Full post at Kingston Times
Andrew Wright, owner of Wright Architecture and Wright Builders at 200 Fair St., has worked on projects ranging from early American structural restoration to sustainable geothermic 200,000-square-foot office buildings. Wright planned cities and hospitals in Algeria for Skidmore. He started his practice in New York City in his one-bedroom apartment on West 11th and progressed to Stone Ridge where he built a separate office building next to his house, overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir. Eleven years ago he moved to his Fair Street space. He restored and owns four historic buildings around the Kingston area.
Carrie Jones Ross: Where do you live?
Andrew Wright: Stone Ridge, overlooking the Ashokan Reservoir.
CJR: Where did you grow up?
AW: Chicago, Illinois. My family is from New York City. My father grew up in the apartment in which my sister still lives, even. All my brothers and sisters moved back to New York City, so I joined them. I am the youngest of four.
CJR: Where did you go to school?
AW: Iowa State for a B-Arch (bachelor’s in architecture) and then got an M-Arch at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
CJR: What then?
AW: Moved into New York City in 1983 when I was 26, so that I could open my own architectural firm.
CJR: Most notable project you’ve worked on?
AW: The Richard Morris Hunt carriage house in Manhattan. I converted it into a single-family home with a Tuscan interior, using green and geothermal techniques for low-energy and clean-air. It used practically no energy, was totally clean and dust-free air, and perfectly silent. If a helicopter flew overhead of it, you wouldn’t have heard it from inside. It won the Standard White award for Best Restoration in Classic-style.
CJR: What got you into architecture?
AW: It’s building. I like building things. And fixing things. When I was a kid, if I saw some wood, I would build something. Legos. Erector sets, blocks. I was always stacking blocks. And I loved shop class…