Steven Breslin

My mother worked at Hovnanian, a prominent developer in the Northeast, which provided me with a unique experience. Weekends often meant tagging along to her office, where I’d happily lose myself in the architect’s studio. Surrounded by blueprints, models, and the scent of drafting ink, I unknowingly absorbed the atmosphere of design. This early exposure planted a seed, a fascination with how inert matter is organized — how forms, space, and time are negotiated to bring a building into being. The design process, as I later came to understand it, is far more than just construction, it’s a balancing act between order and chaos, a striving for coherence in the built environment that reflects the very complexities of life itself. It’s a constant confrontation with ourselves and the world, where a multitude of systems and forces collide, ultimately shaping the architectural solution. This holistic approach, considering everything from dynamic façades to the interplay of internal systems, is what transforms a building from mere structure into a living, breathing entity.