Welcome to my blog

Three weeks ago, I set of an an incredible road trip across the American West and Southwest in search of great design, good company, and endless inspiration. Join me as I look back at some architectural masterpieces, hidden art gems, and much-needed catch-ups with family and friends. The map was set, the miles were logged, and the photos are ready. Let’s roll!
…..Fazlur

Design in Motion: Why I’m Taking My Studio To The Open Road

17 Days, 4,000 Miles and One Mini Copper Named Alfie

Welcome to “Alfie & Me Go West”

On January 28th, I stepped away from my desk to explore the American West through an architect’s lens and a relentlessly curious eye. Over 17 days, my MINI Cooper (Alfie)and I traced a loop through the American Southwest and California Coast not just to see the sights, but to analyze them.

I often tell clients that design is not just about objects, it is about context. It is about how a building sits in a landscape, how light moves across a textured wall, and how scale affects human psychology.  But you can’t fully understand context from a printed set of drawings. You have to drive through it.   And for this mission…that’s exactly what I did!

The Mission

With a background in both architecture and interior architecture, I paid close attention to how regional identity shows up in the spaces we actually inhabit…through material choices, natural light, proportion, and the way people move through a space. I was reminded that meaningful design is crafted just as intentionally from the inside as it is from the outside.

Follow me on my journey from the rigorous minimalism of Donald Judd’s Marfa, where concrete boxes frame the desert horizon, to the organic “compress and release” architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. I will be dissecting the design decisions that make these places iconic. We also will look at the heavy Spanish-Pueblo adobe homes of Albuquerque, the maximalist kitsch of the Vegas Strip, the futuristic engineering of the Sphere and the stunning landscape of Red Rock Country with a chapel actually built directly into the rocks!

There was also plenty of space for play, moments of delight in objects both monumental and small, reaffirming that scale and human experience remain central to thoughtful design. Reconnecting with family and friends added another layer of perspective, underscoring that places resonate most when they are shaped with people in mind. The insights gained continue to inform my approach, sharpening my sensitivity to context and reinforcing my commitment to spaces that are intentional, responsive, and deeply rooted in both place and people.