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Erick Calderon

Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Artist, & Maker

Art and Design

In this episode our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden visit with Erick Calderon, a business owner, entrepreneur, artist, and maker from Houston, Texas. Erick Calderon is the owner of La Nova Tile, a company he started over a decade ago, after graduating from UT Austin with a degree in international business. But it wasn't until a more recently that he started experimenting with artistic sculpture and color gradations. Joe and Kevin visit with Erick about the start of his tile company, the forging of his artistic identity, and how his art feeds back into the business.

Explore

Albert Cabin

Albert, Texas

Residential

Stepping through the stone wall portal marks a threshold from city life to the quiet rhythms of the Texas Hill Country. The cabin’s warm wood interiors and expansive glazing open to the surrounding oaks and sky. In the mornings, the southeast-facing bath welcomes the first light; in the evenings, the southwest-facing bedroom frames sunsets and starlit skies.

Nicole Buergers

Beekeeper & Cheesemonger

Food and Beverage

In this episode our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden visit Nicole Buergers. Nicole is a beekeeper and cheesemonger from Houston, Texas, a career that grew from a passion project into a full-fledged business. Kevin and Joe were introduced to Nicole through Minh Nguyen, owner of Cafe TH and former guest of this podcast. The three of them sat down with Nicole to discuss her beekeeping service and how her diverse background feeds into its success.

Immersive Tools

Kevin Barden

Writing

At a time when artificial intelligence and digital tools dominate discussions of architectural education, the practice of making large-scale physical models serves as an ever more important tool for the development of a student’s creative voice, sense of discovery, and long-term learning. Through an understanding of temporal and spatial kairotic environments and an iterative process these large-scale physical models possess the potential to embody experiential qualities in a meaningful manner.