Stefan is outstanding in the realms of site planning and master planning, and loves everything about his job. He’s been involved in just about every type of master planning over the years, and brings a broad range of knowledge to the team. Stefan is known for his positive attitude, listening ear, and ability to create successful plans in a timely matter.
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in the mountains of eastern Switzerland and moved to the US at age 17.
What are your hobbies/what do you like to do outside work?
I enjoy gardening, riding motorcycles, traveling, home remodeling, playing with my dogs.
Describe an average weekend.
I usually have a lot of projects that pile up during the week. Typically I’ll hop on my little tractor and start mowing my yard, followed by some other yard chores, while it’s still nice and cool outside. Then I’ll tackle some other chores around the house, go for a motorcycle ride around Lake Lavon, or take the dogs out and about. In the evening I like to site outside by a fire with a cold beverage or watch a movie.
What are some of your favorite tv shows/movies/books/music?
I enjoy a wide variety of movies, tv, books, music. Right now I am wrapping up Daredevil on Netflix. I tend to binge on Netflix shows, once I start watching something, I like to finish it quickly. I am also a big fan of war movies of any time period, cheesy horror movies and actions movies. I am currently reading / listening to a book series by David Baldacci, very interesting. I tend to listen to a lot of audio books on my commute to and from work.
Before working at O’Brien, what was the most unusual or interesting job you ever had?
My first job was in Switzerland, working for a two man architecture firm working on single and multifamily homes. We did all the drawings by hand, with ink pens. I do miss that sometimes.
What attracted you to architecture?
I have always had an attraction to architecture. I knew this is what I wanted to do from very early on in my life. As a child I would building entire cities out of Legos and was always busy adding and modifying the buildings.
What kind of projects and challenges do you enjoy?
What I like about my job is that it is quick paced, and it allows me to work on a large variety of different type of jobs. I enjoy the complexity of the mixed use jobs, I liken it to working on a puzzle, where every piece has to fit together just right. But, retail, office, multifamily and warehouse jobs all have their challenges too. I like the fast pace, daily deadlines that keep me on my feet. It never gets boring.
What project is the most memorable in your career?
That is hard to narrow down. There are so many interesting and challenging projects I work on. The Star is definitely a fun project to be involved in. It is exciting to see how much press that job is getting.
What are you passionate about or what goals do you want to accomplish in your work?
I am passionate about master planning. I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else. I want to produce the best work possible and keep my clients happy, and coming back for more.
What do you wish you’d learned in school that they didn’t teach?
In my opinion, college focuses too much on the design and creative process and not enough on construction basics. I think it is important to know how things go together!
Do you have any key mentors that influenced your personal or professional career path?
I have learned a lot from Jack O’Brien. He is the master at site planning and I try to absorb as much knowledge from his as possible.