Everything is Cumulative: Ryan Meeks '05 B.Arch

"Everything is cumulative. I’ve had such a broad experience but I try to keep it all tied together and related, no matter what the project type is."

Ryan Meeks, a 2005 graduate of the University of Arizona Bachelor of Architecture program who grew up in Tucson and now lives in Denver, is the founder of Bosk, an urban design and architecture firm. Meeks recently presented "Unlearning from Meow Wolf" at the UArizona Wonder House at this year's South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. In this interview, he offers keen insight on his B.Arch experience, lessons learned from his capstone project, what it means to start his own design firm, the best career advice he has received and more.

Why did you decide to pursue the Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Arizona?

I was born in Tucson, and so the University of Arizona was always first in mind. After visiting some schools on the East Coast and California, it was hard not to choose Arizona given the value and quality of student work and faculty.  

What about the B.Arch curriculum did you most appreciate?

The structures curriculum was really excellent. The hands-on practical builds and destruction testing was a great way to learn, and it made thinking about forces an integrated part of the design process. I ended up being a teaching assistant and helping other students as a shop monitor, which taught me helpful skills about mentorship and craft. Otherwise, the education was very broad in exploration but always design-focused, which was a positive for me because we were exposed to so many ideas and areas of consideration.

Our class went on to focus on all aspects of the profession, from fabrication to urban design. I think that is a mark of success.

What did you like best about the B.Arch program overall?

The focus on critical regionalism—be it the Desert Southwest, Pacific Northwest, Scandinavian, or others who have advanced past early modernism with a focus on materiality, environment and human needs. Instead of a dogmatic focus on style, we conducted deep exploration of place and human factors, and the work our class produced was varied and inspiring. We’d have people experimenting with models, hand drawing, mixed media; there were so many studios where a friend would come up with something and it would push me to challenge myself further. “Sustainability” didn’t have the same definition at that time; it was not a differentiated specialty but rather an integrated part of the design process that influenced all aspects of building design.

The speaker series and visiting professors program was also incredible. For example, I had the opportunity to meet Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Glenn Murcutt and get a perspective from a wide range of educators.

What was your biggest challenge as a student, and how did you overcome that challenge?

Just figuring out how to work, figuring out my own design process—but this is what design school should be for! There were studio projects where I pushed it too far and ended up lost, and that is a really good thing to go through and learn from.

What was your B.Arch capstone project, and what lessons learned did you carry forward in your own architectural work?

The project was a high school set in the desert near Catalina State Park, a place I enjoyed for hiking and photography. In retrospect, it would be a highly inappropriate place for such a building given the impact on the environment, but as a school project…. The riparian environment and rock faces provided rich material in which to study the different plant and animal responses to these natural conditions. The project had a complex structural system that was resolved with only straight members joined at these multi-point vertexes. These were formed from a flexible membrane that was then hardened and cast to achieve the multitude of angles and joints. I was never interested in drawing crazy forms in the computer and just assuming the geometry would be resolved though technology. I liked thinking about how to things actually work and how complex things could be made in a simple manner.

You recently started your own design practice. Tell us about that.

Last summer I began my own design practice called Bosk. Choosing to leave the comfort of a good firm and start your own is quite an adventure, but the groundwork has come together quickly and 2023 is shaping up to be a strong year. My interest and skills have been in urban design and complex commercial work, so starting a new firm does mean smaller-scale, mixed-use work. But I enjoy the return to a fully crafted project and the market trends in Denver right now are shifting to small or more nuanced sites so that fits me very well. Having a critical mass of relationships and partnerships is key. The urban design side is starting strong and might be more than half the work this year, which I love.

It was an honor to have Arizona invite me to speak at the Wonder House program at SXSW this year. I’m investing time in developing the key design philosophy of that presentation, a way to make the average urban development achieve the highest performance and design potential within the massive constraints that building typology presents.

 

Tell us a bit about your career path leading you to your current role.

Everything is cumulative. I’ve had such a broad experience but I try to keep it all tied together and related, no matter what the project type is. Maybe it was as simple as a diagram method, an understanding of a construction methodology or just the communication process. Even challenging experience are good as a young architect because you can fail without huge consequences. About 15 years into practice, I had the opportunity to lead The River Mile Master Plan in Denver, this role demanded all my experience in a wide variety of architectural typologies, development, economics, regulatory, precedent examples, etc. If I hadn’t soaked in all the small pieces and parts of every past project I had been a part of, I’d be missing key knowledge to be an effective designer. A few years ago, all that past work seemed to be coalescing around the unique design perspective for mixed-use urban work.

While an architectural career can feel like slow progress, the upside is that you can always evolve and make big changes. Starting a firm feels like a big leap, but in the perspective of not even being halfway through my career, there is plenty of time for it to evolve.

How did your experience at CAPLA prepare you for your career as an architect?

For my summer job after fourth year, I had a connection with a UArizona grad at Ennead (then Polshek Partnership) in New York, who got me an interview over spring break. The principal doing the interview was clearly not anxious to be meeting with me that day. Trying to show some confidence, I went through my work and it slowly became clear this method of design work was something he didn’t see every day: a full CD set group project, full-scale built corner details, large structural fabrications, detailed models and solid design communication. I give huge credit to my professors and curriculum for the platform to show unique design thinking. I got the job and even negotiated my pay up from $10 to $12 an hour!

To be an architect, you have to be confident in your abilities while also fully accepting you have everything yet to learn. There is no “end” to advancing your skills, but you have to employ those skills to the maximum every day. Developing this mindset started at CAPLA and it something I still rely on. CAPLA’s focus on inquisitiveness, drawing and craft are still foundational for everything I work on.

What inspires your creativity?

To paraphrase a statement I heard in school, “Good design is inspired by great design, great design is inspired by the nature.” What that has meant to me is really digging deeper to find the underlying reason as to why something is inspiring, not just copying an image. If you look critically at the natural world and ask, Why do people feel comfortable here? What are the systems that lead to this? What is beautiful about this place? you can find tangible and meaningful ideas to work with. Any time a project can dig all the way down to first principles and build up from scratch, that is a great place to start.

Beyond your professional work, what are your passions?

Spending time with family and friends. Anything outdoors. Travel. Experiencing new places gives your brain novel input to process new ideas—a creativity cheat code. And travel doesn’t mean just other countries; there is such a diversity of building everywhere, particularly in a city like Tucson. Just have an exploratory interest and draw what you see.

What is the best design or career advice you’ve received?

My father is an architect, and one of the main things I learned from him is how to respect and understand the people side of the profession. Even though school can have collaborative projects with your classmates or interdisciplinary work with other colleges at the university, nothing can prepare you for the dynamics of time, money, stress and aspirations that all have to be navigated to create excellent work in a professional environment. If you can develop a mindset of humility and high expectations, the satisfaction in creating great teams and seeing others reach beyond their potential is one of the best things you can achieve.

What advice do you have for current or prospective B.Arch students?

An architectural education is quite unique compared to more technical degrees: you get out of it what you put into it. After practicing for almost 20 years, school still feels like this momentary gift in time where you can fully exercise and explore your interests and abilities with full freedom. Take advantage of it. This is the time to develop your own skills in critical thinking, design and listening; learn from your classmates.

It’s amazing how fast the conversation around design has shifted with AI and other emerging technologies; it will continue to change so don’t get distracted by that right now. Develop and practice those core skills of design, for they are the heart of our value as architects. Do that and you will always be ready to use new tools to your advantage for a better built environment. Take advantage of the amazing people around you, learn from them, have fun and develop those friendships that will last far past your time in school.

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