01 Dec Luke Beck 10-Year Anniversary
Congratulations Luke on reaching your
10-year anniversary with CUBE 3!
Congratulations to Luke Beck who is celebrating his 10-year work anniversary with us! An integral member of our team, Luke has put time and energy behind so many substantial CUBE 3 projects, and we have been fortunate enough to have him on our team for a decade.
Qualifications/Accreditations: AIA, CHPD, M.Arch, Bachelor of Science in Architecture
Years in the Profession: 10 since graduation, but have been working in various intern roles for 15.
What is your role at CUBE 3? Project Manager
What attracted you to join the CUBE 3 team?
The people and nature of the work. I had just finished a 3-year M.Arch program at UMass Amherst and despite also working part time for the school’s campus planning department during those years, I was starting to feel stagnated and ready for something faster paced and more challenging. I had been interviewing at a number of firms in the Boston area, which all seemed to have trade offs, but CUBE3 felt like it offered the best combination of what I was looking for; a smaller firm with growth opportunity, complex projects, design aspiration and a realistic view of the business side of this industry. I interviewed with Doug and John Harding; I basically left thinking “yeah it would be great working with them.”
What’s a lesson you have learned that has most benefited you in your career?
It’s tough to pick just one; strong teamwork is critical, not just internally, but other stakeholders in our projects, the time spent to foster relationships and build good will pay dividends, even when that sometimes means showing some (*common sense) vulnerability around clients and contractors (and even my own internal teams) to build trust. That was a tough habit to cultivate for me.
Also to STOP and enjoy the small things, goofing off, irreverent conversations w/ coworkers etc. I tend to push myself pretty hard and get locked into a problem solving mode, especially through the middle years of my career thus far, and unchecked it caused me to face a lot of burn out.
What inspires you?
Seeing the growth that has happened (both in myself and others) as a result of persevering through tough projects and problems (not just coping, but digging in and solving) I’ve had at least as many tough, tough days in this job as smooth sailing ones, but once I started to end up as the most experienced person in a given situation, all of those hard learned lessons came right back and allowed me to perform in challenging projects.
And absolutely being out in nature, particularly deep in the mountains either by myself or with close friends.
How did you get here? What were you doing before, and what made you decide to go into Architecture?
Growing up in northern NY, I lived in two oldish houses that my parents (who were a teacher and a minister) renovated, I got to watch that, and they also built a cabin themselves in the Adirondacks, so a I grew up seeing things get built. I had some relatives who worked in architecture/engineering and were good artists, and I got some of that holistic interest and ability. I considered a number of career paths, but architecture in the end was the most interesting as a mix of art, design, engineering, history, and literally the way people interact with the world.
I had a pretty traditional architectural education with a 4-year pre-professional degree followed by a masters. Prior to CUBE3, I interned for several summers at an A&E firm in northern NY that had architects, engineers, surveyors and construction managers under one roof. When projects were slow in the architecture department, I would spend time working for the structural and MEP engineers doing drafting work. My first “built” piece of work is a waste transfer station at a municipal dump in Jefferson County, NY, wherein I drew the plans in revit, printed them out, took them across the hall to the structural and MEP engineers, who redlined them in pen; I then took them back and did the drafting work for those trades as well. I moved to Massachusetts after undergrad and while working on my master’s, worked for the Space Management & Planning Department of UMass Amherst Campus Planning. My role was primarily CAD support in the front end planning for various academic renovation projects in their academic buildings, and the cataloguing of building plans in their space management database. The job was interesting in that I got to work with a number of campus architects and planners at UMass and see a lot if the inner workings of campus planning, but at a point I was ready to get back into the world of delivering real ground up projects.
What area(s) do you specialize in?
I have a strong technical aptitude. and consider my core skillset to revolve around problem solving; but also have a reasonable design sense. I don’t really enjoy slow paced methodic work, so that technical savvy and problem solving skillset has proved helpful in both chaotic CA environments, and chaotic design projects. My interest in architecture came however from the fact that the practice synthesizes so many different disciplines, I enjoy that and try to challenge myself to create a holistic competency in all facets of the practice. It’s become a theme, but one of the things I enjoy most is working on a small team, and I try to maintain the skills to support whatever role is needed.
