Brandon Eaton 10 Year Anniversary

Congratulations Brandon on reaching your
10-year anniversary with CUBE 3!

Please join us in congratulating Brandon Eaton on this milestone work anniversary and 10 memorable years with CUBE 3.

Years in the Profession: 13 years

How long have you been at CUBE 3? 10 years. A whole decade!

What attracted you to join the CUBE 3 team?
It was 2012 and I was 3 years into my career working in the Portland, ME area after graduating in 2009. The company that I started working for right out of school had weathered the economic recession through the worst portions but still ended up downsizing and I was among the list of those people who were let go. My then girlfriend (now my wife) and I had just moved into our first apartment together. Every day for 4 weeks, I would wake up like I was going to work, but instead ride my bike to the Portland library and work on my resume, cover letters and applying to every architectural firm I could find. Finally, after weeks of no luck, I reached out to my friend Jason Skidgell to see if he knew of any openings in the Boston area. Thankfully, he did! He was working at CUBE 3 at the time and said it was a great place to work so he recommended that I should apply. I wasn’t anticipating applying for jobs outside of Maine at the time, but the Portland market was super tough so I decided to give it a shot. Jason helped me craft my cover sheet and got it into the hands of Doug and Adam Wagner. I had an interview with Doug and Adam a short time later and they offered me a position on the spot! And the rest, as they say, is history!

C3 Hike Mount Washington October 2014.
From left-to-right: Jake Mercer, Nick Griffin, Brandon Eaton, Michele Quinn Littlefield, Mitchell Littlefield

What is your role at CUBE 3?
My official title is Senior Project Manager. However, I get the most pride and fulfillment out of mentoring others in the office. Whether that be folks who are on my project teams or through the advisor program.

What’s a lesson you have learned that has most benefited you in your career?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for help when you need it. Asking questions is one of the best way to learn, gain experience and get to know others that you work with. You never know, you may find your own mentor! In terms of asking for help, you often times will never get it until you ask, so don’t let your ego or work ethic get in the way of reaching out to others when you need a helping hand.

What inspires you?
I think this question has likely had a few different answers throughout my career, but now, my first thought would be my kids. It’s been the most challenging point in my life thus far, trying to balance work and personal life with 2 small kids, but I wouldn’t give it up. They give me so much joy and fulfillment. It’s great getting to see the world through their eyes and experience things with them for the first time that are monumental to them but had previously been commonplace to me as an adult. It’s still so surreal that they are their own people with their own personalities. They help me center myself and focus on what’s important.

How did you get here? What were you doing before, and what made you decide to go into Architecture?
I grew up in Maine and always had a passion for drawing/art, building things (like models) and history, especially classical Greek/Roman and Egyptian architecture. I thought my path would take me into illustration or something like that but, was inspired by others to check out Architecture which, sort of combines the drawing, building and history aspects into one field. Prior to starting school at Wentworth and during, I worked mostly in retail as a product clerk at Hannaford supermarkets.

What area(s) do you specialize in?
I would say that I lean more toward the technical side of things but, I also like the artistic aspect of planning a site or a unit. I like to think that I’m working toward being a jack of all trades, to some extent.

We think this face from 2017 speaks for all of us who were at Gunstock NH that year! We attempted a fun day of ziplining, but Mother Nature had other ideas and chose to bless us with a monsoon instead. High winds and heavy rain kept us off the mountain.

We had a do-over in 2018 and enjoyed a beautiful sun-filled day ziplining above the tree line, exploring the woods on all-terrain Seqways, and on their Aerial Treetop obstacle course.

What is your favorite C3 project?
My favorite in terms of memorable, would-be Acadia on the Charles in Waltham, MA. This was my very first project when I started at CUBE 3 and I got to see, learn and experience so much with that project right out of the gate. I still reference it quite often when chatting with my advisees or folks I’m mentoring, who are going through similar experiences in their own careers.

My favorite project in terms of accomplishment, would be The Cove in Hingham, MA. This project was one I worked on from the earliest sketches all the way through construction. It was one of my first projects leading a full team so, it was challenging through all phases of the project but, was another project which helped me grow so much. I shaped my management style and worked with folks who have now become great friends. The passion, pride, connection and accomplishment were heightened when it was awarded Gold 2020 PRISM Award for Best Universal Design by Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston.

What is your favorite C3 memory? (The good, the bad, and the ugly?)
Many of my favorite memories are from the group events like the Holiday parties or Gunstock. However, a few of my most favorite are late night studio fun and playing music with other folks back before you could work remote. When it would be just me and Jason Skidgell in the office late at night, we’d crank some Wild Child by Brett Dennen. When it was just me and Justin Pelland, it was always Stevie Wonder.

What is a skill you would like to learn and why?
I am always working on learning when to accept something as good enough for the task at hand, instead of trying to be perfect.

C3 Hike Mount Moosilauke NH December 2015

Favorite quote?
Strive for perfection but settle for happiness. I take this as don’t be afraid to go after the big accomplishments and dreams, but try to be present in the now and know that happiness is found in the everyday life moments. So don’t let the destination cloud the beauty of the journey to get there.

What is something you are most proud of?
Working here for a decade! Being able to give back everything that I have learned to others coming up in their careers.

Can you tell us a little about any personal hobbies or activities you are working on or passionate about?
I love to be outside and now that my wife and I have kids, we basically live outside with them when the weather is nice. I like to hike, bike, walk, ski and just explore. So it’s great to see these likes starting to develop in my kids. I like building things and have built furniture, a chicken coop/run and some other miscellaneous things. Mostly, though, the trick is finishing what I start in terms of those projects. My wife’s least favorite phrase from me is, “I can build that” because, I never have enough time to do it.

At work, I’m part of the Sustainability Committee. I’ve always had a passion for recycling and protecting the environment that I love to be in. So, helping to make Architecture a tool for aiding in that goal is important.