Today Ted speaks with Mark de Reus of de Reus Architects. The firm, headquartered in Waimea, Hawaii, and operates in Sun Valley as well specializes in handcrafting private resorts and residences. No two designs are ever the same as each project is heavily informed and shaped by its surrounding environment as well as the unique vision of the client.

Mark is the founding design partner of de Reus Architects. A veteran of over three decades in the architecture space, Mark has a number of design awards under his belt and has been featured in international design publications.

Architectural Digest recognized Mark as one of the world’s top architects and designers in their AD 100 list. In 2011, ORO Editions published Tropical Experience: Architecture + Design, a 344-page book of his work.

Listen in as Mark shares his 35-year journey as an architect and the decisions that led to starting his own firm in Hawaii. He speaks on scaling de Reus Architects into a prestigious brand that today nets ten-to-twelve projects a year, and why he only chooses to work with clients “who have a mission”.

Topics Discussed

• [01:18] Mark’s early career in the field of architecture
• [08:28] The biggest lessons Mark learned from his parents
• [09:59] Doing architecture in Hawaii versus in Idaho
• [14:17] Living through a coup and starting a firm in Big Island
• [22:24] The process at de Reus and doing business in Hawaii during the pandemic
• [28:49] What Mark has learned from his clients
• [34:36] Mark’s drive to be a mentor to the youth and how he learns from the past
• [38:48] How Mark makes big decisions
• [39:28] The future of de Reus Architects
• [41:00] How Mark chooses and sets expectations with his clients
• [45:58] The defining moment when Mark realized business was going strong
• [51:01] Mark’s experience writing his books
• [55:14] Mark on how anyone can live the American Dream

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Key Quotes from Episode

• You have to be down-to-Earth and collaborate with the talent that you need to do the job.
• A good client is one that can really articulate what they want to achieve. They’re trusting. They want their architect to create a design that is innovative and personalized for them and lets them do it.
• It’s all architecture. It doesn’t matter where it is.
• It’s not just the chemistry between the client and the architect. It’s also about being able to make a decision about the chance or the likelihood of really succeeding in what we do. They’re interviewing me, but I’m interviewing them as well.