00;00;09;29 - 00;00;23;27
Rob Lee
And welcome to the truth in this art. I'm your host, Rob Lee. And today I have the privilege of being in conversation with an Liszt's architect and the founder of a present company. Please welcome Megan Elcrat Welcome to the podcast.
00;00;24;12 - 00;00;25;08
Megan Elcrat
Thanks for having me.
00;00;25;23 - 00;00;30;08
Rob Lee
Thanks for coming on. I'm glad I didn't pronounce it is Megan because that's a key. And people should not just.
00;00;31;10 - 00;00;41;20
Megan Elcrat
Now I'm going to go back and watch that skit. I wouldn't mind a Meagan, but for some reason it irks me when people put an H in my name. Oh, respect to the H Megan's. It's just a different. This is just a different thing.
00;00;42;00 - 00;01;02;17
Rob Lee
That's. That's great. I might have a New Orleans alias coming soon. Robert Dell'acqua. So we'll have a just Robert. But like Robert. Just put that on there. Just give it an accent. Love me gives me seasonality or what have you. So before we get too dipped into the podcast, I wanted to ask a little bit about your background.
00;01;02;19 - 00;01;12;00
Rob Lee
I'm like, you know, because you share your background, where'd you grow up in maybe one of those experiences that kind of got you looking at, you know, design architecture? Tell me about that.
00;01;12;10 - 00;01;28;19
Megan Elcrat
Sure. I grew up in Wichita, Kansas. So that's like a thing that kind of that's just not a known quantity. And in Maryland, so people are kind of like, oh, I don't even know what to do with that. I mean, out of that whole, like, where did you go to high school thing and even architecture school, like I went I went to Kansas State.
00;01;29;23 - 00;01;48;05
Megan Elcrat
But the the funny thing about when you're in an architecture school, I feel like a lot of people probably have this experience. Like at some point my colleagues and I were having this conversation late at night in the studio, like, wait, is it, is it not a normal thing to, like, draw floor plans when you're like eight years old?
00;01;48;27 - 00;02;08;24
Megan Elcrat
It's not what normal people do to normal people. Not, like think about the section of like their dream house of like how it's going to have secret passages and openings. We were like, is it actually maybe that we were always meant to be? Or this was kind of like, That's great, because that was sort of the case. Like I, you know, had Barbies, but I just mostly designed their environments.
00;02;08;24 - 00;02;25;04
Megan Elcrat
You know, it's been a lot like my dad had this bookshelf and so I could push certain books in and try to not talk with my hands. I know we're on the radio, but like, I would create rooms by like, you know, pushing them books and, and making volumes here and there and that that always like allowed for an elevator, which I felt like was very fancy.
00;02;25;04 - 00;02;45;03
Megan Elcrat
And, and then by the time they were supposed to just go shopping or do whatever, I was like, okay, let's go design another really amazing space for Barbie. And so then I realized later in life that might have been an indicator. So that was sort of always going to be a good fit for me. But at the time when I was in high school and I was in that point where you're supposed to figure out what you're going to do with your life.
00;02;45;19 - 00;03;01;29
Megan Elcrat
It felt like it was an intersection of like art and science, art and mathematics, and that I was that I was really into arts when I was in school. But I also had this logical mind and this, you know, so I felt like that was kind of a good fit for that reason as well.
00;03;01;29 - 00;03;11;01
Rob Lee
Thank you. Thank you. And so let's talk about the first company a little bit. I mean, ten plus years at this point.
00;03;11;01 - 00;03;19;06
Megan Elcrat
So I think I missed a party, actually. I think I think I had a date in there where I could have had a party. I just have a 12 year party.
00;03;19;23 - 00;03;30;23
Rob Lee
Yeah. So what is what's present company? Let's talk about mission values, all of that good stuff, almost like this sort of pre plug. You know, before we get to some other question, so feel free dove in.
00;03;31;05 - 00;03;53;19
Megan Elcrat
Well, the company had a different name when I started. When I started, it was just myself and it was it was me and nobody had any for probably five years, I think. So initially the name was kind of based on my initials and it was something I just sort of pulled real quick because I quit my job and I was like, I'm going out on my own and I needed a business card and I just was like, Oh, I don't even have a name.
00;03;53;19 - 00;04;11;19
Megan Elcrat
So it just was this thing that just kind of happened. And then at some point, eventually, my husband joined me and we grew the firm and we're very small, but it became about more than just me. So I decided I wanted to go through this rebranding exercise, which, you know, everybody says it's not a good idea. It was kind of like, okay, we're going to do this thing, we're going to hurry up and do it.
00;04;11;19 - 00;04;40;02
Megan Elcrat
So I spent a lot of time really thinking about what the meaning behind the name would be, and we had a lot of names on the list. Some were not that great. I think we wanted it to be playful but really like explain our values. And then I was on my way to a meeting where something had gone wrong and there was a problem and I kind of just dropped what I was doing and I was driving down there and it occurred to me that I think I think we are very much present for our clients.
00;04;40;02 - 00;04;58;16
Megan Elcrat
Like we really show up. The project starts to feel pretty personal for us. Like, you know, we're not just kind of like detach from it. And so that just it just hit me. That present company made sense and you know, the pun makes sense, present company included or, you know, something that makes a joke excluded, whatever. I don't really care.
00;04;58;16 - 00;05;18;05
Megan Elcrat
It's still funny to me. It still works. But that is kind of like the mission and the value. It's about like, you know, we work with a lot of clients that are doing something for the first time. They're opening their first restaurant, they're opening their first bakery, or they're, you know, it's just for them. It's not something that they've done 15 times.
