NAK’s Staff Spotlight series has the goal of letting you get to know our team better through a series of 6 questions, geared to explore how we chose the field of design, what our guiding principles are, and what type of advice would we give. Today, we are getting to know, NAK Calgary’s Regional Director, Jack Vanstone!
Flashback to when you were 10 years old. What did you want to be when you grew up and why?
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to fly. Not like a bird – although that would be cool – but fighter jets and fast planes! It turns out at my height you can’t safely eject if needed, but I did become a pilot at age 17, and earned a commercial licence on my 21st birthday at the Guelph Airpark. I love all manner of aircraft and anything that flies, and occasionally get up in a Cessna these days to keep the spirit alive.
What made you choose the field of Landscape Architecture/ Urban Design?
Pure coincidence brought me here… When I competed my commercial licence the only way to get a look for a job by the airlines was to have a degree, or thousands of hours flying time. Being in Guelph, my roommate had a the course calendar on the table and I started sifting through it. I knew I wanted to stay in the City, and architecture and design were always of interest so I pulled together a portfolio and applied! Once in, it became something I grew fond of, and immersed myself in construction through school and twenty-some years later, I can’t imagine doing much else.
What are some of the principles that you have lived by? What guides you?
Be the person who others can count on. This is a principle, but also one of the things that is hardest for me to do when pressure mounts or priorities compete for attention. It is a constant guidepost, and something I continually work towards, I will never be perfect at it, but always work towards this principle.
If you could trade lives with one person for a day, who would it be and why?
Elon Musk comes immediately to mind. I think it would be wonderful to be absolutely fearless and wildly visionary in spite of what peers may say. To my mind, he is one of the great visionaries of this moment in time. He is a courageous problem solver, clever designer and disruptor that is inspiring. He is not afraid to try and fail, to start over, and pivot in a range of directions.
Do you have any favorite stories from your work life? What are they?
The most rewarding part of my work life are experiencing the light bulb moments when young professionals cross out of their own boundaries to grow and develop. Watching, and in some small way facilitating the growth of designers is by far the most exciting part of my job. You can almost see the very moment when something clicks and falls into place, and tasks that were once difficult can be completed with grace and ease. For this reason, the ‘young guns’ at NAK are what keep me excited about every day and the future of the profession and firm.
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
There are 2 things that come to mind. The first, is to soak up the world around you. What is exciting? Where do you feel comfortable, or relaxed? What pieces of a City are most fun to look at and engage with? How do kids play? How do animals move? Where does the water go? I will never be the most talented designer in a room, but by constantly observing and experiencing places and things, your design memory will be molded and exercised.
Secondly, process is everything. It took me a long time to develop a consistent and repeatable process that can be trusted to yield a strong result. Build yourself a robust, repeatable and proven design, project management or personal management process. Regardless of the complexity of a task your personal process is the key to solving the problem – whatever it may be. Build a process, and trust it will lead you to the right answer.
And I know I said there were only 2, but this one took me the longest to learn. Lastly, when the design is not working, throw it out, go for a walk, and start again. Don’t be afraid to mess up early, throw it out and come back at it with fresh eyes and a blank page. Good things come from this. Embrace it. Be happy you changed it now rather than regret it during construction! You can see your projects from space… be proud of them.