Meet Thomas Hardy | Architect

We had the good fortune of connecting with Thomas Hardy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Thomas, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking

In 2009, when the unemployment rate for architects was something like 20-30%, I watched friends and colleagues losing their jobs with no prospects while having to support families and pay mortgages. They were getting laid off while I had a secure job even though I didn’t even want to work there anymore. I knew that if I left my job the chances of finding another were slim. Regardless, I saved as much as I could and left my stable job to hike parts of the Appalachian Trail and travel the country living out of my car. I think as a result I became very comfortable with the idea of setting a target goal, and then day by day moving towards that goal into the relative unknown.

There have been several times in my life where I have thought very carefully about taking a big risk, prepared as much as I could, and then done it. Those choices have turned into defining points in my life, not just in terms of where I am and what I’m up to, but even who I am as a person.

No big advancement can happen without risk. Since we can’t really know the ultimate outcome of anything, the only way to move forward is by accepting some risk. But it’s important to be selective about what risks we take and to know as much as possible based on the level of risk before we take the leap. I may not think twice before trying a new food but would really prepare before hiking Everest or flying around in one of those awesome wingsuits.

As an architect, the folks I work with are always taking a risk and need someone on their side. They are often pouring their savings or taking on huge debt to create a brand new place that will make their lives measurably better. To work towards that goal, it’s my job to help them make the best decisions available and demystify the day-by-day unknowns as much as possible.

What should our readers know about your business?

For me, it’s all about collaboration with other forward-thinking folks to make something new. studio arcus launched in 2020 and is really an extension of how I have worked for many years. I’ve learned that great architecture doesn’t come from a singular genius or brilliant sketch, but is really about finding a unique solution that needs an entire ecosystem of collaboration among talented people in order to really work.

In TV shows and movies, if they show what architects do at all, it seems they appear, make a perfect sketch, and then a building happens. In reality, great architecture and great cities come from all of us and we build it together. It takes really passionate, adventurous, and responsible clients and patrons to pose the right question and be willing to see the answer through. To build the place well (and sometimes in ways they’ve never built before), it also needs incredibly skilled, flexible, and resourceful craftsmen.

My role is essentially to listen to clients and translate their goals into a distinctive place that can be built. It’s one of the most futuristic professions because you are literally imagining what the future could look like and then guiding it into a reality. It forces a really versatile way of thinking, because you have to be open and imaginative while at the same time being very pragmatic. It’s about, for instance, determining how a space could feel inviting, uplifting, and appear weightless, yet also figuring out where the screws can go in a way that is easy to install, meets building codes, doesn’t leak, and reinforces that initial feeling.

The greatest part about it is, because we are designing the future, it’s a real opportunity to make the world better for everyone that experiences the place. But it is not possible with just a brilliant drawing or clever detail, it really only happens when everyone is on board.

As an example, the new office and fabrication shop for Crux is currently under construction and there are several parts of the space which their team and I are co-designing to enhance the way they and their clients use the building.

Before the design started, we went through their current location and got a good sense of their process and who they are as a company. I learned about how their staff currently use the space and how they’d like to in the future, the presentation sequence that happens when they have clients come in for meetings to discuss and see prototypes, the way they use their warehouse and fabrication shop, and how they see themselves growing in the future. The new space is a reflection of all this research in a way that is totally unique to them. When you enter the lobby, the conference room and stair will all be wrapped in milled wood panels that Crux even designed and milled themselves. The arrangement of everything is a reflection of how they operate. Ultimately the space is not only an inviting and inspiring place where people want to work, but it also helps them do their jobs better in ways they didn’t initially anticipate.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

First off, we’d have to have breakfast at Sun in My Belly and get the Kirkwood Breakfast with grits. Then swing by Evergreen Butcher & Baker for a pastry followed by Dom Biejos to get a bottle of wine for later. Homegrown is another great breakfast place, and after that we could walk it off by going down the Beltline checking out the newly connected neighborhoods and the tremendous growth that has happened around it as a result. Stopping in Inman park, we would visit the Whitespace Gallery, a hidden gem concealed behind a historic house. We would then continue on to Ponce City Market and see the way that a giant adaptive reuse project not only transformed a big empty building, but also changed the way that developers look at large old buildings in the city since then. It seems that many other buildings that would have been demolished have been retrofitted as a result of the success of Ponce City Market. But let’s be honest, if we just walked the Beltline from Memorial to Ponce, we are gonna end up going to Eats for lunch. Notice the theme of really good food everywhere?

The Atlanta that visitors initially think of is the tall urban spine that runs down Peachtree street. In midtown, we would check out the High Museum and Tech Square. We’d have to go downtown and walk inside the giant Marriott Marquis atrium (a requirement for visiting architecture nerds). But the locals think of the city as the distinct neighborhoods that are harder for visitors to know about and visit.

Atlanta, as the Capital of the South, is a remarkably international city. We would have to go to Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market and get spices that are impossible to find anywhere else. Then head up to Buford highway and stop by the farmer’s market there and get some snacks at Sweet Hut or the White Windmill.

Later, we would also visit the newly opened Westside park and get some sushi and ramen at Eight Sushi. Then we would go to the metropolitan (aka the MET) and check out what’s going on at Mint Gallery, ending out the night down the street at the Monday Night Garage.

And lastly, one of the things that astounds visitors is the abundance and density of our urban forest canopy. Basically every neighborhood is covered in giant beautiful trees. Trees Atlanta even puts together a map of the city’s dozens of Champion Trees, which are the largest trees of their species. Being from Atlanta, every time I visit another city I’m looking around thinking “but where are all the trees?”

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve been incredibly blessed to have a lot of great mentors over the years. Folks that have pushed me to be bolder, more critical, and open to criticism. I learned under incredible professors like Kemp Mooney and Hazem Ziada during college at SPSU (now KSU), and worked with super talented architects like Tony Martin early in my career, Erik Lewitt and Jordan Williams at plexus r+d, and Pierluca Maffey at Portman Architects. I’m constantly thankful to my consultant, advisor, and spouse Joanna. I’ve also been very fortunate that both of my parents are very adventurous do-it-yourself types who instilled in me that you can create nearly anything and it should always be as bold and rigorous as possible no matter the difficulty. I wouldn’t be doing any of this today without their guidance and friendship.

Website: studioarcus.com

Instagram: _studioarcus

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studioarcus/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studioarcusATL

Image Credits
arcus_BornBaby_PhotoAliHarper.jpeg: copyright Ali Harper