00;05;18;05 - 00;05;35;29
Megan Elcrat
So they're nervous and they're putting a lot of money into something. And I am an entrepreneur as well, and I have a couple, you know, side businesses. So I get that and I get their excitement and their trepidation. And I want I want to be there for that and I want to walk them through it. And the building process is like a big part of that.
00;05;35;29 - 00;05;48;24
Megan Elcrat
And so at the early stages, so it's exciting, but you're going to deal with people that have never done this before. They're not going to know how to navigate through everything. So yeah, that's that's kind of who we are. We're just, we're there along that whole process with you.
00;05;49;14 - 00;06;11;29
Rob Lee
And that's, that's important is huge to, you know, especially when someone is taking on step that for the first time and I think we have this habit I think generally speaking and speaking to people in generalities that oh, everything is easier when you do it. But no, it's not the you know, I look at the process of something that, you know, I did and I look back on it.
00;06;11;29 - 00;06;45;07
Rob Lee
I needed that experience. I can buy my first house and I say, Oh, this is I thought this was easy. I took a real estate course and I was like, Oh, this sucks. There's a lot of, you know, stuff that's attached to it. So I could have benefited from having someone around. So when it gets it out for no side or when it gets to like having something developed, whether it's, you know, working with architects and things of that sort, you know, having someone there that knows it, understands it and it's like present, if you will, the I think that that's I think that's really, really important and really helpful.
00;06;45;07 - 00;06;48;13
Rob Lee
And something that I think is often overlooked would be to be honest about it.
00;06;49;03 - 00;07;04;24
Megan Elcrat
And, you know, when I'm thinking about it, even as you're talking about it, even for our clients that do have a lot of experience, I think that there's a value to it like that. Our approach is just again, it's not like it's not like it's hands on per se. But, you know, we own a building, we've developed a building.
00;07;04;24 - 00;07;21;29
Megan Elcrat
We were kind of understanding on the other side, like on the owners on their side of of a real estate investment. And so we just get excited about it in a particular way. You know, like I might like scrape some pain off a door just to see what's under. Like, that's not really my role. Like, I'm not really just like execute work, but I'm like, hey, let's go like take the wallpaper off and see what's underneath.
00;07;22;06 - 00;07;27;19
Megan Elcrat
And it's just, it's like, why not? Why not just sort of get, get into it, you know? Yeah.
00;07;27;24 - 00;07;35;25
Rob Lee
When not start a horror movie that no one was looking for, you know, people going, yeah, like, oh, well, I think it was a season of American Horror Story. I don't know.
00;07;36;21 - 00;07;37;26
Megan Elcrat
So what kind on that?
00;07;38;17 - 00;08;03;10
Rob Lee
So it's a reading that, you know, you know, it's a reading that you're, you know, that that your first love or prison company's first love is taking something old and making it meet the needs of something present. So making something that was old and making it new, repurposing it. And I love that. Can you tell us why? Like adaptive reuse and working with historical buildings resonated with you?
00;08;04;02 - 00;08;34;25
Megan Elcrat
Absolutely. My I have appreciated historic architecture since like late college, so it wasn't something that I think I always understood that I would find interesting until I started really going on visits to other cities and figuring out what actually was kind of exciting to me. And, you know, if you have the chance to restore something and orient in some rare cases, I've had the opportunity to do a reconstruction, which is to completely fabricate from scratch.
00;08;35;01 - 00;09;10;16
Megan Elcrat
But it's meant to be as close as possible to what you think it was before. That's pretty awesome, too. But nine times out of ten, the reason a building is vacant and sitting there unused is because its original intended purpose has kind of moved on. You know, the world has changed. And and so then you have this really unique and interesting opportunity to do adaptive reuse projects to 90% of what I don't know that's probably not an accurate some amount of historic restoration work is going to inevitably be adaptive reuse because, you know, if you needed this particular historic church on this one block, then it would be it would have been maintained in that
00;09;10;16 - 00;09;35;14
Megan Elcrat
congregation, wouldn't have moved to a larger church down the road or what have you. So it also, you know, there's sort of like this idea that, oh, you put a let's say there's a coffee shop in an old in an old building in an old movie theater, you know, by virtue of that, this coffee shop is there. And what they do is automatically more interesting than just a brand new little coffee shop in a white box, you know?
00;09;35;14 - 00;09;54;18
Megan Elcrat
So there's something like very cool about intersecting two different things that weren't originally meant to be together. It also like pulls people into spaces they wouldn't normally get to see in some cases. So that's like point of access for people and then it's really challenging. So like to get back to that sort of more scientific or mathematical like brain.
00;09;54;29 - 00;10;13;04
Megan Elcrat
I love a challenge and I love trying to figure out how those parts and pieces are going to work with this building that wasn't necessarily like designed to house and incorporate these uses. So it's like, you know, for some projects it you've done a good job. If nobody thinks you get anything, you know, it looks like you really just preserve the building the way it originally was.
00;10;13;04 - 00;10;29;22
Megan Elcrat
But somehow there's a café in there, which means there's a kitchen somewhere. But if people aren't seeing all that stuff, if it's a preservation project, then you've done a great job. In other cases, like the juxtaposition of the new use is what is making it even more interesting and taking it into this whole like new lifespan for the building.
00;10;30;13 - 00;10;31;07
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, I.
00;10;31;14 - 00;10;53;07
Rob Lee
I've seen and heard some projects that are happening in the background that, you know, take from things that may have good bones for, say like, Oh, we're using this old funeral home, we're turning it into a restaurant, or we turn it into a bar or what have you, or taking a building that was in wow disrepair. And it's now going to be a theater.
