Burt B. Marzley Named Partner
Friday, April 11, 2014
Monday, June 12, 2023
By
In Design, Community
SōL Harris/Day is proud to celebrate Burt Marzley's 20 years with the firm. Burt is one of our Partners, and he is the Design Leader. His commitment to the firm and design excellence has been pivotal to the success of SHD and our clients. He has brought new and innovative solutions within the educational and commercial markets. We asked Burt to share some of his 20 years of experience with us...
As Partner, what about SHD made you want to make the long-term commitment?
The location and the people. As I was finishing up my educational career at Kent State University, one of my professors, Jonathan Flemming, challenged me to consider staying in the area to push the level of design and architecture. This was one of the best decisions of my life. While it was enticing to go to a big city, here at SoL Harris/Day I was given freedom to express myself through architecture alongside a great group of people. I am grateful to Jeff Day who took a chance on this young sophomore designer with no experience.
What is the biggest lesson learned since working at SHD?
Learning to maximize the budget we are given. In school we find ourselves dreaming and designing the “impossible”, but in the real world, things are different. This may be my project to design and work on, but who is going to be using it, who is paying for it and what are their goals? I have learned that discovering the clients vision creates a much more collaborative and exciting project to be involved in. Then, you get to create great designs that are meaningful to you as a designer, but also the client and the end users. I love the challenge of finding creative ways to bring a high level of design to a project no matter what the budget.
What are the most significant changes you have seen over the last 20 years in Architecture?
Construction costs! I remember as a young architect out of school wishing we had a little more money in the budget to bring a higher quality of design to our projects. Spring forward to 2023, we now have more in the budget then I ever thought we would, yet we are still dealing with those same challenges and desires. Is there ever enough money? Well, I will let you decide that. In the meantime, I will push to bring great design to every project here at SoL Harris/Day no matter what the budget is.
What made you decide to pursue Architecture?
I grew up with an art background, drawing, designing, and painting. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with that other than knowing that I did not want to be a teacher…no offense to all my teacher friends out there. You all have a gift! But, I believe that's where God planted a desire for architecture in me. I became very interested in designing homes and modern architecture. I feel very blessed to be a part of this profession working with amazing people.
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