The successful Architecture Firm has managed to stand out among the options in the market due to the passion and leadership of its founder C.P. Drewett. Get to know a bit more about his life, motivations and work philosophy in this short interview.
Name: C.P. Drewett
Facebook: DrewettWorks
Instagram: @drewettworks
Website: drewettworks.com
Title: President/Founding Architect of Drewett Works Architecture
City you live in: Scottsdale, Arizona
Most recent city visited: San Francisco
A typical day in my life includes… waking up at 6 a.m. for a Pilates workout, followed by some quiet time with coffee before heading to the office. From there, the day is filled with designing, collaborating with my team and meeting with clients—it’s a constant outpouring of my energies, which can sometimes be exhausting. So to help transition from work to home, I relax by sitting in a dark room for about 20 minutes to clear my head. The day ends with cooking for my family and enjoying a glass of wine with my wife.
I was born…to work. I’ve always considered myself a bit of a plow horse. Fortunately, my profession brings me enough joy that I don’t feel like I need to work toward some end where I get to reward myself with something like a trip or extended time off. I just really love what I do.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…an aviator. My dad was a Marine Corps aviator, and I was fascinated by that. Unfortunately, I have terrible eyesight, so that didn’t pan out. Throughout my childhood, we moved a lot—18 times by the time I graduated from high school—and I learned how to build things from my dad during this time. We were the original fix-and-flippers, taking our homes down to the studs and putting them back together, adding innovative details and making them stronger and more beautiful. He also taught me carpentry. After making a particular set of bookshelves that resulted in something pretty remarkable, I knew I wanted to design for the rest of my life. This led to my interest in architecture.
What makes Drewett Works stand out from other architecture firms? Stewardship. I believe that we’re here to serve people and provide sound leadership. Stewardship is selfless giving, and it’s also about doing the right thing. If we’re innovative and have an excellent moral compass, we will do good work. We are very responsive to the site, the client’s vision and we’re ever-changing. I never want to rinse and repeat.
How would you describe Drewett Works’ architectural style? Our design solutions are modern-driven—I like the clarity of modernism and the lack of rules. I prefer “anything goes” rather than abiding by some preconceived kit of parts or having to abide by specific criteria. And while I like the challenge of all styles and have never met one we couldn’t deliver, nothing beats modern.
What has been the biggest project that Drewett Works has done? We have four community developments—Arizona; Louisiana; Loreto, Mexico; and on the Baja—where we’re in the driver’s seat, providing the vision and direction for each. On the residential side, the largest project is about 60,000 square feet, which I’d liken to a personal resort.
How is Drewett Works socially and environmentally responsible?
We’re socially responsible because I love people more than I do architecture. We’re responsible for improving the way people live, the way they retreat and the way they work. Environmentally, we practice sound solar orientation and design—we create buildings that protect themselves from the elements. Drewett Works is all about designing timeless architecture, which I feel is our greatest responsibility. When something becomes dated, someone will eventually want to remove it, which means tearing a building down and putting it in a dump. It’s garbage in and garbage out. You can design a structure that doesn’t consume; you can create a net zero building, and that’s something we’re trying to do more of.