Derek DeGroot
Architect in the Chicago Office
Architecture always looked fun to me...when I found out you could actually draw and color as an adult (and get paid for it), I was sold! After college, I worked for a residential architectural firm for 5 years before joining the Aspen Group.
Get to know Derek...
I joined Aspen because...
It is a job that values learning, encourages thought, and is completely unique in the way we collaborate and function as a team.
My favorite Architect is...
I haven’t been able to narrow this down to one architect just yet. Some of my favorite projects, MAM by Santiago Calatrava, Dancing House by Frank Gehry, or Jubilee Church by Richard Meier. They all represent different styles which are unique to the individual architect.
Where is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
Calatrava’s Milwaukee Art Museum where concrete structures move and open to mimic a sailboat’s sail on Lake Michigan. I visited the museums main exhibit one weekend when Dale Chihuly’s glass art was on display, a striking contrast to the buildings concrete structure that seemed to make each material more beautiful than on its own.
Music on my iPod...
Len & Bob’s Cubs Weekly Video Podcast...if I had an iPod.
Number of books I read in the last 6 months...
18 (the last GREAT book I read was The Art of Innovation by Tom Kelly)
My favorite place to be is...
On a cool night, by a fire, in the woods, a few miles from the nearest town. A space so quiet you can hear every movement of the trees and every crack of the fire.
Words to live by...
“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” –Sir Winston Churchill