Today we’d like to introduce you to John Gil.
John, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Mine has been a diverse journey that has carried me to many places offering many life lessons that eventually led me home. I now live in Covington, GA where my boutique design practice, my mother, a vegetable garden and Maestro the Chow-Lab mix are united in a peaceful, supportive life. That’s how ‘Life’ works when you finally get out of your own way.
My youth was filled with challenges and change including debilitating allergies from birth, relocating from Lakewood, OH to Pittsburgh, PA when only two months old, watching my brother, ten years my senior, begin his voyage when I was six and the divorce of my parents at age seven. These experiences inspired self-reliance and independence. Both of my parents instilled traditional values and a very rigorous work ethic.
Growing up in Pittsburgh I had many creative hobbies and unusual interests for example organization, being thorough, ‘John always finishes things’, she said, and sense perception including invisible phenomena. These interests have remained with me throughout my life and have greatly assisted my design approach and research that I now offer to others. I find being organized an empowering practice. Personal power and Human potential are extremely important to me. I integrate this thinking into my practice, my teaching and mentoring and my daily life. This requires realistic, and highly informed positive thinking. Research and travel are self defining activities that has carried me far away from home. Given my health early challenges, I was inspired to learn about traditional as well alternative healthy lifestyles. I encourage home gardens and custom kitchens designed to provide healthy food preparation and self-sufficiency.
Kitchens that include Garden Harvest clean and store areas are different than the traditional American kitchen. and may include an attached Greenhouse. Eventually, I became a successful high school athlete having followed these ideas from age 14. This choice has made a surprising difference in my life. I have not experienced as much as a cold in the past 35 years! I also love basketball and my bicycle because these gave me the opportunity to feel free, to explore and to travel. Did you know that cancer cannot form and grow if your body is alkaline?
As an adult, I read about geometry, philosophy, metaphysics, ancient cultures and the influences and values that inspire architectural styles as well Sacred Geometry and Earth Energies often referred to as Ley lines. Professionally there are many technical books that inform my design practice. As a graduate architectural student at Ohio State University I was keenly interested to know how Nature makes form such as flowers and leaves and I was rewarded with a myriad of answers that were not discussed at university. These answers came from individuals whom all musicians who became my special ed. eachers despite not playing an instrument myself!
I am a devoted and versatile individual who values service to others. I am also an occasional teacher and writer, a mentor and a rigorous researcher. I feel most strongly defined by what I do as a problem solver. If I do not have an answer, I know how to find most answers and will pursue them rigorously until the circle completes. Sometimes this takes years and even decades. I consider a stubborn line in a poem a problem to be solved. I serve clients with professional design services, students with unique design thinking approaches, my writing demonstrates and explains complex ideas as simply as possible and my research is vast covering many subjects and topics that I draw from for design inspiration and personal empowerment. I also study technology and have been inspired by the social scientist Marshall McCluhan and his views about what is technology and how technology relates to Nature and the Human Body and its applicability to Architecture and Spatial Design.
Spiritually I embrace all viewpoints that do not cause harm to others and prefer faith that does not divide. Imagine a complete circle; a faith that offers complete, holistic inclusiveness? I am deeply inspired to encourage peacefulness, respect and tolerance of different cultures and viewpoints and am very concerned about the divisive nature of most societies today whom are competing to be right about their particular ideas and beliefs. I am uninspired by politics which by definition divide to assert control.
The practice of Architecture is essentially the design of custom walls which divide us from Nature though sustain a connection to Nature via materials, openings and proportions. This was the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright who integrated Eastern, Western and ancient principles into his buildings. I design spaces and places that embody the values of brave individuals who open up and share their deepest values. The rest is functional therefore I encourage creative bravado. Ideally, I am a person that wishes to design the perfect room, to express exacting words and to solve problems that bring Clarity; Rooms where clients can retreat to find their joy and calm. This includes color, texture, light and sound.
