I was requested to put together a bio for Rice Mentorship Program’s instagram page. Here is what I wrote, with the photos I submitted.
Justus Pang is a registered architect who has worked in Berkeley, Houston, and Las Vegas. His project history includes residential remodels, new apartment complexes, adaptive reuse conversions, and commercial, government, and hospitality tenant improvements.
His experience includes working as a laborer in a construction crew after college and summer internships with a landscape architect. Since 2018, he has worked for the State of Nevada as an Owner’s Project Manager.
Having participated within all roles within the industry, his focus is on fairness to all parties, strict quality control of the design and construction documentation, developing a collaborative environment, and continuous process improvement.
Ideally everyone walks out of my project with a smile and proud of the work.
The interior of this converted single car garage was quite plain, but the rabbits and I used every cubic inch in this space.
A simple patio became a lesson in composing wood members and structural connections.
A gaudy façade in EIFS was an exercise in detailing and composition.
Design opportunities are simultaneously rare and ubiquitous in this profession.
The only commercial project I’ve ever stamped was nixed after the construction contract had been fully signed (due to the pandemic). No project is ever safe from cancellation.
In spite of years of experience with residential renovations as an architect, being our own general contractor was a miserable, grueling slog – learning to work with others and ourselves.
It was an incredibly valuable professional experience. I recommend it to all architects, once.
Occasionally you’ll come across a breathtaking moment of beauty on the job site.
Sometimes those moments will be found in the most pedestrian of renovations.
The Owner’s Project Manager handles administrative tasks, sets limits around the project, fosters a team atmosphere, and gets out of the way so the design and construction professionals can do their work in meeting the needs of the users.
