Today, we’d like to introduce you to Jory Walker.
Hi Jory, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself and how you got where you are today?
I guess you could say I got started in Architecture from the time I was a little boy. I have always been a lover of all things creative, and my family encouraged my exploration of that love. My mother had beautiful art books of Masters that I spent hours combing through; the entire family played instruments and sang and even did local theater. We were fortunate to live within a couple of hours of Chicago, so art and history museums were our family field trips.
I grew up taking art classes and devouring history books (especially Egyptian) and was certainly influenced by my parent’s love of restoring old homes back to their original grandeur. Just like any young adult starting college, you gravitate to the things you love. I started as a musical theater major and realized pretty quickly the life of a starving actor was not for me! Then I went on to get a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpting and Painting, but I also realized when I looked around there were many students who were just better artists than me. After lamenting to my brother my dilemma, he suggested I go visit a friend of his, a prominent architect, and pick his brain.
The moment I walked into his office, I knew that architecture was my calling: the perfect combination of art and history, but with the functionality and 3D aspect I craved. From there, I went on to get my Bachelor’s and Master’s in Architecture from the University of Utah, work briefly with a prominent local architecture firm, and also worked with an architectural design/manufacturer of theming elements, which put me in the middle of many Las Vegas hotels theming projects such as Mandalay Bay Hotel, Paris Hotel, and Luxor Hotel with its large Egyptian sculptures (sometimes things just come full circle!).
From there (whether ambitious or just plain crazy), I embarked on building my own commercial architecture firm, Beecher Walker Architects, with a partner in Salt Lake City and have been going strong ever since.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
But of course, there are always bumps along the way to overcome to reach your goals! When I got started in architecture, I was moonlighting on some projects and got reported to DOPL for practicing without a license, oops! But a fellow architect came to my rescue and said I was working under his license, and I could quickly put that oops behind me, get licensed, and gain a pretty darn good business partner in the process. And in every economic downturn in the last 25 years, you learn quickly how to pivot and juggle the needs of your employees and your clients to keep projects moving forward in some fashion and keep your employees paid, which is not an easy feat in any way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work and what sets you apart?
I think what makes me different from a lot of architects is that, first and foremost, I’m a classically trained artist. That’s kind of a different breed. Marrying the artist and the architect side of me with the business owner in me culminates in the quest for artistically designed buildings that are not only beautiful to look at but function in every way that’s needed and also make financial sense for the client.
I think that one of my gifts is “seeing” the right solution in just about every situation to be able to design a project that is aesthetically, emotionally, functionally, and financially spot-on for a client. Finding that ultimate solution really gets me going! In my early days as an architect, I loved designing homes, and with my classical training and love of history, I created some beautiful manors. Since then, I’ve been known more as a commercial architect, with much success coming from my ability to span different design genres and also being instrumental in creating some of the most iconic office buildings in Silicon Slopes in South Salt Lake County/North Utah County (over 7 million square feet of them!).
I’m also known for my hats—but that’s for another time!! When I said earlier that some things come full circle, that also applies now—I’m having so much fun designing homes again! What started as designing homes for my good clients has now blossomed into more. Much of this work is showcased under my other company, Jory Walker Design, which I created to share my inspirations, lessons learned, love of art, and new home designs.
Contact Info:
- Website: beecherwalker.com
- Instagram: @beecher_walker
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063553811279
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beecher-walker-&-associates
- Other: jorywalkerdesign.com
Image Credits
Amanda Olsen and Beecher Walker Architects
