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Profile: Leslie Saul AIA, IIDA, LEED AP

by BSA staff / October 20, 2011

Name: Leslie Saul AIA, IIDA, LEED AP
Job title and company: President, Leslie Saul & Associates
Degree(s): Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Architecture, Rhode Island School of Design
Professional interests: the place where architecture and interiors interface/overlap/communicate

What are you working on now?

Current projects include providing architecture and interiors for a large, rambling, new shingle-style house in Newton, Massachusetts. (Watch the construction progress on Facebook.) We are also finishing the furniture selections and specifications for the almost 200,000-sf Paul Rudolph–designed Carney Library at UMass/Dartmouth with Austin Architects [handling the renovation] and designLAB architects [executive architect, handling the addition]. Other projects include redesigning the interiors of Cambridge Homes, an assisted-living facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and corporate interiors for the new Boston offices of Perseus Books Group and Da Capo Press. We are so lucky to be busy.

What inspired you today?

Today I was inspired by a retirement-age person working as a restaurant server. This “older worker” was moving quickly, though stiffly, and he had a smile on his face with every step.

What architectural buzzword would you kill?

There are so many architectural buzzwords that I would prefer to eliminate, including “materiality” (couldn’t we just talk about the materials we use without the buzzword?), but it’s really the pretentious use of strings of these types of words that is my pet peeve. Go to the AIA website to vote for your favorite Architect Barbie dream house. One of the finalists’ submissions is almost incomprehensible with paragraphs filled with these words. It’s Barbie, for cryin’ out loud!!

What are you reading?

I am currently reading a book of short stories, Letting Loose the Hounds, by Brady Udall that I picked up at a grocery-store book exchange (really terrific), three somewhat-current issues of the New Yorker and the end of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (an inspiring book about survival). The stack on the side of my bed is high. I prefer to read for pleasure and not about business, but I have to admit that I am also reading Mold and Moisture Mildew Prevention, an NCARB monograph.

Do you sketch by hand or digitally?

I always sketch by hand. John Dyer used to gauge the amount of design work in the office by how many Pentel Sign pens and rolls of trace paper we ordered. It’s hard to imagine that as a gauge today, yet I still find it easier to sketch an idea in front of the client by hand, with a Sign Pen and plenty of trace paper. For me, it would not be as easy to pull out the laptop or tablet and load SketchUp and then generate a sketch digitally and still be able to include the client in that process. My clients can mark their comments right on my sketches, and I can keep sketching until concept consensus can be reached. Trace paper is not precious, so I believe that it’s a better tool for idea generation. The next generation of designers may disagree. Whatever works for you is best.

Has your career taken you anywhere you didn't expect?

I never imagined when I was in architecture school at RISD in the ‘70s, that I would own my own architecture and interiors firm in Boston and that I would have the opportunity to collaborate with so many outstanding architects and designers (both as employees and clients) over the years. I didn’t expect to have so many loyal, creative and wonderful clients, many of whom are now my friends! I did realize that art and design was my calling when I was 13, and I do realize that it is a gift to do what you love every day.

Where is the field of architecture headed?

I feel that the world of architecture is on a path of bifurcation: The large will get larger, and the rest of us will struggle to get great commissions. Another trend that worries me is that some architects care more about the photo for their portfolio than about the users of the space. Read Architects Must Consider the Humans Who Will Inhabit Their Structures for more about this topic.

Can design save the world?

I don’t think that architecture can save the world, but we do strive to make the world a better place to live, heal, learn, work, play and pray (to be spiritual and build community), one project at a time. These are our seven sectors: private homes, senior living/skilled nursing, corporate interiors, academic facilities/libraries, retail/restaurants, fitness/health, and churches/synagogues. It’s always fun when our sectors overlap: a chapel in a nursing home, a corporate gym, a bookstore at a college, etc. We started thinking about the consequences of our work on our planet in the 1970s, so it is really thrilling to see that sustainability is mainstream now.

What do you hope to contribute from your work?

I hope that my work contributes to a better life for the people who occupy/use them.

Who or what deserves credit for your success?

Some of the people I credit for my success are my little mamaleh (my mother), who let me draw on a wall in my bedroom, who taught me to write thank-you notes and who I still have fooled into thinking that I can do no wrong; my father, who taught me about integrity and about treating everyone with respect; and my husband, who encourages me to pursue my dreams and who enables me to work like a crazy person!

Your least favorite college class?

I had no “least favorite” classes in college. I loved them all, especially the 8:00 am structures class.

If you could give the you‐of‐10‐years‐ago advice, what would it be?

I would give the 10-years-younger version of myself the following advice: Take care of yourself, and find a better business model than the standard “fee for services” approach of most architecture practices. Maybe if I start thinking about that today, I’ll figure it out by the time I retire.

Your favorite Boston‐area structure?

My favorite Boston-area structure is Community Rowing’s Harry Parker Boathouse on the Charles River, by Anmahian Winton Architects. It’s a truly worthy recipient of the BSA’s Harleston Parker Award.

Who would you like the BSA to interview next?

Please interview Diane Georgopulos [FAIA, MassHousing]. She is delightful and brilliant!

P.S. Please feel free to contact me at leslie@lesliesaul.com, or read our blog at http://blog.lesliesaul.com.