What is your favorite C3 project?
The Summit Office/Millipore MLab building will always stand out, I think it was the first C3-revit project and it was the first project I had a lead role on in coordinating the drawings and in CA. During the 2nd phase of the project I was trusted to run point with the client, and the experience contributed a lot to my professional growth.
The Dartmouth project also makes the list. The institutional nature of the project, and the college’s standards, yielded new design challenges for me, but most of all I have enjoyed working with and leading my team of C3ers and our design consultants. I had been flying somewhat solo on a few CA projects in the years prior, and despite some of the chaos of this project, working with a team in the design phases of a project again, has been an incredibly rewarding experience..
Lastly I’d mention 305 Winter Street, which was unique in that I wasn’t involved in the design but took over part way through CA and ran it through the end. Coming out of the Covid-years I had witnessed a few projects where project construction and OAC teams suffered from complications in the industry and poor leadership in some parties, leading to incredibly contentious CA durations. 305 Winter Street despite facing the same industry challenges proved to be relatively successful due to each party on the Owner/Contractor/Arch team stepping up and owning the things they were responsible for, it was clear that everyone knew we were stronger working together, than by arguing over spare hours and dollars. Over the course of 2 years we sat around a table every Thursday and worked through challenges together as a team and figured out how to get ahead of some of the seemingly unsolvable industry problems plaguing every project at the time. In the end, the project ended without severe delays or claims and with the relationship between the OAC organizations intact, which feels like it is becoming rarer. While I don’t have a strong connection to the beginnings of the project, having been part of its construction set a new bar for me in terms of what to expect from stakeholders on our projects and highlighted that it doesn’t matter how large a project budget is, or how much talent or experience people have, or even how good a set of drawings may be. Projects will fall apart if relationships are not prioritized and teams don’t prioritize working together. Conversely, strong groups will overcome most external obstacles.
What is your favorite C3 memory?
A lot of good memories such as most of the office going to The Tap in Haverhill for “extended” lunches on Fridays in the summer, or the Gunstock office trip when Nik invited the company to his lake house and took us tubing on his boat on Winnipesaukee. I think that was the same year we almost got kicked out of the Gunstock campground.
The one memory that stands out is from 2018. I was talking to someone on a dating app at the time who lived in the Boston area, I was living in Lowell and after a few weeks of small talk neither of us was making much effort to meet up. On a Tuesday in May I had a client meeting for NRP Revere in C3’s Boston office which had only opened a few months prior. I mentioned to this person that I’d be in the city and we should grab a drink after work. After the meeting, I was sitting in the Black Rose with a few C3ers (I think it was Griff, Eric and Talia, but maybe I’m wrong) and I recall mentioning that if my date bailed, I would stick around longer. At the same time, she was also sitting in bar in Brookline having the same conversation with her coworkers, and thinking about bailing. Eventually we both showed up and had a (mediocre by both accounts) first date at Clarks in Faneuil Hall. 6 years later Angela and I own a house in Medford and have two cats and a dog. I won’t give C3 full credit for my relationship because its ego doesn’t need it, but a random client meeting certainly put me in the right place at the right time.
What is a skill you would like to learn and why? Sailing or playing guitar
Favorite quote? “The Dude abides” – Jeffery Lebowski
What is something you are most proud of?
My relationship with Angela, my house, and dog Scout. Pretty simple things, but I can truly say I’m proud and humbled of the work involved with earning them.
Can you tell us a little about any personal hobbies or activities you are working on or passionate about?
Most of my time is spent with my girlfriend Angela, visiting our families and traveling; and hanging with our 10-month old puppy, Scout, she’s a beagle/hound mix and has an Instagram page @scoutybananas. I enjoy outdoors-related hobbies, snowboarding, hiking, camping etc. A lot of our jobs here entail sitting and thinking so I like to offset that with physically challenging activities. I ran a marathon a few years ago and while I made a lot of rookie mistakes it’s probably something I’ll do again. Also indulging the teenager in me that didn’t grow close to music venues by seeing the punk bands I enjoyed as a kid play shows in the city, in my mid 30’s I can still last a few minutes in a mosh pit. This includes paying $200+ for absolute nosebleed tickets to see Blink 182 play at the Garden.
