Was your dream as a child to work in New York as an architect specializing in interior home and commercial design? 

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"My dream was to affect people and have a positive impact on people and then also it was to continue my art. I was an artist. I used to draw a lot.  

... [using] whatever medium I had, but the main medium I had that was available to me was just a pencil.  As I got older, we had ... pastels, we had paint, all that stuff.  So, when I got to high school I learned a lot more.  And there was a moment, sometime like when I was a child, where I didn't do art, and you know it had to be some of the worst years because art had proven to me to be cathartic and healing and allowed me to kind of relax before I could go into something head on."

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Do you still draw? 

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"I do it occasionally. I do it a lot with my work often. So that kind of gets me into the design mode and nowadays I actually build more, less design.  But when I get a chance to do it, it's great."

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Why architecture? 

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"Architecture was an opportunity to affect housing, affect environments, the place where people live for the most part of their day or the place where they had to go to sleep, spending like three quarters of your life in this home.  I thought that residential was just very important and it affects so many aspects of our life that I felt that was a great way to be artistic, to be specific, and cater to people’s needs."

 

And those needs can carry on in a business sense too for commercial design? 

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"Exactly, it's a little bit more general ... when you get to an office, you got people who are in and out.  They want to be there.  They want to get the work done and they got that main focus.  So, it's more broad-brush strokes with the office work design and more detailed hand holding with the home stuff."

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Why New York? 

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"New York was always vibrant and fun, and it felt alive, felt like the center of the world to me... New York was where the people were, where the hustle and bustle was.  I ended up coming out here for my sophomore year in college. I used to do a lot of traveling during college.  I always felt like being outside the city would give me more of this experience and this exposure.  I grew up in Chicago.  So, I had so many years in the city of Chicago.  Then going to college at University of Michigan; it was very cool, but I felt like ... let me get to the big city that's where everything big happens ... and the big money is made.  So, I went out Sophomore year to work for an architectural engineering firm, Fleming Engineers and that was my introduction to New York.  Also, the main reason I came to New York that summer was to experience this man Jack Travis, he had AFRI culturalism, architecture and design.  He had this great way of pulling out these African and African American features in design needs and aesthetic needs. " 

 

Thinking about what you just said, your design work in and of itself is extremely impressive so how would you describe your signature?

 

"My signature is I take what the client needs.  I listen to them.  I watch them.  I observe the way they currently live or the way they currently work, and I try to create spaces that allow for organization and happiness.”  [Will went on to explain, whether for an office or someone’s home].  “... When you have the space that is perfect for you, I love that–that is what I love to do.  ... I’ve done everything from interiors and decor, to designing buildings and designing the layout for homes.” 

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You would say, keeping things in order and placement are important, sounds like?

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"What does it take to make this person thrive? So, when I look at a space, I know the standards for clearances. I know the standards for what makes something beautiful. I Know the standards for a fine composition, and when I say composition, I'm talking about the elements of composition that work toward beauty. It means form.  It means movement, focal point, illusion, texture. All these things make up something beautiful and ... add to what the client needs. 

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When I was younger, my grandmother lived in the Robert Taylor housing projects. Named after the first black architect.  I think he graduated from MIT, and [the] Robert Taylor Housing project probably ended up being the largest housing project.  I think spanned for about 3 miles. I just thought that the people were never considered, and it affected their lives. There was no opportunity for ownership.  There was no opportunity to make some space your own, and that's the most important part of my design...would be to help someone make something their own...because it makes you happy. And it's all about building family and building ...community."

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Read more below.  Will provides advice for people just entering the field ...