Jais Kwon, FXCollaborative Architects

Name: Jais Kwon

Title: Sustainability Design Specialist

Company Name: FXCollaborative Architects

List 2-3 real estate associations or organizations that you are currently a member of:

• AIANY Committee on the Environment (COTE)
• Urban Green Council Emerging Professionals Committee

What recent project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of?

Playing a big part in the design of our own office in Brooklyn is what I consider my biggest recent achievement. Our team created a truly sustainable and beautiful space for FXCollaborative. It was an opportunity to know every part of the project, embed what we believe in, and view our work from a different perspective.

Who was/is your mentor and how did s/he influence/help you in your career?

I am grateful to have had several mentors throughout my career. Tiffany Broyles Yost was my first supervisor and showed me true leadership, teamwork, and friendship. Dan Piselli, FXCollaborative’s director of sustainability, is also a great mentor. Dan and I truly work as one invincible team running towards a North Star.

How do you contribute to your community or your profession?

As a sustainability design specialist, I work with design teams to incorporate sustainable design elements and ideas into projects. Understanding the importance of environmentally conscious building, I join the design team early in the design process to achieve a high standard of building performance. Using sophisticated environmental modeling and analysis tools, paired with new and innovative building techniques, we are able to create optimized design scenarios across scales and typologies.

What led you to your current profession?

In an environmental studies class I attended as part of my undergraduate program, I realized that sustainable design can clearly show the strategies to make a building perform better with beautiful design. This sparked my desire to become an architect who can design a space that is both beautiful and healthy for the planet and for people.

Top three things on your bucket list:

Teaching future generations and young professionals confidence and belief in their careers; Living in different countries every six months; and overcoming my fear of open water.

Favorite quote:

“Life is just like multiplication. No matter how many chances you have, it is meaningless if you are zero.” –Nakamura Mitsuru