00;10;53;07 - 00;11;12;11
Rob Lee
And we made we did this or even looking at, you know, some of the old theater like the the parkway or what have you looking at that is like, wow, wow, this isn't here. I had no idea. And it still has some of those those features that are character that just makes you think like, Oh, now I can see what this once was.
00;11;12;14 - 00;11;35;27
Rob Lee
However, this is very new in this way, but also that ceiling looks like ancient and it's really cool from a characteristic standpoint. So I dig that and I feel like there are a lot of historical buildings. Do you ever work with any of the like Baltimore heritage or anything along those lines? And looking at buildings and looking at like structures.
00;11;35;29 - 00;11;59;14
Megan Elcrat
The Union Square had been done and then, you know, Baltimore heritage like work to make sure Lafayette Square would also have their building redone. So it's a simple little structure, but there's a lot of history to that. Park was a lot of history to the building. And, you know, like if you want people to gather in a park space and you give them access to power, you have a janitor's closet you can unlock so they can run speakers and lights and then you have restrooms like that's a game changer.
00;11;59;23 - 00;12;14;02
Megan Elcrat
Yeah. So, you know, that was like just a very again, like very rewarding project, not like a big architectural lift, you know, like, but it was just really satisfying to be a part of that. So yeah, we love helping out with local organizations when we can.
00;12;14;15 - 00;12;35;13
Rob Lee
Fantastic. So could you describe the you know, I think it's a good segue way talking about that that project there, which is a smaller lift, what is a project that comes to mind that really stands out? Like what was the process that went into it? And and so I got a part B to a while. Well at least start off right there.
00;12;36;20 - 00;12;56;23
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, it's hard to narrow down and but I think again because, because in the moment that I'm doing it, each project is really is really pretty fascinating to me. The one collective I guess was the first thing that came to my mind. I think it just kind of mentioned a project people maybe have actually been inside of. So that's a nice big open space.
00;12;56;23 - 00;13;14;11
Megan Elcrat
But you know, that one was very unique for several different reasons. One of which is it's a warehouse building, you know, it's a union. And it's just like, you know, when we got in there, as much as it that is also a historic building. It doesn't have like a tremendous amount of character, like on the insides, just some steel beams.
00;13;14;11 - 00;13;39;15
Megan Elcrat
One of them have been hit with like some kind of short lived at some point points that this like massive, like, you know, bending it and it just is what it is, but but it was this big open warehouse space. And then these two amazing guys, John and Enrique, wanted to start making wine in there. And, you know, if you visit wineries, usually they're like winding through the fields of grapes and into like bucolic, like, you know, cottage house where you get some cheese and you get a baguette and you sit outside, you have a picnic.
00;13;39;27 - 00;14;00;28
Megan Elcrat
So I loved like how punk rock it was. So we're going to we're going to make wine in a warehouse, you know, and it actually, like, follows along with their whole, like, winemaking process, like the esthetic of what they're doing, like from the technical standpoint, is also kind of like this taking of really high tech things, but then also this like really intuitive.
00;14;00;28 - 00;14;17;06
Megan Elcrat
I mean, I probably won't explain it nearly as well as they do, but they, you know, they look at the grapes when they're growing and they'll be like, nope, those didn't get enough. So those are going into a blend. This one is where it's at this row is these are my these are my reds. You know, it's really like they're really passionate about it and they're using like really high tech equipment for some of it.
00;14;17;06 - 00;14;31;10
Megan Elcrat
And then they're just kind of like doing this more like like I don't know if low tech is the right word, but, you know, low tech version on the other side of it. And it just it fit the space perfectly. And they really are a collective. They were making wine for other people and using their tanks for other like startup wineries.
00;14;31;23 - 00;14;51;20
Megan Elcrat
So for them it was the perfect space, but it was like a really fun architectural problem. Like how do you make normally, you know, this whole concept of of sharing a bottle of wine with someone is about sharing, getting to know each other. It's a warm feeling and the space should be warm. And then you walk into this cold warehouse and you're like, What's the opposite of feeling warm?
00;14;51;20 - 00;15;07;08
Megan Elcrat
So how do we. And then also they're producing everything in the space, like they need to have, you know, floors that are white bubble. And these big stainless tanks highlight, you know, they need to be able to see what they're doing. So we have these different lighting conditions for the tasting room side of it versus the production side of it.
00;15;07;08 - 00;15;29;18
Megan Elcrat
And those controls need to be in place, but it just ended up being a really like a really interesting challenge for me to like have people really immersed in that process, but to still, you know, hopefully bring them down to a more intimate level so that they can enjoy, like having a meal with someone going out on a date with someone and like not feeling like they're in this big, huge space, even though they are.
00;15;30;08 - 00;15;34;17
Rob Lee
It's it's a great space. I've had Enrique on and. Oh, you haven't.
00;15;34;18 - 00;15;35;24
Megan Elcrat
I didn't know that. Okay.
00;15;35;25 - 00;15;39;22
Rob Lee
Yeah, he got me. He has me hooked on vermouth now. So shout out to Enrique.
00;15;39;26 - 00;15;40;09
Megan Elcrat
Right.
00;15;40;16 - 00;16;00;14
Rob Lee
And same. And I've been there a few times like they are, you know, like I'm definitely one of those folks. If I go to a place and I dig it, I'm bringing friends, I'm always bringing folks back. And we did a double date there and the space is is great, space is gorgeous. And I love how it's how it's set up, how it's structured.
