Duan Tran of KAA Design: Five Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As An Architect
An Interview With Jason Hartman
Believe in Yourself — This can be the hardest thing to maintain in moments of unfamiliarity or anxiety, even for the most confident. But in those instances, know that you are doing what you love to do. And trust the process that you are taking in your career has prepared you for this moment. And that you have an amazing personal and professional support system.
As a part of my series about the ‘Five Things You Need To Know To Create A Highly Successful Career As An Architect’, I had the pleasure of interviewing Duan Tran.
As a Partner of the firm, Duan’s vision and leadership extend to both management and project design. His focus on firm wide initiatives related to its organizational growth, business development, and long term strategic planning, guide the firm’s ability to leverage its over 30-year history with a nimbleness required to retain its position on the frontlines of an ever changing industry and clientele.
Duan also maintains a leading presence on all aspects of design for many of the firm’s most notable projects and discerning clients. With an artistic sensibility rooted in modern composition and form, he enjoys exploring the intersections of his ideals in collaboration with an engaged and passionate client through the process of designing their home. Several of his projects have been recognized by the AIA, as well as having been featured in several regional, national, and international publications including Architectural Digest, Luxe, and the Robb Report.
A native Ohioan, Duan received his undergraduate degree from Miami (OH), and graduate degrees in both Architecture and Historic Preservation from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining KAA Design, Duan’s professional career included several distinguished residential and hospitality firms in both Ohio and Washington DC.
Duan is a licensed Architect and member of the AIA. He is also a member of the prestigious Leaders of Design Council, the Board of Directors for A+D Museum in Los Angeles, and Advisory Board for Miami (OH)’s College of Creative Arts. Duan has also been invited to serve on several academic design juries, as well as a guest panelist for several design and industry media events.
Outside of the office, Duan and his wife enjoy finding time to travel, all while keeping up with their three active daughters in Culver City.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this particular career path?
As I look back on my childhood, and consider what led me toward becoming an architect, I’d have to say that it was the unique intersection of the two things I loved the most growing up, legos and movies.
Legos were a creative pastime that I could get lost in for days. The tectonic nature of creating and building anything I imagined was so empowering. In those early moments, it’s probably fair to imagine that I began to develop an early appreciation and understanding for architectural concepts like scale, form, proportion, and even color. Taking it further, probably not a leap to imagine my exposure to these concepts through lego building have come to influence my more contemporary aesthetic point-of-view today.
If legos were the creative outlet, movies were the inspiration. Growing up in a rural area of Ohio, so many of my fondest memories included the times that my dad and I would escape the daily routine and go to the movies. We were particularly big fans and loved all the James Bond movies. Given the backdrop of memorable and striking architecture in far away and exotic locations, it was the perfect escape and permission to imagine.
The connection between beautiful environments and lifestyles was inspiring, especially for someone who had no real exposure to that growing up. It was all so very different and eye opening to me at the time, but likely the early seeds in planting a lifelong curiosity and passion on my part.
Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occured to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
I’m blessed to have the opportunity to collaborate with each of my clients on the intimate journey toward designing their dream home.
In one particular situation, I had a client who had a very definitive idea about how they wanted to live, and how their home should look. They took the opportunity to take a step back and consider the root of what they were really asking for. It was exciting for us to help guide them through an exploration that ultimately led to an unexpected conclusion.
I don’t think I will ever forget it as it was such a genuine moment of joy for them to come to this new realization of what they truly were aiming for, exclaiming aloud that “our friends would have never thought we had it in us”.
Do you have a favorite “life lesson quote”? Can you share a story or example of how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness”
Admittedly, I never truly understood what one of my mentors was trying to tell me early on in my career. How could a strength be a weakness? What I slowly came to understand and appreciate was the importance of managing one’s strengths and successes in a way that would not inadvertently dismiss the possibility of an alternate idea or solution.
Strengths, and the success that often results is a powerful thing, but with it comes a level of awareness toward not allowing it to overshadow a healthy curiosity or consideration of new and different ideas.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Our work is fundamentally driven by a site-specific design approach, based on the simple idea of bringing a balanced and holistic sensibility toward developing the architecture and landscape agendas in direct consideration of each other.
In collaboration with our clients, we strive to create personal and thoughtful contemporary environments that leverage the blurred boundaries between the indoors and the outdoors, as well as the manufactured and the organic. The culmination of our work in collaboration with each of our clients always results in the most unique and creative solutions in regards to our clients lifestyle needs and aspirations.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’m fortunate to say that I have been blessed by several amazing individuals that have taken a personal interest in me and have cheered me on during my professional career. But perhaps most relevant to my situation today are due to my two business Partners.
In most simple ways, I am grateful to both of them for the professional relationship that we have built over the last 20 years. Their individual and collective optimism for the firm continues to inspire and motivate me. And as we think about the future, help develop a professional mindset about the work that we do, and the long-lasting role and responsibility that we have to our profession and industry.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Intention — Focus on what matters, don’t waste your time on meaningless things.
- Confidence — Always believe and trust yourself. Don’t be afraid to make a decision…if it’s wrong, correct it and learn from it.
- Empathy — It’s not always about you. Operate with an open heart and mind…listen, understand, and appreciate.
Can you share 3 things that most excite you about architecture and the Real Estate industry in general? If you can please share a story or example.
- Ability to raise the human spirit through thoughtful design — Allow people to transcend the mundane and routine in their lifestyles to something more sublime and uplifting…deep rooted into their human existence and primal needs.
- Promote our ability to live a healthy and positive lifestyle — Encourage and set the stage for thoughtful design, wellness, fresh air, natural light, beauty, and organic.
- Support a sustainable environment — Expose and educate our clientele who are often thought leaders and titans of industries towards sustainable agenda.
Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest? Please share stories or examples if possible.
- Belief that “good” design has to be expensive and/or accessible to only a limited few.
- The growth of artificial intelligence within the design process, at the expense of the human creative experience.
- The loss of craft and human artistry during construction, in lieu of more cost effective and pre-manufactured products and housing.
Ok, here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share with our readers the “Five Things You Need To Know To Create A Highly Successful Career As An Architect?” If you can, please give a story or an example for each?
- The Value of Time
One of the most influential books that I read early on in my career was Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” In particular his chapter of “Put First Things First” has guided my personal and professional outlook to develop the personal discipline to prioritize my day to day on what is most important, and not what is most urgent. Given the urgency of what we are often tasked with addressing each day, this simple idea has helped me manage my time in a way to ensure I’m getting the most out of every moment.
2. The Importance of Being a Good Citizen
One of the most important things that I have come to appreciate in my career is the value of cultivating, nurturing, and maintaining positive relationships along the way. It truly does take a village to achieve sustainable and genuine success.
3. The Power of Yes
It’s been interesting for me to consider the idea that most everything good that has happened to me has been the result of saying “yes.” And then I think about all the times that I said “no” for different reasons and what I may have missed out on.
4. Embrace Your Superpower
On one level, it’s such a simple consideration to acknowledge what it is that you are most exceptional at. On another level, it may be more challenging to ensure that it becomes a platform for growth. Be mindful and embrace what it is that you are great at and use it to open doors and opportunity.
5. Believe in Yourself
This can be the hardest thing to maintain in moments of unfamiliarity or anxiety, even for the most confident. But in those instances, know that you are doing what you love to do. And trust the process that you are taking in your career has prepared you for this moment. And that you have an amazing personal and professional support system.
Thank you for your time, and your excellent insights! We wish you continued success.