Though there are great lessons in foreign lands as well I believe that we each have lived many lives, we circulate back home eventually to the place where the answers persisted all along. “We are what we are looking for,” said the Hopi Indians, therefore know thyself and shorten the journey. I am John Gil of Covington, GA and John is my middle name.
I have lived a life of chapters. It seems chapter 8 recently commenced. When one chapter ends, a new one begins quite often in a new place, with new people, new jobs and new lessons. With each ‘chapter’ I have learned about regional differences, cultural values, architectural, landscape and interior styles and details, spiritual beliefs, health practices and the fact that most people everywhere care similarly despite different values and customs. I have lived in Cleveland, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio (again), London, England, Jamaica West Indies, Lafayette and New Orleans Louisiana, Los Angeles, California, Atlanta, Georgia, Skye, Scotland, Los Angles (again) and finally back home to Georgia. During these many places, I have never lost sight of my childhood interests. These have grown into complex ideas that borrow from the influence of the many people and places I have experienced, to which I offer humble thanks. My mother lives in Covington, GA and all things considered, my searching for personal clarity ended several years ago and it was time to reconnect. Growing up with my father, I did not have the opportunity to know my mother other than many long distance phone calls. It has been wonderful helping her reach upper shelves, plant a thriving vegetable garden and to know her on her own turf. She’s 82 and in good health, manages her own house and drives her own car. Covington is a small town that is next to the village of Porterdale about 25 miles East of Atlanta.
Archipella Studios (ASGA) is my third business. My former design companies were called BLINK Design and NewFine Architecture and Design Ltd.
The name Archipella Studios (ASGA) is intended to be playful and to offer a hint at my childhood interests, for the adventurous client, and, it sounds cool. Goethe famously stated that “Music is liquid Architecture and Architecture is Frozen Music.” Archipella Studios is devoted to the creation of healthful, experiential high functioning, and affordable architecture and interior design. Most of my clients have traditional wish lists, but occasionally, an exploration of unique form is requested. I am proud to have the ability to offer both. A brief tour of the evolution leading to ASGA includes 7 years in Jamaica where I learned of an alternative medical practice called Cymatherapy as well of course the local culture, food and ‘soon come’ lifestyle. I taught Design Studios at the Caribbean School of Architecture (UTECH) and I was briefly married.
While in London, I travelled to the home of my maternal family in Hastings, England whom are fishermen and coast guard by trade. During the years in Ohio, Jamaica, California, Louisiana and Georgia, I was both teaching and practicing Architecture. A 9 week visit to Skye, Scotland occurred as an invitation by the author of a book called ‘We the Skythians’ that describes a geometrical and geographical code embedded into the Giza pyramids including an ancient, global measuring system based on Nature and vibration also knows as Sonic Science. The word ‘vibration’ referred to here is not detectable to the senses. It refers to a signature frequency that all living beings possess including your hair and organs, your emotions, your thoughts and the Earth herself. “If it exists it vibrates,” referring to the life force that compels our blood to flow, our hearts to beat and plants and trees to grow. This is common knowledge in the East, and is also a medical delivery system that is offered around the world.
Imagine that we can make buildings and spaces that harness and attract these same life giving energies! The so called Sonic Sciences are the science of the ancient past and of the future. This is related but different than Sustainable Design and Green Design both which I understand and integrate upon request. I am also studied in Vaastu Shastra and energy dowsing but, Vibrational Design uniquely seeks to unite the building form, Earth and site utilizing vibrational harmonics as the unifying measure. This measure is indistinguishable from the building and interior forms and therefore not a technology applied to it. We still use inches and feet, but slightly modified ‘lengths’ to promote ‘frozen’, a cappella, harmonics.
