Meet the Team: Tyler Kavanaugh

HI, Tyler!

“It is still fascinating to me to be able to come up with an idea, work to form it into a clear concept, and eventually be able to experience it as a constructed space.”

What is your professional background?

After graduating from North Dakota State University, I started out working on public sector projects — lots of education and government work. I spent several years after that as a project architect on restaurants and retail nationally. Most recently, I focused on exterior detail development on large mixed use and workplace projects.

What inspired you to work with architects?

For as long as I can remember, I have always had a fascination with design and architecture. Whenever my family would visit the Twin Cities when I was a child, I looked forward to seeing the Wells Fargo Center by Cesar Pelli, and it remains one of my favorite buildings in Minneapolis.

From those days as a child, the idea of being able to help create the built environment was always intriguing to me, and still is to this day. It is still fascinating to me to be able to come up with an idea, work to form it into a clear concept, and eventually be able to experience it as a constructed space.

What do you look forward to most about working at RoehrSchmitt Architecture? 

I look forward to working on a wide array of project types — and on smaller projects, too! For years I exclusively focused on large projects that would take a year or more to complete from concept design through construction documents. While these projects are very rewarding once completed, I find working on a wide variety of several smaller projects at a time, each with their own unique designs and challenges, is much more rewarding. It’s nice to be able to focus on entire projects rather than smaller, individual components of the overall building.

How do you want to make an impact on your firm?

I want to share my knowledge base and expertise with the team, across a wide array of projects. I look forward to the challenge of  further improving the manner and efficiency in which projects are designed and documented to ensure we continue to be successful, while delivering clear and concise construction documents. As someone who didn’t have a mentor for much of my career, I want to be that resource to anyone who is interested.

Favorite tool of the trade?

There are so many great tools to choose from. The more exciting answer is bumwad, as it is so versatile. It can be used from the initial 30,000-foot view to sketch initial building organization down to the finest detailing as we understand how building components come together.  But I also really enjoy using Revit and take advantage of its preciseness to refine everything that started out as a sketch on bumwad.

What would your perfect day look like? 

There are so many perfect days, so it's impossible for me to choose just one. Traveling, relaxing, golfing, day at the lake… yes please!

My wife and I have a three year old, so right now the perfect day would start out with us all sleeping in (7 AM is a luxury!)  Wake up to the sun shining in through the windows, and have a lazy morning making breakfast and sipping coffee while he plays with toys and works on his puzzles. The afternoon would be spent outside enjoying the beautiful Minnesota weather before creating a delicious dinner, and capping the night off with a bonfire and a cocktail.

Coffee or tea? 

Coffee

What is one word you would use to describe your team? Explain why.

Talented. Each member of the team has a unique background and set of skills they bring to the table. Even though we have a small team, we have a really broad base of talent and knowledge that is brought to every project. It is a well-rounded team with some being more design oriented, some more detail oriented, and we bring everyone together for different aspects of the project to ensure the best possible project is delivered.

What’s your favorite thing to do that isn't work related?

I love traveling to new places and exploring what they have to offer, whether nearby or to another country. I feel that traveling expands my knowledge, feeds my soul, and exposes me to infinite adventures where I can continue to discover myself.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

“Learn to accept every situation for what it is rather than what you think it should be, then make the very best of it.”

This isn’t meant to say that you have no control over the situation, nor is it saying that you shouldn’t do what you can to improve  difficult situations you find yourself in, because I believe we can have a major impact on many situations. There are so many situations in life where you may feel lost or feel that you have lost control and it can be overwhelming at times. In the times when you are not able to change the situation, changing how you react to the situation can make all the difference.