00;16;00;14 - 00;16;13;29
Rob Lee
And I think the last time I was there, I was just there to get like, I think rosé or something. They had like some frozen or something. I was like, Oh, I'm going to have this. This is this is this is what I'm doing. Yeah, we're not staying. We're just having that and then we're leaving. This is great, by the way, guys, keep it up.
00;16;13;29 - 00;16;19;03
Rob Lee
Keep up the good work. So, yeah, no, this is great. And I had no idea. Had no idea you worked in that project.
00;16;19;09 - 00;16;26;24
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, I love that. I love that you bring people there that's like that's that's wonderful. Thank you.
00;16;26;24 - 00;16;50;13
Rob Lee
Do you have him in? Maybe this is a weird question. Do you have any design or architectural like, signatures? Like it maybe is not the right type of question, but I think like I think about producers writing when it comes to music, they have a certain like note that they use a certain style that they use. Do you have any signatures or approaches that are synonymous with you, with with pressing company?
00;16;51;00 - 00;17;08;21
Megan Elcrat
Yeah. No, I don't think it's a weird question at all. I think in my case, I don't know if I do, but I'm sure someone else could be like, Oh, you always use those Edison bulbs or you really into dark colors, you know? And those are so both of those things are true. So, you know. But is that a signature move or is that kind of, you know, just where things are at?
00;17;08;21 - 00;17;40;28
Megan Elcrat
I, I think each project is like they've just been like really different from each other, especially over the last five years. And, you know, again, getting back to that, like we're kind of people based, so we're responding to what that particular client or group of clients needs. And so it doesn't it's not like I don't have a voice in it, but I'm, you know, it's less of like me showing, showcasing my style and more about like pulling out what's interesting about the building, if it's a spring building or what's interesting about the process, if it's, you know, something like one collective.
00;17;42;01 - 00;17;42;16
Rob Lee
It makes sense.
00;17;42;19 - 00;17;49;07
Megan Elcrat
I don't know if I have a signature move. I do really like dark green right now, though, like a really deep brain. So I.
00;17;49;17 - 00;17;52;18
Rob Lee
Guess I'm a I'm a gray and oxblood sort of.
00;17;52;18 - 00;17;54;11
Megan Elcrat
Guy. Okay.
00;17;54;18 - 00;18;20;26
Rob Lee
A lot of my enemies. So thinking back and going back for more than a decade, as you say, coming up on the 12 year, you know, 12 year, five year party, how has Baltimore like changed from an architectural standpoint from maybe when you started to where you're at now or even forecasting of like what's coming forth or what have like what's in development because we never know where they actually going to end up.
00;18;21;03 - 00;18;25;07
Rob Lee
So how has it changed from from your vantage point of being an architect and working in any industry?
00;18;25;23 - 00;18;49;16
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, that's a that's a tough question. I'm sorry. I need to say that because I wish that I could be like, oh, look at this. This neighborhood is like, this is chain. But, you know, some of it is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Like, you know, things move around. But like, I'm a bit of a realist, too, so it's like, you know, I could point to certain areas where there's a lot of activity I've also seen.
00;18;49;16 - 00;19;09;02
Megan Elcrat
And then I think it's also really hard for me to separate my own personal life from that question. So I'm thinking about things like in my immediate neighborhood that have changed because that affect on me and I can obviously like process the trajectory of my own work. But, but Baltimore as a whole, you know, the development of a city as a really slow moving beast.
00;19;09;14 - 00;19;36;07
Megan Elcrat
Yeah. So I think these things, it does change and evolve, but it's so slow that when you're kind of like this close to it, when you're in it, you don't notice exactly the ways in which it's changing. I do think that people, you know, maybe and like to get to the forecasting part of your question with any luck and based on the work that you're doing that other people are doing, I think the perception feels like it's changing.
00;19;36;07 - 00;19;54;04
Megan Elcrat
Like I keep meeting people who say, Oh, I just moved down from Brooklyn and you know, I brought this person down. I'm trying to get this person down, you know, I mean, again, people also leave. But I think people are starting to understand that Baltimore is a place with a tremendous amount of tower, like a refreshing, like, lack of pretension.
00;19;54;04 - 00;20;07;04
Megan Elcrat
So I think there's like that that for the right people where that really appeals like I think that reputation as maybe starting to like actually spread out beyond, you know, the actual city limits of Baltimore, which would which would be great.
00;20;07;26 - 00;20;39;10
Rob Lee
No, I agree with that. I, I look back at that thinking, you know, like that. It's like, I think that buildings are being used for it, but not for you know, this idea of Baltimore is scary. Baltimore is dangerous. But we're going to throw up a multi unit complex or what have you. It feels weird. I rather see things go into a space, you know, do something interesting where they put a production hub in there, put a creative space in it, things of that sort.
00;20;39;21 - 00;20;58;15
Rob Lee
I would want to see more of that because I think, you know, the the buildings and the structures that we have here, some of them some of them are like super old in historical like buildings that could be turned into something that are like primed for that sort of thing. But I would imagine this investment is resources, it's interest, it's all of that stuff.
00;21;00;02 - 00;21;22;09
Megan Elcrat
It's harder to do that to start from scratch, but it doesn't mean it's not valuable. It's just it takes a certain, you know, a certain person with the right kind of business savvy to want to do that. But I think I think you're absolutely right. And I think the intersection of that creative culture, of the people with the need, you know, coming into these spaces, it's like, oh, I'm just I'm just going to do this here.
