Brew's Cafe- Episode 81 Erica Broberg

When we think of East End architecture, and new building and development in general, we often gravitate toward the obvious: the large, new, cutting edge design that makes magazine covers and lifelong name recognition. Erica Broberg certainly doesn't shy away from taking on large projects, but her business mission holds firmly to one critical  ethic that separates her from the more famous names: half of her business consists of local projects, designed for year round residents and business owners. She looks at architecture a little differently. Rather than building only the newest, latest and greatest, she sees the architect as having a duty to the community in which they live. Erica got her start on the East End in what might be considered "neediest cases". She took on projects that had major challenges, either from regulatory restriction, logistical challenges or some other difficulty. That experience serves her well, as she has a unique understanding for the process, the constraints, the needs of the community, as well as the client. In this conversation, Erica gives us lots of insight into what informs her work today, as well as how she arrived at it. We also cover some of the interesting, often controversial elements that building on the East End now face.