“Being an architect or designer is not what you do, it is what you become.” Architect David Kiraly, AIA, NCARB, says that an early interest in construction made architecture an easy career choice for him.

As a Senior Project Manager in ms consultants’ Youngstown office, Mr. Kiraly believes every client and every project is unique. By taking a generalist approach, he offers clients distinctive solutions shaped from his 35 years of design experience. He explains that “experience from the past allows you to anticipate future issues.”

Some of these issues are common project challenges such as keeping needs, costs, and aesthetics in check. Mr. Kiraly says, “It is seldom that any or all of these are not in the equation. I have found that communication is the best way to deal with this challenge.”

Mr. Kiraly sees environmental sensitivity and building efficiency as two intertwined trending issues. “A good architect is trained to take into account the environment as a natural part of the design. A building should be designed to be efficient in terms of operating cost, form, and how the building functions. These are fundamental elements in the design of the built environment. We are meeting those needs by quantifying elements by the use of LEED and other tangible ways of measurement.”

Mr. Kiraly enjoys golfing, bowling, and skiing. Being competitive outside the office also benefits his project team. He says, “I not only want my team to succeed, I want my team to be the best at what it is doing at that time.”

His love of team building readied him for one of his biggest project challenges: to design, complete, and make operational a 24-bed hospital within a 10-month deadline. “The schedule was brutal. It was the definition of a fast track project. Cooperation of our team was the only thing that makes a project like this work. Maintaining the cooperation of all individuals was essential.”

He suggests that students considering architecture take the time to relax and have fun.“I like to have fun with what I do, and I do not take myself too seriously. Architecture as a profession allows me to do what I have always been interested in.”

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