Creativity emerges from a deeply inward exploration. As such, it is a personal pursuit. Art must transcend the individual. Great works of art challenge and inspire us, emotionally connect us, which is made possible through the shared human experience. The stronger the connection, the more relevant the work. Art — through its simplicity — offers deep insight into the larger world of design.

How creativity is deployed to produce design and how design is assigned value is important to us as engineers and fellow creators. It sits central to the conversation of whether our work is perceived as commodity or boutique; the former traded on price, the latter traded on value.

Architecture is a cultural construction. Today’s buildings are extremely complex due to both function and program. They are the work of many, but the vision of few. The best work tends to be produced by teams who have truly connected and have built a prerequisite level of trust that enables a healthy level of exploration and debate. This is contrary to the commonly held belief of a one-way conversation with architects. Those examples are the result of an absence of trust and competing singularities of view.

As engineers and designers, we aspire to be the best in our respective markets. Not in volume, but in the quality and importance of the work. The best way to do this and to create truly meaningful structures is to be a trusted design partner to our clients and fellow creative teams, able to suspend judgment and preconceived notions, to challenge and debate solutions, with a willingness and openness to explore new ideas, and with an enthusiasm that is acutely aware and curious about the world and its possibilities.