00;21;22;10 - 00;21;39;28
Megan Elcrat
Then you find the right developer or owner that's willing to, like, put some money into a building. I mean, if you think of all the buildings that people love in town, but they're, by and large, older buildings that have been, you know, gone through adaptive reuse, right? Like our house. Our house is old. You know, there's an old building.
00;21;39;28 - 00;21;57;06
Megan Elcrat
And so it's just one thing that I think is like changing them more immediate, like last few years is just the way people are using their spaces. So that's pretty fun too. Even within like this is a client who is in the building, but technically they're doing adaptive reuse and they're like, Oh, well, I opened this like even the one collective, right?
00;21;57;06 - 00;22;15;28
Megan Elcrat
You know, when I was last there I was doing yoga, I guess, but my friend was like, Oh, I'm going to do yoga at this one place. And I was like, I designed that space and she was like working with me. So, you know, we did some yoga and then we drank some wine and then like the whole time there was like a live performer just like over there.
00;22;15;28 - 00;22;25;21
Megan Elcrat
And we were over there and it worked there making it work. I was like, This is definitely we were not like a no part of our process. Was there a meeting where we went? Where will the people doing yoga go? Right.
00;22;27;08 - 00;22;48;23
Rob Lee
Yeah. And I like going to like that whole like union areas is really cool. Like, you know, I've been there to the gallery, the cocktail gallery, obviously, you know, except I think I know I had one of the owners or for that I had John on from Union and it's it's a it's a mix of things there that, you know, you had to go down a hill to get there.
00;22;48;25 - 00;23;11;21
Rob Lee
So, you know, that's set up and it's dry. You're not expecting to have like, oh, fun happens here. Oh there's things to do here me now obviously there's things to do here. Great. So I got I got one more real question for you. But they're multi-part, but one real question. So I'm going to really center it on Baltimore because I think that's where we were kind of at.
00;23;12;23 - 00;23;19;22
Rob Lee
What is your favorite like public building in town, like, you know, favorite structure, what have you? Because, you know, I got to ask that, you know, and I know it's going to be a.
00;23;19;22 - 00;23;31;05
Megan Elcrat
Tough you know, it's funny. Like, I just I was thinking about this earlier in the week and I was like, oh, he might ask me what my favorite building is, but I didn't promise that you would ask me to specify it to Baltimore. So I felt like a desire to to.
00;23;31;25 - 00;23;32;07
Rob Lee
So you knew.
00;23;32;15 - 00;23;35;03
Megan Elcrat
You would talk about Baltimore. So now you made me feel guilty.
00;23;35;03 - 00;23;39;11
Rob Lee
So that you could do Baltimore and you can do overall, because I appreciate that.
00;23;39;21 - 00;23;53;29
Megan Elcrat
Well, yeah. And and and then it's like, well, why why would I put more? You know, it's interesting to me that it would be harder to come up with one in Baltimore. I think it's like it has a lot to do with this is like this is where my life actually takes place. So these are places that are background to my stories.
00;23;53;29 - 00;24;11;27
Megan Elcrat
So when I'm thinking about a family member coming in town or like going to spend time with a friend, I'm thinking about like the whole thing, you know, I'm thinking about these places and less about like it's a beautiful building. And I, you know, I also think about that too, but it's like the list wouldn't even be that dissimilar from someone else's.
00;24;11;27 - 00;24;33;28
Megan Elcrat
So the iconic buildings, I also find interesting, but I think the the unexpected spaces so like spaces within spaces really appealed to me was the first one that came to mind was the crypt underneath the Baltimore Basilica. So have you been in that space? Hell yeah. So go check that out. It's awesome. Like you can see the structure.
00;24;34;08 - 00;24;55;07
Megan Elcrat
Like there are all these like brick arches that terminate and there's really beautiful ways and it's all there for a purpose. It's all like holding up the whole building. Wow. The character and the vibe of is totally different than what's above it. And that's like. So these, like, underground spaces are very cool and that's one that's like meticulously restored and easy to go visit.
00;24;55;07 - 00;25;19;22
Megan Elcrat
So that's probably like a favorite space that maybe it would be not on everybody's radar. But other than that, it's just like, you know, I like these neighborhood places like everyone else, like, like to go to fan zone and I like to like, you know, run another. This isn't even a building, so I'm just cheating. I'm so sorry, but I really like going, like running or walking through the paths down in, like, the ravine by Johns Hopkins.
00;25;19;22 - 00;25;25;05
Megan Elcrat
Yeah. If you if you squint and if you're in the right part of it, you cannot tell you are in a city at all.
00;25;25;15 - 00;25;26;00
Rob Lee
This is true.
00;25;26;21 - 00;25;41;10
Megan Elcrat
WOODS And that is like so cool to me, you know, because I'm literally right. I'm still just like blocks from my house, but I know, I don't know. So these spaces and that's that's why I'm having trouble saying all this. Or maybe I'm just not willing to pick a favorite because these are all, you know.
00;25;42;00 - 00;25;42;27
Rob Lee
No, I dig it.
00;25;43;09 - 00;25;43;22
Megan Elcrat
So.
00;25;45;04 - 00;26;00;07
Rob Lee
I mean, the basilica that's on my list now because, you know, I might be so poor, I might be doing some location scouting for a project. And it's very location based. And apparently I'm the the plug in to some of these places of inspiration.
00;26;00;20 - 00;26;08;13
Megan Elcrat
Nice. Yeah. Yeah. And in general, any time you're traveling, especially if you're in Europe, if you can get into the crypt of a church. Okay, very interesting.
00;26;09;05 - 00;26;12;19
Rob Lee
I mean, I just feel like that's the plot of a horror movie that we just bookending it. That's what we're doing.
