STATEMENT

Creativity is best measured by how powerfully it stimulates and inspires us. The artists and storytellers who spend a lifetime trying to manifest these qualities know it as “culture”. What underpins all of my creative acts is an attempt to rekindle the awe that I have felt during some of life’s most exceptional moments.

CAREER

Architecture

I have practiced architecture professionally for 35 years now at all scales. Today, I am a Partner at DIALOG. Prior, I was a Senior Principal / Board Member at HOK, the founding President of RAFT Architects, a Design Principal / Design Board member at Perkins+Will, and an Associate Partner at SOM.

The projects I’ve led have earned 70-plus design awards and been widely published. They span most building types, including aviation, public safety, academic, commercial, multi-residential, cultural, and hospitality architecture. Many are built. Too many aren’t.

Photography

Since my training at the Rhode Island School of Design and at SACI, in Italy, I have used my camera to celebrate the beauty of everyday life, candidly and without embellishment. Some of my images are in private collections. Others have been published and exhibited, notably at the International Center of Photography.

I work under the sobriquet Nomade Civilisée, and am represented by ARTERIAL, based in Toronto. You can also find my images on Instagram.

Writing & Book

As a “top writer” in the subjects of Culture, Philosophy, Economics, Politics and Mental Health on Medium, I use writing and research to improve my own understanding of human complexity, and regularly contribute to a number of publications.

I’ve synthesized much of that thinking in the book Everything Is Broken: The Coming Age of Abundance, which argues that the simultaneous failures of our economic, housing, healthcare, education, and environmental systems are not independent crises — they are design failures, with design solutions. Available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.

Installation Art

As an avid participant at Burning Man, I have led the creation of two large-scale, multi-sensory installations there. The Empyrean Gate debuted in 2022, and Apotheneum debuted in 2025. The latter was exhibited at Art Basel Miami 2025, and will return to Burning Man in 2026 with new artist collaborators.