By Marley Malenfant/reporter
Longtime architect Max Levy offered students and faculty housing advice and showed students examples of his architectural work April 12 on SE Campus.
Levy said his interest in architecture came during his studies at the University of California at Berkeley. He is now a solo practitioner of architecture.
SE architecture instructor Arnie Radman has been familiar with Levy’s work for years.
“I’ve followed his career, and I wanted students to experience what he’s all about,” he said. “His style of architecture is so unique, and it doesn’t really follow corporate architecture.”
Levy said most first-time house buyers spend more on a bigger house than they should.
“Size is one of the biggest problems in America,” he said. “Above all, stay within your means because you don’t have to spend a lot of money to do something beautiful.”
Levy said people forget the importance of taking care of their house from the outside.
“Don’t exclude nature from your house,” he said. ”Allow your house to have its eyes wide open to nature. Consider the yard as part of your floor plan.”
Levy explained that architecture is more than just buildings and blueprints as it allows him to help different people.
“Architecture is about everything, and that’s what I love about it,” he said. “If you do it right, you get involved in your clients’ lives in a positive way, and you can help improve people’s lives. I mean, what more do you want?”
After listening to Levy’s seminar, SE student Peter Louie said he wants to get involved in architecture.
“Everything he was showing us was brilliant,” he said. “His creativity is on another level, and I want to be like that.”
At the end of the seminar, Levy said his creativity is just luck and is not always sure where his next idea will come from.
“Whenever I’m working late and I’m struggling with a design, something finally appears on the paper,” he said.
“I’ll be excited that I have a solution, and my first impression is always that I didn’t really do that. It came from somewhere else, and it’s a great feeling.”