00;26;13;05 - 00;26;18;15
Megan Elcrat
I mean, there's one in Italy and of course, I'm not conjuring up the name right now that is made entirely of bones.
00;26;19;09 - 00;26;20;04
Rob Lee
So again.
00;26;21;02 - 00;26;26;02
Megan Elcrat
This as a person who likes horror, I'm going to find this for you. I will send it to you. It's incredible.
00;26;26;02 - 00;27;02;06
Rob Lee
I mean, I am on shudder every week. This is just what it is. I mean, this is what I do. Just just what I do. So I want to ask you about about this last one from your vantage point and having a background that, you know, education was a part of it. Mentoring was a part of it in terms of folks in architecture, what are some of the common questions that you're answering or common advice that you're giving folks who are interested in going into the architecture industry, the design industry and adaptive reuse, things of that sort of nature, what sorts of advice or what sorts of questions are the common questions or pieces of
00;27;02;06 - 00;27;03;10
Rob Lee
common advice that you're giving out?
00;27;03;18 - 00;27;30;23
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, the the questions are really different than the advice that the questions like if I go speak to some students, which I did a few weeks ago, a lot of the questions were really good questions. They were very pointed about like real specific about how my daily job works, what it looks like they're thinking about like what they're actually going to do with that degree, like, you know, so they're I think certain students are really interested in the fact that I run this company.
00;27;30;23 - 00;27;54;06
Megan Elcrat
They want to know, like, what that looks like, you know, soup to nuts. Like really, again, like real sort of finite questions that are like that you could consider boring, you know, in a way, it's like, so they're interested in like that entrepreneurial side of things. But, but I also really like talking to people who haven't heard much further down the pipeline, like younger, like maybe they don't even, maybe architecture's not even on the radar.
00;27;54;06 - 00;28;14;07
Megan Elcrat
Like, for me, like the most important thing I can do as a professional is to reach out to people that are a lot younger, that don't even realize that design is an option. And to help them understand, like all the different facets of design and all the different things that you can do with it. So you can be an architect and you can go directly to architecture where you're, you're a building real buildings.
00;28;14;07 - 00;28;44;15
Megan Elcrat
But, you know, I mean, you can also be an architect and like design the background of games, you know, sets. Like there's so much architecture in the creative world and then there's so much architecture in the real world and there's a lot of possibility to that. So if somebody is interested in design, I like to talk to them about which aspect they're interested in because there is this old school and I don't really subscribe to it, but there is this old school concept of like architecture being really rewarding when you're in school and really creative and then you get out and it's kind of a slog, you know?
00;28;44;18 - 00;29;05;17
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, well, break shoes or something. I mean, I had professor, I had a professor look at a painting idea that was hanging over my desk and told me I should quit the department just do that. And said I was like, okay, well that's not super supportive. Maybe some stubborn level. I was like, I'll show you. And then I just kept going.
00;29;05;17 - 00;29;27;13
Megan Elcrat
But you know, it's just like, why do we have to? Why do we presume that I have to like the that space I'm in where I'm feeling really inspired and creative is like to separate from this job, right? It's not. But you do have to. You did have to do the work. So it's like you don't always like not everybody wants to go through this sort of arduous process of building a real building.
00;29;27;14 - 00;29;45;27
Megan Elcrat
They maybe want to take a different spin on it. And so I think with students, it's it's kind of fun to like just just talk to them about like what, what they're excited about and what brought them into it. The advice that I give them a lot is to just accept that they have a wealth of knowledge just by existing in the universe.
00;29;45;27 - 00;30;05;05
Megan Elcrat
So it can be overwhelming if you ask someone to design a building when they're 18 or 20 years old, it's like, Oh, I don't even know where to start. And they come up with crazy stuff. It's just crazy. And then you like dove in really? Well, why? Why is there a triangle here? So the people that look at it like the do people just look at triangles like is that a thing that triangles make people do it?
00;30;05;05 - 00;30;22;02
Megan Elcrat
Let's back that up. What do you like to look at when you walk through the world? You know you are a human being in the world. So you have this like awesome amount of like intuitive knowledge. You you grew up in a home. You went to school in a school like. So if I'm asking you to design a home or school like pull from these personal resources that you have.
00;30;22;15 - 00;30;39;02
Megan Elcrat
So that's sort of like what, how I like to approach talking to students like let's, let's get back to like the essence of where your ideas are coming from because they're, they're, they're real ideas. They're really valid. They're really interesting. But you're getting you're sort of thinking that you have to impress me with the newness of it all.
00;30;39;02 - 00;30;46;27
Megan Elcrat
And you don't you can just like lean into your perspective and that will be unique by virtue of it being your actual honest perspective.
00;30;47;25 - 00;31;06;27
Rob Lee
That's great. And I think that's I think that's where we can rap on the real questions. That's grace. So I want to choose the Rapidfire questions. I've been adding questions as we've been talking, because this is this is your fault. You're so interesting. So I just started asking questions. So brevity is key here. Don't overthink it. Don't overthink it.
00;31;06;27 - 00;31;07;15
Rob Lee
Don't overthink it.
00;31;07;24 - 00;31;09;08
Megan Elcrat
Okay.
00;31;09;08 - 00;31;09;18
Rob Lee
Okay.
00;31;10;02 - 00;31;10;14
Megan Elcrat
Tell me.
00;31;11;02 - 00;31;13;17
Rob Lee
What is your favorite city? You've visited.
00;31;14;10 - 00;31;14;28
Megan Elcrat
Barcelona.
