We recently connected with Terry Squyres and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Terry thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

About six years ago, we began working with Berks Nature, whose mission is to be the leading agent for the conservation of the environment in Berks County, PA. The client hired us to expand one of Berks Nature’s work sites, an unassuming, single-story structure with a history of use as a recreational boat rental center and for gatherings on a rooftop overlook where Berks Nature hosted a summer camp.

Our design collaboration with our client, led by the extraordinary President of Berks Nature, Kim Murphy, created a building that enabled the staff to expand and create new mission-driven programs so effectively that community participation dramatically increased. The space was flexible enough that even during the pandemic, the staff adapted to host an on-site learning hub for students attending virtual school. Within just a few years after the new award-winning Nature Place opened, Kim called us to help Berks Nature expand again, this time to more than double the size of the original project. With the new additional space, Berks Nature is again able to exponentially expand their ability to educate children, house community programs and host gatherings overlooking the spectacular setting in a way that hearkens back to the humble historic rooftop gathering space. For me personally, to have played a role in supporting the noble work and success of this organization is a source of continual inspiration and motivation.

Terry, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Since childhood, I have loved everything about buildings, a love that has turned into a career spent as an architect collaborating with extraordinary clients on the design of educational and cultural facilities. The design philosophy of my firm, GWWO Architects, where I have spent the majority of my career, is to originate design from an intensive exploration of the project’s cultural, historical, and environmental context, which enables us to create works that are of, for, and about their unique place and purpose. As a child, I never could have imagined that a benefit of this career choice would be feeding my insatiable curiosity through exposure to our clients’ fascinating stories, histories and locales, and that embodying their missions into architecture would be my life’s work.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Working on projects whose realization will facilitate mission-driven work for our clients is a passion for me. The design aspect of our work is always an adventure filled with discovery and inspiration, symbolic design expression and envisioning how proportions, spaces, views, adjacencies, textures and colors can evoke a transformational experience. The practical side of our work is equally rewarding because it involves deep engagement and listening to the project stakeholders. What we learn during that critical process allows us to translate programmatic needs into usable and flexible square footage that fosters their mission-driven work. Even after months and years of design and construction, days spent visiting the building once it’s fully occupied and bustling with activity feels magical. Hearing from the staff, students and visitors about how the spaces facilitate and influence their experiences is always a high point.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It is imperative to recognize the tremendous importance of all of the arts and quality design of our environments, and provide support of all kinds to sustain the irreplaceable role of the arts and design in our society. We can all find ways to champion the arts, through all kinds of advocacy, volunteering and financial and in-kind donations. Surprisingly, support for the arts in education can be vulnerable, even while organizations like Arts for Learning Maryland have proven that the participation in the arts measurably fosters the academic achievement and socioemotional development of students. As creatives who understand what we do and how our work positively affects, well, everything – building awareness and intelligently extolling the virtues and value of the arts is something we can all do. Creating and participating in creative peer communities such as CanvasRebel is a powerful catalyst driving the immeasurable value of relationships – even well-timed words of encouragement on a difficult day (we all have them!) can favorably affect our thought trajectory.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gwwoinc.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gwwoarchitects/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GWWOArchitects/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gwwo-inc.architects

Image Credits
Image credits are all listed in the photo file names Niagara Falls Visitor Center_credit GWWO MICA Dolphin Design Center_credit Karl Connolly MICA Dolphin Design Center Lobby_credit Karl Connolly Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center_credit Mike Morgan Fort McHenry Visitor Center Entry_credit Robert Creamer Cahill Fitness & Wellness Center_aerial c_credit Tom Holdsworth Berks Nature The Nature Place Outdoor Classroom_credit Tom Holdsworth Berks Nature The Nature Place Exterior_credit Tom Holdsworth