ARCHITECT | ATTORNEY | ENTREPRENEUR
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School of Arts & Technology
Benin City, Nigeria
Drawings by: Emily Hunt Turner
ARCHITECTURE
"I'm not an entrepreneur; I'm an architect."
It took me years to feel comfortable calling myself an entrepreneur. The label fit what I did, but it never quite captured how I saw myself. I graduated from Syracuse University's School of Architecture in 2007, and although I don't formally practice architecture today, it has shaped nearly everything I've done since. It's there in the way I took notes in law school and diagrammed legal concepts while studying for the bar exam. It's there in how I curate the spaces I inhabit, personally and professionally. I can see it in how I write, how I dream, how I innovate, craft pitch decks and map presentations. Architecture isn't simply something I studied; it's the foundation upon which I've built my life and work.
Architecture taught me how to see the world not as it is, but as it could be. It taught me that every system, every institution, and every environment is the product of human design. And if something has been poorly designed, or designed to cause harm, it can always be redesigned.
DRAWINGS
STUDIES
PROJECTS
The Book Nook (Design-Build)
When my mom died in 2017, an old friend and former hockey teammate reached out and suggested we build the writing studio I had been talking about for years. It was, I suspect, her way of showing love during an unspeakably painful time.
This studio was for my wife, the author, who had dreamed of having her own dedicated space to pen her prose. And we were so happy to build it for her. Constructing this "Book Nook" was one of the most healing (and grueling) processes I've ever been through. We tore down an old shed and built this gem from the ground up. Sounded easy but holy shit - it kicked my ass!
That said, I could literally feel my heart mending with every nail; with every dusty measurement and grainy chop. The whole experience was quietly ceremonial; a visceral way to feel it all without saying a thing. I'll forever be thankful to my old friend and her unique language of love. This Nook was built to last.