Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Brower
Hi Anthony, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my career on Wall Street designing high-end residential condominiums and commercial office space in Manhattan. Shortly after walking out of the city on 9/11, I made my first pivot from designer to construction manager, overseeing multiple construction projects in the area. As an early-career architect, witnessing a set of drawings emerge into the physical world was an invaluable experience. My next shift brought me back to design at Gensler, focusing on the commercial sector.
Within Gensler was where I found purpose in design. An organization that truly embraces an individual’s entrepreneurial drive, or in this case, intrapreneurial. My work began with the goal of making design more responsible, or what is often called sustainable design. By adding a nuance of climate positive action to my existing expertise as an architect, I swiftly shifted from designer to consultant as a way to layer meaning, mission, and value into my work.
On December 31st, 2011 at 9pm, cheating three hours into the year, I arrived in Los Angeles from New York. At the time I was already 20-years into my career, having built a sustainable design practice within the New York office and the shift westward was with purposeful intention to do the same in our southwest region.
Along this path, I built a brand as a Climate Architect. In my personal life, I found meaning by contributing to charity and funneled my advocacy toward mental health and suicide prevention through the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride benefitting the Movember Foundation.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Buried in the other questions
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Perhaps in hindsight things can be attributed to luck, but events unfold when and how they do. You have to make your choice and stick it out to the end. I make decisions I believe in, and while they don’t always go right, there’s always something to be learned. Looking back, I started with Gensler in 2005 and transitioned to a sustainability consultant bringing in my own work by the middle of 2007. The great recession hit later that year and you could say that, had I still been doing design work, I might have fallen victim to a rapidly compressing job market.
I had in the course of building a business, made myself one of one as opposed to the one of several hundred. Our clients were asking for enhanced building performance back then because they were determined to save on operational expenses. Was it by luck or chance that timing favored me? Perhaps, but I made a decision I believed in, and it’s always served me well.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing is ever easy, but my perspective on that is yes. The reason for my self-validated simplicity is due to my enduring intent to connect disparate things together. I try to make it a point to learn one new thing a year, usually in my personal life, but often there’s an overlap. One year I signed up for a writing class and used the assignments, which had nothing to do with architecture or sustainability, to pen several articles. The final pieces explored issues of; global migration in the wake of climate change; feelings of isolation during a global pandemic and how design can help; and the impacts on our climate caused by the pandemic, all three were ultimately published in several online periodicals.
Another year I decided to explore stand-up comedy. This was interesting as I was using the experience to explore ways to poke fun at serious issues related to climate change to help people shed their fear of it. While I was telling jokes about hazardous chemicals, the comics before and after me were telling s*x and fart jokes. My version of “clean” comedy that day won me an invite to repeat the performance at The Comedy Store in West Hollywood by one of their promoters who happened to be in the audience. In 2021 my stand-up was picked up by KCRW who had an open call for people to talk about How Angelenos are channeling their climate change anxiety into sustainable living. They found my unique take worth a mention.
Contact Info:
- Website: Gensler Profile Website: https://www.gensler.com/people/anthony-brower?q=brower
- Instagram: Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anthony_brower
- Other: My Personal Charity: https://www.gentlemansride.com/fundraiser/anthonybrower
Image Credits
Miguel Perales
