tell us about Three: Living Architecture.
Three: Living Architecture “Design that lifts the human spirit”. We think of ourselves as creative Sherpas, leading our Clients and development partners up very challenging slope…. the design and construction of a dream. We have the benefit of having summited many times, hence we provide design guidance through the ascension of the various base camps on the way to the summit, at the same time staying mindful of our Clients capabilities and expectations. This requires listening to gain the true understanding of the client’s potential to reach the summit. Our goal is to create a transforming experience during this process and reach the top, however we must also provide honest discernment for those who are not capable.
We are purposed to transforming our three primary project markets: hospitality, vertical residential and senior living architecture. We attract Clients who get it! Who seek experiential architecture that supports today’s lifestyle expectations and is tailored to its natural domain. Our senior living design begins with the tenets of hospitality principals, but then is willing to break the rules to create new appropriate environmental responses for todays and tomorrows aspiring seniors.
We are collaborative, creative and committed to the mission stated above to the benefit those who visit, live and provide services and care within our hotels, clubs and communities.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
The freedom to be a kid. I loved to wander the creeks of North Dallas with my neighbor friends, brothers, sisters and dogs. We would spend all day exploring. We would capture crawdads and frogs, bring them home and trade them amongst ourselves. We would make forts and float small boats made from the scraps of nearby home construction. We would play “kick-the-can” till late after dark and ride banana seat bikes with playing cards in the spokes up and down the street. Great times to be a kid.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.threearch.com
- Phone: 214 559 4080
- Email: berg@threearch.com
- Instagram: rock_n_roll58
- Facebook: Rocky Berg
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