The world leader in Vibrational Medical Delivery Systems are called Cymatherapy Inc., and they are located in downtown Atlanta and, they are my friends. They proudly received FDA-1 approval for pain and stress management and offer these treatments to clients. How does this relate to or change Architecture? The buildings will look mostly the same though some of the rooms, ceiling shapes and the proportions will be vibrationally attuned using the same Nature-based vibrational frequencies as the medical technology, and vice versa.
Archipella is a play on the phrase acapella referring to the use of voices alone to achieve harmony, and Studios indicates the formation of local teams as needed including several consultants that I occasionally work with in California, Scotland and Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean. Harmony is the key. Custom solutions and approaches is the method. The greatest compliment I was ever given was “If Harmony is missing, John will find the cause and resolve it,” and to this end Archipella Studios is unique in that it includes standard codes and practices, detailing, materials, styles and additionally harmonic attunement for those who make this request. Imagine converting a song into a building or a building into a song.
Archipella Studios is an architectural and interior design company with a couple of key distinctions. Lifestyle flexibility, client-centered as well mobility is central. Unlike most professions where you travel to an office and meet with an array of professionals on their turf and at your expense, which is suitable and appropriate for large scale commercial projects, Archipella Studios will come to you. We prefer medium to small scale projects usually of the custom Residential, Retail, Restaurant and Resort building types or any combination of these. ‘Have feet will travel’ I have been known to say.
I consider clients students until they become familiar with the process. Drafting, also known as ‘Construction Drawings’, represents about 50% of the overall process, though a building and site minimally needs a program, schematic design, design development, project management, material specs, bidding, building department submissions, construction administration and post occupancy evaluations as standard fare.
I hold a Masters Degree in Architecture and over 20 years of professional experience. I am an expert draftsperson, manager, conceptualist and project architect. I have worked for many different design companies over the years ranging from Summer internships to years of continuous employment. Most projects require several consultants including perhaps a land surveyor, a structural and mechanical engineer as well as special consultants depending upon the building type. New houses and some renovations require a structural engineer. HVAC, plumbing, land retention, energy, electrical and communications systems usually are handled by a Contractor’s ‘subs’, but if a separate permit is required, so too is a separate consultant.
My practice includes the use of computers for all aspects of the process. Computer Aided Design (CAD) is the means to create construction drawings but also contracts, letters, spreadsheets and 3D models that will give you an impression of the building before it’s built. The most common questions are “What type of buildings do you design and how much will it cost?” I already mentioned several building types, but I have also worked on medical clinics, small and medium commercial buildings, office planning, hillside residences, kitchen upgrades, shopping malls and entertainment domes. Cost is dependent upon many factors including the site, the size of the building and the preferred materials. The number $200.00 / sq. ft. is a common reference but economics of scale requires a moderately sized building to keep the price down. Contractor’s must mobilize the site, equipment, labor and materials, therefore a small custom house costs nearly the same up front as a medium to large house, for example. This is why developers will tell you that they can build for $100.00 / sq. ft., but this price is not factoring in design, engineering or permitting costs of a single custom home, store or commercial building. Where you can control cost is through creative and frugal material selection and most importantly, making sure the project designers are present on site during construction. Contractors see dollar signs in their eyes when they know you are not familiar.
Creating a building or renovation is probably the biggest thing you will ever do. I know this and I treat the design, documentation and construction process as if my own building.
Has it been a smooth road?
While living on the West Coast, the 2008 recession caused as much as 50% of the professional designers to seek alternative employment. This included graphic and interior designers, contractors and subcontractors, real estate agents and leasing companies. Many were unable to regather their practices when the spending and bank lending confidence returned. Building is one of the first industries to recede when economic downturns occur.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
There is a sense of community and neighborliness that you cannot find in most big cities. There is a natural sense of cooperation and caring for others. In a phrase, I would call this people-centric.
Pricing:
- • $60.00 – $90.00 / hr. for various aspects of the design service.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.archipellastudios.com
- Phone: 323-206-2471
- Email: johngil@archipellastudios.com
Image Credit:
Jessica Bowie – Personal Photo
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