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Honoree: Greg T. Metz AIA, LEED AP
Lott3 Metz Architecture LLC, 2010 AIA Michigan Director
The Extraordinary Service Award was a surprise for Metz, but MiBiz Managing Editor Joe Boomgaard interviewed him prior to the awards project about his vision for the awards and for the architecture industry in West Michigan. The wide-ranging conversation touched on diverse topics such as the band Iron Maiden, why Grand Rapids is a great place to live and do business, the BBC car enthusiast program Top Gear, and how 85 percent of Lott3Metz Architecture’s business is within a mile of its Cherry Street offices.
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Metz: I have an issue with us being insular. I want the public to know what architects are doing. I want the public to realize who we are. I feel strongly about this. We should not be hiding. It gets back to pride of place. Architects in West Michigan are good, and I want to tell that good story. I want people to think about Grand Rapids, not just Detroit. I want this to succeed.
Metz: It’s a concept I’m trying to bring to AIA Michigan, to get us out to the public. Michigan is not a bad state. We do good work here. We have great design. Sure, we’re hurting now, but we’re not dying.
Metz: 38 Commerce is such an awesome space, and I like that it’s run by young guys focused on the community. It’s cool to be in the cultural hub of the city.
Metz: Hugh Newell Jacobsen is one of the top five architects in the world, and he was born and raised in Grand Rapids. His son, Simon, and I are good friends, and I went to Washington, DC to hear Hugh talk about Grand Rapids from 1929 to 1943. He went from here to DC and became famous in his own right. He still speaks highly of Grand Rapids. Bob Gurney is just a great architect from DC (and a friend of the Jacobsens). To get an award from these guys is pretty sweet.
The Extraordinary Service Award was created to honor Metz. MiBiz asked Lindsay Anes, director of business development at Owen-Ames-Kimball Co. and public relations director for AIAGV, about the award.
Anes: The purpose of this extraordinary service award is to focus on how Greg has led the board to elevate the Honor Awards this year. He has focused on raising awareness of local architectural talent with the goal of opening architecture to the public.
Anes: It was his idea to find a funky, cool, raw space for West Michigan architects to have representations of their work on display for the duration of ArtPrize. He searched dozens of spaces to find the right one at 38 Commerce.
Anes: Greg reached out to public officials across the region inviting them to attend the awards and/or come into the space. He has also tried to make the event more fun and attractive to attract and retain new talent to the profession. This Honor Awards is really just an extension of AIAGV’s effort to have more of a presence in the region, add value to our membership, have more of a voice in the community, etc. Greg is the driving force behind our efforts. He is a visionary. He has put his heart and soul into the AIA and should receive some serious recognition for it.
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