Hospitality Design - June 2014 - 92

wave of the future

adam winig
Principals
Arcsine Architecture
Oakland, California
I grew up in California's Bay Area. I
designed my first house in ninth grade for
a school project for a drawing class. I was
so excited and designed the entire house
through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy. I came
home that night and told my grandparents
and parents, 'I am going to be an architect.' I
never looked back on that decision.
I suppose I was designing before I actually
knew I was designing. I always enjoyed
building things and making furniture. I
would look through catalogues and try to
find plans of things I wanted to build. After
looking through all the catalogues in the
school library and not being impressed
with any of the traditional offered designs, I
started designing my own pieces.
I grew up in an educated household and as
such, a liberal arts education was stressed. I
attended Brandeis University and majored
in studio arts, all the while knowing my
passion to become an architect was my
driving force. I also picked up a minor in
economics as understanding business was
also something that intrigued me.

in someone else's hands-I believe having
your own firm is the best way to secure
employment and clients. I can look a client
in the eye and say, my livelihood depends on
me doing a good job for you and that I have
everything to lose if this doesn't go well.
The most challenging part of the job: never
being able to truly turn it off.
The most rewarding part of the job: knowing
that Daniel Scovill and I built Arcsine from
nothing. We purposely didn't take any clients
from our previous firms and literally started
at the bottom.
I am most proud of Duende restaurant in
Oakland, California. Chef Paul Canales
opened the door to a way of working
collaboratively that Daniel and I hadn't yet
realized. We now try and create as much
interdisciplinary design as possible.
My mentors include Richard Brayton,
Stanford Hughes, Dan Winey. I have been
lucky to have worked for great people before
starting Arcsine.
Design style: a mash-up between midcentury modern and contemporary. Personal
style: I have two kids under the age of 3, I
have no style left except wearing clothes that
I don't care about.

My summer jobs ranged from construction,
working in a bronze foundry, and then
teaching architectural summer courses
to high school students once I was in grad
school at the University of Michigan.
Construction paid better than anything else
out there.

I constantly find inspiration from my 3-yearold son. He reminds me that even the simple
and mundane things can be and often have
their own amazing qualities.

I knew I wanted my own firm since high
school, and I knew I wanted to do it with a
business partner. The hard part was finding
the right partner. I am a conservative guy
and can't sleep at night knowing my fate lies

I have always been a big fan of Tadao Ando
and the simplicity of his materials.

092

June 2014 hospitalitydesign.com

My guilty pleasures are Mad Men and
handcrafted cocktails.

I thrive on happy clients and getting my
hands dirty.

1

1. A rendering of Tianyu
Pavilion, a wedding and
event space inside the
atrium of a resort hotel
designed by HBA San
Francisco.
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - June 2014

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