00;31;16;04 - 00;31;19;22
Rob Lee
What is? And this is it. This will be interesting. What is your most overused word?
00;31;21;05 - 00;31;26;09
Megan Elcrat
Can we just rewind the tape? Shoot. I know there is one. Oh, I don't know. I passed.
00;31;26;26 - 00;31;33;09
Rob Lee
You know, a person was a terrible movie that you loved. It's like, I know it's bad, but I'm like, I love it. I love it anyway.
00;31;33;28 - 00;31;44;03
Megan Elcrat
I like, I don't know if it's terrible enough. Well, I, like, can't buy me love. Like, that's a pretty cheesy movie. It's just.
00;31;44;03 - 00;31;46;09
Rob Lee
Uh, crunchy or creamy.
00;31;47;10 - 00;31;47;27
Megan Elcrat
Creamy.
00;31;48;17 - 00;31;52;10
Rob Lee
Okay, um, do you have a motto? If so, what is it?
00;31;53;07 - 00;31;55;27
Megan Elcrat
Oh, man, these are tough.
00;31;56;08 - 00;31;57;21
Rob Lee
No, you know.
00;31;58;05 - 00;32;05;27
Megan Elcrat
I mean, I'm just trying to think of the things that I repeat to my children on a regular basis. I don't know. I like people to own their own stuff. You know.
00;32;07;14 - 00;32;16;01
Rob Lee
That's very legit. Legit answer, actually. This is the last one. This is the funniest one, I think. What is the oddest pronunciation of your last name?
00;32;17;13 - 00;32;20;07
Megan Elcrat
Well, I mean, like some of them are like not safe for work. Like.
00;32;21;01 - 00;32;22;14
Rob Lee
You could say something it rhymes with, though.
00;32;23;05 - 00;32;24;09
Megan Elcrat
If you froze.
00;32;25;14 - 00;32;26;28
Rob Lee
You could say something that it rhymes with them.
00;32;28;07 - 00;32;51;19
Megan Elcrat
Well, all other say three and you can decide what you want to leave. Then I made someone mad at Wegmans when they first opened. I didn't like it there and I haven't been back. And she wrote on the return card or whatever, the loyalty card, L.A., which I think was 100% on purpose and very rude. But a lot of people do say, Oh, crap, yeah, I can't think of like one that was that was great.
00;32;52;18 - 00;33;12;00
Megan Elcrat
Elkhart is probably the most that's the most often. Again, it's just not in the order that the letters are in. But there's like I think that this fear, when you see a name that isn't familiar, I think you just start mixing it up. Now, I will say this about my name, which is mildly interesting, or you might find it interesting.
00;33;12;00 - 00;33;27;20
Megan Elcrat
There is nobody else that I am aware of that has it. And some people don't believe me when I say that. But I mean, I've looked my father did a whole genealogy thing. If you Google me, it will be me until it becomes like my sister or my dad. Wow.
00;33;27;20 - 00;33;29;00
Rob Lee
Wow. I like it.
00;33;29;12 - 00;33;33;01
Megan Elcrat
Well, pros and cons, man. If you go on a date, someone's going to know stuff about you.
00;33;33;19 - 00;33;53;04
Rob Lee
Yeah, that's why I don't really put out there my real name. I'm just like. Like it's. It's real bad. Eloqua is fine, so that's cool. So with that, I want to thank you for coming on to this podcast and I want to invite and encourage you to share yourself, present company, all of that good stuff. Whatever you have going on the floor is yours.
00;33;53;26 - 00;34;11;01
Megan Elcrat
All right. Awesome. Well, I do have those two side hustles that I mentioned. We we own this building collab. We have a little bookstore. So I got to get a little, little shout out for their books because that is that's, you know, I don't know, an accidental, well-kept secret.
00;34;12;02 - 00;34;16;28
Rob Lee
Oh, yeah. You should go over there next to your neighbor. Sophomore had the Rob Lee coffee drink. You should enjoy.
00;34;16;28 - 00;34;32;08
Megan Elcrat
That. I was I was actually planning on doing that today. And then I got like I was at this meeting, I had a coffee meeting, so it would have been too much caffeine. I was I was going to impress you by telling you that I'd have the robbery and I blew it. But yes, let's do it again. And I'll just pretend like.
00;34;32;08 - 00;34;37;10
Megan Elcrat
I don't know, that's all. It actually sounds really good. I think. I think that would hit the spot.
00;34;37;16 - 00;34;44;09
Rob Lee
And then if you go around and forage, they have the alcoholic Rob Lee, by the way. Well, that's it. That's new. That's a new addition. This is vermouth based.
00;34;45;04 - 00;34;48;29
Megan Elcrat
Hey. Oh, my goodness. That's awesome. Hope all together. I love it.
00;34;48;29 - 00;34;50;18
Rob Lee
Yeah, just. Just trying to get myself out there.
00;34;50;25 - 00;34;58;13
Megan Elcrat
Designed, like, a little pavilion somewhere. And we did like the Rob Pavilion. Oh, my gosh. Where's that? Where's it? At the rally.
00;34;59;11 - 00;35;01;09
Rob Lee
We're having Rob Lee's at the Rob Lee.
00;35;01;23 - 00;35;20;15
Megan Elcrat
I was like, I clicked on your merch button just to see it. It's just like I was like, I don't know, somehow this concept that you would give everyone that had ever been on the podcast, a shirt, like, just like, started making me giggle because I just picture all these people because I know all these people. I spoke to this all walking around out there in the world with your face on are like blue T-shirts.
