Spending summers during high school and college working in historic restorations and building exterior finishing gave Erik Van Mehlman, AIA, CGP, partner and design lead at BuildSense Architecture + Construction, Durham, N.C., a background in construction that led to an interest in architecture as a career.
After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Tufts University, Medford, Mass., in 1991, Mehlman went on to work in television in Boston for a little while before feeling pulled toward architecture. In a meeting with Ann Beha of Boston-based Ann Beha and Associates, she recommended that Mehlman experience an academic architecture “studio” before heading off to architecture school. Mehlman enrolled at the Boston Architectural Center, enjoyed the atmosphere and used the work to bolster his graduate school portfolio. Mehlman was accepted into the Master of Architecture program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., in 1994.
Mehlman met Randall (Randy) Lanou, LEED AP, MCGP, partner and company lead at BuildSense, on the first day of classes and became fast friends. After taking a year off to travel to Spain, where he attended the Universidad Del Pais Vasco in San Sebastian, Mehlman graduated with his master’s degree in 1999 and went on to work for Maurer Architecture and Cline Design, both in Raleigh.
“[Randy and I] always got along, worked on projects together, both personal and academic, and we had always talked about the possibility of working professionally together in the future,” Mehlman says. “I have always imagined that I would have my own fi rm. Everything else was kind of building towards that. While I was practicing more traditional architecture with the other firms, the design-build nature was still more of my desire and more of what I believe in. It is in the nature of what we do as architects. I think we need a better manner to understand the way things get built.”
Building a Firm
In the meantime, Lanou went on to open BuildSense, a design-build firm, in 1999, and while Mehlman was doing more traditional architecture, he sat on the BuildSense board of directors. Mehlman says they started talking seriously in 2005 about working together and by 2007 they incorporated the business and opened StudioB Architecture in 2008. In 2013, StudioB became BuildSense Architecture PC, which acts as the architecture firm to BuildSense Inc., the contracting firm. With 11 employees, Mehlman says BuildSense is one entity that transforms American building and fosters delightful, healthy and sustainable living. “You come to us, we design it and build it: turn-key. We do everything. We’re responsible, we understand the project from beginning to end, and we deliver it.”
“The majority of our work is residential and thus more personal,” Mehlman notes. “Whenever we discuss long-term quality of life with our clients, low- or no-maintenance materials come to the forefront. Therefore, metal happens. Whether it is corrugated metal indicative of the farm or a super-sleek flush panel, the driver is generally that our clients would rather spend time with their families than cleaning or painting the house.”
BuildSense also does renovations, for which Mehman says the great question is what lies beneath. “Even with years of experience, the best assumptions are sometimes way off,” he explains. “The nature of our design-build group allows us to work with greater speed and flexibility to solve problems when they arise.”
Return of the Master Builder
Mehlman thinks people are going back to the notion of a master builder. “Understanding that the teamwork approach-the same people who design your project build your project-makes sense,” he says. “It’s just a better way of doing work with a team that understands the project from beginning to end.”
When a design team designs a project and then gives it to a contractor to build it, Mehlman says there’s an inherent loss of knowledge moving from one side of the fence to the other. “So we need to get rid of the fence,” he says. “We have no ‘fence’ in our office. I think the overall industry is starting to blur the lines between the two.”
When a design team and separate builder work on a project, there may be some finger pointing and animosity between the two if something goes awry. The way BuildSense is run, “we are the team, so there is no finger pointing. If we caused a problem through design or build, we have to fix it,” Mehlman explains. “We have the moral compass to do that.”
Building Abroad
Mehlman has always had a love for traveling and the outdoors. Born and raised on the coast of Rhode Island, he spent summers in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, leading to a love of camping, hiking, kayaking and all things outdoors. If he wasn’t an architect, Mehlman says he would be a travel guide for an outdoor adventure company or any member of the team working and traveling with Anthony Bourdain. “The only thing which reveals more about a culture than its architecture is its food,” he says.
While living in Spain for a year during his master’s program, Mehlman was visited by Lanou and they spent eight weeks travelling Europe. Now, Lanou is president of the South Granville Rotary and every other year for the past eight years, Mehlman has been travelling with the Rotary club for its service trips to Granada, Nicaragua, in a joint venture with the Granada Rotary. So far, the South Granville Rotary has built three schools, two libraries and a medical clinic. The group’s next trip is this March.
This past summer, Mehlman kayaked and hiked the southern coast of Crete. In his spare time, he is renovating a house that he just purchased.
Arch Connect
What is the best advice you ever received as an architect?
Great clients make great projects. Foster that relationship and watch your projects bloom.
What music do you listen to while you work?
I grew up with all older brothers so am a bit of a classic rock junkie. Otherwise, reggae, horns and ska.
What do you do on weekends?
I’m either outdoors or making things or both.
What is your favorite book?
“Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follet
Where is your favorite place to vacation?
Any place warm with water for swimming.
Photo Credits: Spring Residence (Photos 2 & 3): Mark Herboth Photography; Metheny Residence (Photo 4): BuildSense