Architecture for Good: Matter's Charlie Firestone on Working with His Hands, Listening to Oneself, and Diversity of Experience
By Julia Gamolina
Charlie Firestone is a licensed architect in New York and a partner at Matter - a multidisciplinary design and fabrication studio. His interests include: design-build practice, socially engaged design, experimental structures, and housing. Prior to Matter, he was a project manager at Matiz Architecture and Design. Charlie holds a B.Arch. from Cornell University, and an M.S. in Architecture with a focus in Public Interest Design from Auburn University’s Rural Studio. In his interview with Julia Gamolina, Charlie talks about loving making and focusing on social engagement with his work, advising those just starting their careers to pay attention to what excites and inspires them.
JG: Tell me how you grew up, and how your interests then planted the seeds for what you’re doing now!
CF: As a kid, I was really into solving puzzles and making things. Whenever I would have a school project, I would go all out and stay up late making things for that. Then when I was eleven, my mom suggested that I might like being an architect, and I think I basically settled on it in my head at that point.
Me too! I distinctly remember it being when I was eleven.
Yea, I didn’t really question it for a while. But then, when I was applying to colleges, I decided that I should probably look further into what it meant to be an architect, and what it meant to be an architecture student. I attended the Architecture Discovery Program through Washington University in St. Louis, and that was an amazing experience. I found that I could lose myself while making models in a way that no other schoolwork had ever captured my imagination, and from that point on, I was hooked.
Charlie and his design partner, Devin Denman, after a critique at Rural Studio.
Walk me through your steps upon graduation from Cornell until now.
After I graduated, I worked for a small firm in New York City called Matiz Architecture and Design. I had interned for them after my fourth year in architecture school, and I had a really good experience and felt really supported and comfortable there. I worked for MAD for five years, working on small and mid-sized projects in and around the city. That gave me the opportunity to go through all of the stages of design really quickly, and was a great primer to start out my career with.
I was able to get on site really quickly too, and found out that I really enjoyed working with contractors - sketching in the moment with them, and figuring out details of construction on the go. After five years there, I decided I wanted to further my education and redirect my career into design-build, getting back to my roots of working with my hands. I also wanted to focus on social engagement in architecture. I found the Rural Studio through Auburn University, and so that’s where I went for my Masters.
“...there’s a lot of room in this profession for people with different backgrounds, interests, and ways of being, and it only makes us stronger as a profession to include a diversity of thought and experience.”
Fantastic! We have a number of Rural Studio grads profiled on Madame Architect.
That’s awesome. But yea, that’s what I’ve been up to for the past year! Through Rural Studio, I participated in the 20k Research Program, developing affordable housing prototypes for the rural south, and me and my design partner, Devin Denman, designed the next generation of the 20K home. We were poised to break ground in March 2020, which didn’t happen for obvious reasons, but I was still able to participate in a lot of the design build projects that were going on at the time, which was a really formative experience for me. It reinforced my desire to work with my hands and to continue to find ways to use architecture for good.
After graduation, I teamed up with my friend and classmate from Cornell , Erin Pellegrino, and I’ve been working with her ever since. We do a lot of different types of work; right now we’re working on two residential projects on Martha’s Vineyard, one of which we’re building ourselves, which has been a lot of fun. I’m also teaching at NJIT with Erin as well, and continuing to do some work with MAD on a community center in Queens.
Throughout all of this, who mentored you?
My first mentor in the profession was my first boss, Juan Matiz. He was the reason I decided to work for MAD and also the reason I stuck around there for so long. He was very supportive and created a great environment there.
In what way?
He would always make time to sketch together, and talk and work through designs. He made me feel like my ideas were valuable and important.
Pratt Institute Student Union by Matiz Architecture & Design. Photography by Studio Abe.
Construction in-progress for a pool house on Martha's Vineyard.
NYU Leadership Initiative by Matiz Architecture & Design. Photography by Studio Abe.
That’s wonderful. How do you feel like you mentor, and how do you choose who you mentor?
Right now I still feel like I’m at the beginning of my career, so I don’t know that I have done a lot of professional mentoring at this point, but I hope to become more involved in taking on a mentorship role as our firm develops and as we’re able to take on more people, and as I continue to teach. I’m also part of the Queer community, and I try to be involved in that, both socially and in a mentorship role.
Well that’s a great way to mentor, your teaching! With that in mind, there’s obviously other identities you have in addition to being an architect, so how do you make sure to integrate everything that you like to do into your life?
Still trying to figure that out [laughs].
[Laughs] Me too.
I like to stay active though, I like running and biking and rock climbing, so I try to do all of those things socially as well.
That’s a great time management trick - combining exercise with seeing friends.
Yea! I’ve also been able to read a lot more during the pandemic, and I use that as a way to stay connected to the people that I care about as well.
What have been the biggest challenges that you’ve faced so far in your career?
The biggest challenge for me so far has been running a business and living during Covid. It’s been really rewarding and exciting being a partner at Matter, but also a challenging time to transition into that role . But, it’s been fun to carve our niche out, and to set up our own parameters for what we want to work on.
Charlie and Erin Pellegrino (Principal at Matter) hanging out after a long day of work on their latest design-build project.
From your perspective, what do you think needs to be done to further advance women in the field? What would you encourage all of your male peers to do?
I think one of the biggest lessons that we can take away from this pandemic is that we can provide a lot of flexibility in how and where people work. I hope that that will continue into the future. I think that provides a lot of possibilities not only for parents and other caregivers but also for people who might have difficulty in an office environment, or with an office schedule, for whatever reason. In terms of personal actions, I try to recognize my own biases and educate myself, and most importantly, to listen to people with experiences that are different from my own.
It’s very important to note that men and women get treated differently in the workplace. Not usually intentionally, but I want to recognize that. As you know, I’ve literally been on both sides of that equation, as when you first met me, I presented as female and about four years ago, I made my transition from female to male. When I presented as female, whenever I had encounters that gave me pause, there was always a kernel of doubt in my mind as to whether I was being treated a certain way because I was female, or because my ideas weren’t as good. I think that’s an experience that a lot of people have had. Something I can bring to the conversation is that I have been on both sides, and I have noticed a difference in the way that I’m treated. For example, if I’m with a female colleague, I am often deferred to.
Wow.
Yea, and even if I’m younger and less experienced. I remember being in a room with a dozen people for a construction meeting, who happened to be men, and my project manager at the time was a woman. Now she had over twenty years of experience in the field, and people kept talking to me, even though it was early in my transition and I probably looked twelve at the time [laughs]. It’s definitely real.
“...listen to yourself and pay attention to what actually excites and inspires you, even if it’s not the same as for those around you.”
That’s super powerful for you to share. Very few people have seen this different in the way that you have. I really appreciate you sharing, and what you encourage others to do and pay attention to. Besides this project manager, who is a woman that you admire?
I’m currently admiring Rozana Montiel. She has these small scale interventions in Mexico that create huge impact for public space, and usually through inexpensive methods. She’s fantastic and deserves a lot more recognition.
Well, we can certainly make that happen [laughs]. My last question for you is what is the best piece of advice that you’ve gotten along the way, and what advice do you then have for those just starting their careers?
My answer is the same for both, and it’s pretty simple - listen to yourself and pay attention to what actually excites and inspires you, even if it’s not the same as for those around you. You’ll find your people. It may take a little bit of time, but they’re out there, and there’s a lot of room in this profession for people with different backgrounds, interests, and ways of being, and it only makes us stronger as a profession to include a diversity of thought and experience.