00;35;20;27 - 00;35;46;00
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, it's like, that's really funny. All right, I'm doing it. This is why I'm so bad at promoting myself. Okay, so collab is SEO Underscore Lab Baltimore. That's the Instagram. That's the easiest place to find us. It's collab workspace and books and then present company is just present company. Baltimore with underscore is between those three words. But yeah, I mean, you know, check us out.
00;35;46;00 - 00;35;58;10
Megan Elcrat
You know, if you're thinking about starting a business, call us up. If you've been doing this for a really long time, you can also call us up to more of a problem. And clients have lots of experience, but yeah. Oh, I think.
00;35;58;25 - 00;36;00;04
Rob Lee
I think you may have some questions for me.
00;36;00;04 - 00;36;10;06
Megan Elcrat
Actually. I would say yes and can I ask you three questions. They won't be is like it's going to bust zillion. You love to hate that's villain. Mm.
00;36;11;09 - 00;36;13;15
Rob Lee
Mhm. So you know you have me thinking.
00;36;15;13 - 00;36;15;25
Megan Elcrat
Hard.
00;36;17;16 - 00;36;26;16
Rob Lee
It might be Palpatine for like Star Wars because that's kind of my energy is I just get people's ear like yeah so that you will be you you and then the evil.
00;36;28;07 - 00;36;32;21
Megan Elcrat
Like a, like a lazy villain. Oh yeah, yeah. I'm like, have everybody else do your bidding.
00;36;33;00 - 00;36;34;21
Rob Lee
Then lord slop here and is.
00;36;34;25 - 00;36;36;16
Megan Elcrat
You influence or.
00;36;36;17 - 00;36;40;08
Rob Lee
Yeah, yeah. Just in someone's ear like yeah. And that the evil see with.
00;36;40;08 - 00;36;46;05
Megan Elcrat
You is like have you felt evil. That's not on me. I'm just, I just playing.
00;36;46;05 - 00;36;47;05
Rob Lee
I'm just helping you out.
00;36;47;19 - 00;36;55;11
Megan Elcrat
Right? It's helping you realize your full potential. Terrible. First of all. Right. Favorite Baltimore building.
00;36;56;06 - 00;37;00;06
Rob Lee
Through Baltimore building. If City College.
00;37;00;28 - 00;37;01;26
Megan Elcrat
Okay, come on.
00;37;02;06 - 00;37;04;28
Rob Lee
So that's why I went. So that's. You have to. I have to shout it out.
00;37;05;16 - 00;37;13;14
Megan Elcrat
That's a solid choice. All right. Best place to take a date. This could be anywhere. I don't have to have ever actually done it.
00;37;14;05 - 00;37;39;13
Rob Lee
Oof! I got to go with the lived experience. You know, it would. I want to say I'm blanking on the name of it, but it was in Philadelphia. It was a restaurant that was on a dark boat. So it was like this stays like big boat was a wedding, all of this stuff happening. And this is where I broke out my dramatic reading of menus.
00;37;39;21 - 00;37;55;23
Rob Lee
So now I'm always requested to read the menu of the place because my partner, she never reads it. She's like, Yeah, they got stuff on the edges, you know, no meat. I was like, What? I don't. And it's like, on here we have the blizzard. I just going down, there's this and then the tofu is.
00;37;56;04 - 00;37;59;03
Megan Elcrat
Like it worked out it like, oh, yeah.
00;37;59;26 - 00;38;00;24
Rob Lee
Yeah, absolutely.
00;38;00;25 - 00;38;01;20
Megan Elcrat
Oh, oh.
00;38;02;08 - 00;38;04;01
Rob Lee
Oh. I mean, I had to just be a troll.
00;38;05;20 - 00;38;23;28
Megan Elcrat
I once took someone to a dollar outdated amusement park in Wichita, Kansas. Now, clothes, man, I have all these great horror movie venues for you. I didn't even realize those. Yeah, it's. It's insane. It wasn't like it wasn't closed when we went, but yeah, that was probably the weirdest place.
00;38;24;08 - 00;38;43;19
Rob Lee
I think the only really weird one I have and, and this is just like off topic is oh but I can leave on this before I did actual wrap up. But the first time I went to New Orleans, my favorite place outside of Baltimore is probably New Orleans. And I went down there for like this, this kind of like drinking tour.
00;38;43;29 - 00;39;03;22
Rob Lee
And it was down there and these different places. And each place that we went to, each bar we went to, it had like a different story. So like, oh yeah, this person, they, they kill their partner, but they hit in the crock pot, a gumbo pot. And I was like, Oh my gosh. And then it was like, I thought it was bugging out because at the end of the tour, we go get we get a drink of absinthe.
00;39;04;14 - 00;39;25;18
Rob Lee
And I'm like, Oh, they said, Yeah, you see the green fairy when you're drinking this. And I was like, Cool. And I'm there by myself. First time I've ever been there. And next to us It's Dark is a big cathedral. There's a vampire tour lining up and I'm like, Oh, so this is how it ends. It's just interview with the Vampire in New Orleans with people dressed like vampires, and I'm kind of drunk.
00;39;26;01 - 00;39;39;08
Megan Elcrat
Yeah, that's with me a little bit. New Orleans is a great city. I, I almost felt guilty that I didn't have a city and in America, but again, you told me not to overthink it. But I almost that Chicago, which is also a pretty great city.
00;39;39;23 - 00;40;08;07
Rob Lee
Yeah, I got I got a Chicago story I'll share with you. So with that, I want to wrap. So for Megan Elcrat. I am broadly saying that there's art historical buildings that to reuse in and around Baltimore, you've got to look for it.
