Firm Culture

Introducing, Gabriel Vargas!

Say hello to Gabriel, our latest addition to the B&V team! Gabriel recently moved back to Seattle from a stint in Miami and is thrilled to be home in the Pacific Northwest. Beyond his passion for architecture — especially residential architecture — he loves to play soccer, eat great food, and dance Salsa, Cha-Cha-Cha, Bachata, and Merengue.

Gabriel Vargas

May 12, 2020

Hello!

I am ecstatic about joining Board & Vellum, as there is an evident high-energy and collaborative environment here that is rare in an era where imbuing aesthetics and opinionated egos has become a viral trend. Board & Vellum has an interest in creating high-quality, design-oriented architecture that is also responsible for the environment and society — and, as a LEED Accredited Professional with a specialty in Homes, this is very important to me. All that, along with the great deal of diversity in knowledge and experience in the Board & Vellum team, I see this as a great recipe for creating unique projects that are smart, sustainable, timeless, and beautiful.

About a year ago, I had the great chance of returning to Seattle and took it! I put my son, the dog, and the bearded dragon in the car, and drove across the country with a big smile in my face. To me, there is nothing like living in the Pacific Northwest, and I was coming back home!

I have over fifteen years of experience working in Seattle and Miami — and am a registered architect in both Washington and Florida — designing in all phases of projects ranging from custom contemporary and tropical residences to office buildings, institutional and industrial projects, all in either the greater Seattle area, South Florida, China, Colombia, or The Bahamas.

Giving back to my community is engrained in my DNA, and I do that through volunteer work, which has included sitting as co-chair of the Sea Level Rise Task Force by the American Institute of Architects, Miami Chapter, and serving as a Disaster Service Worker for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services in California. Now that I’m back in Seattle, I am constantly looking for meaningful ways to give back to my community.

In my free time, I love playing soccer whenever I can, but now, and as a very proud single dad, most of my free time is dedicated to supporting my son’s passion to become a pro soccer player and a musician. As it is expected, a good soccer player better also be a good dancer… and Salsa, Cha-Cha-Cha, Bachata, and Merengue are what I do for fun. Additionally, I love being around friends and family, attending cultural events, playing with my dog (Lukas), and my cat (Batman), hiking, walking around beaches and downtowns, and trying ethnic foods and weird mixes of foods and flavors.

I live my profession by my favorite two quotes:

“He who seeks truth shall find beauty.
He who seeks beauty shall find vanity.
He who seeks order shall find gratification.
He who seeks gratification shall be disappointed.
He who considers himself the servant of his fellow beings shall find the joy of self-expression.
He who seeks self-expression shall fall into the pit of arrogance.
Arrogance is incompatible with nature.
Through nature, the nature of the universe, and the nature of man, we shall seek truth.
If we seek truth, we shall find beauty.”
– Moshe Safdie

“As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.”
— Sir Norman Foster