PRP Now! Nick Dalquest // Marmol Radziner

PRP: Tell us about your PRP firm. Where are you working?
I’m working at Marmol Radziner in the beautiful and sunny city of Los Angeles, California. I have been fortunate enough to be in the office nearly every day since I started. Marmol Radziner is an award-winning design-build firm that specializes in restoration and high-end residential but has had their hands in every scale possible from jewelry and furniture to prefab and high-rise. The LA office consists of 100+ people across Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape, and Construction and we even have smaller offices in San Francisco and New York City.

PRP: Do you enjoy the city you’re working in? Favorite aspects?
I would not live in Los Angeles for the rest of my life, but SoCal is amazing. I could do and try something new every day and never run out of things to do. The city is huge and sprawling and there is always a new place to explore. Luckily, I’m a 3-minute bike ride from the office, so I don’t have to sit in LA traffic every day!

PRP: What is currently on your desk? What are you working on?
Physically, on my desk are sketches on trace, old redlines, a set of construction drawings, a box of material samples, a fun little model someone was going to throw away, two boxes of decaffeinated tea, and a small thermos from Caffé Medici in Austin. Currently, I’m working on a small ADU for a repeat client. Marmol Radziner did their house years ago and they have come back asking for a guest house for the children and grandchildren to stay in. I am the only one currently working on the project, so I have been able to get really in-depth on the project doing design, working with agencies and sub-contractors, and producing CD sets. I should be able to see the project break ground before my internship is over!

PRP: Describe the firm culture?
To be completely honest, because of COVID, most have been working from home and so I have never gotten a full grasp of the culture of the firm here. I've gotten to know my coworkers and the other interns, but the physical office has been very disconnected, not at the fault of the firm whatsoever. A lot of annual events and parties have been suspended, but more people are getting vaccinated and people have slowly been coming back into the office. We should all be back in the office by mid-June and I am very excited about that!

PRP: As you’re finishing up the week, what are your plans for this weekend?
We had an absolutely packed trip to San Francisco this past weekend, so I am going to take a breather from this week and take time to relax and sleep in. We like to go on a hike, go to a beach, or go see someplace new every weekend, so I think this may just be a weekend for hiking.

PRP: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Whenever you have downtime during your day, or maybe a week with nothing to do, deep-dive into your firm's archives and folders (only places you are supposed to go). You’ll find old events and get-togethers, old projects, office standards, manuals, and just a lot of good information and context to your firm and its history that you may not otherwise see.