Meet Brian Laubenthal | Principal of ALINE Architecture Concepts

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Laubenthal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, what is the most important factor behind your success?
We have an underlying theme of respect in our work. Respect for our clients, our team, our community, the environment, and existing architecture that we repurpose. Our three core values are craft, collaboration, and community. Craft encompasses our design and attention to detail and how we develop the concepts and narrative to make a complete well-developed design. Collaboration is about working with other likeminded professionals who are as passionate about the craft and quality of their industry as we are for architecture. It is about building a team that cares and makes a successful project. Community is about supporting local, the local businesses, residents, and our environment. We want neighborhoods to thrive, and we want local businesses who care about Phoenix and the desert to succeed, all while working to reduce the amount of waste and unnecessary materials.

I believe it is important to surround yourself with the right people. I strongly believe that your life improves when you surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher. People who support you, who care, and who bring value to your life and career. We have an amazing team, valuable mentors, incredible consultants, contractors, artists, reps, and others that we love to collaborate with and who add value to our business and projects. We always work to build meaningful relationships!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When we started the firm, we came up with the name ALINE. We wanted the name to represent our team, the people involved, and our values rather than the focus being on ourselves as the principals with our names on the door. ALINE is a play on the words ‘align,’ meaning to support, and ‘a line,’ meaning a mark in the creative process. Both parts are equally important elements in any design process. We want to be a support for our clients, our community, and our environment, and to do that we are that first mark in the creative process. We are not a production firm but a creative design firm, developing concepts and designs with a higher level of craft and quality.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I believe in supporting local. When you visit a new place and see what the local community has to offer, you find an authentic experience and connection. I would encourage anyone visiting the Phoenix area to go for a hike at Piestewa Peak and walk through the Botanical Gardens to see what beauty the desert landscape has to offer. Stay at a local hotel like Valley Ho or Sanctuary Resort. Wander around downtown Phoenix, walk into local art galleries, find a local brewery like Arizona Wilderness Brewing, Fate Brewing or restaurants like Larder and the Delta, or Hanny’s. Take a day trip to Sedona, Prescott, or Flagstaff and see what all Arizona has to offer.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In seventh grade English class, I was given the assignment to write a paper about what I want to be when I grow up and how it can help the world. I took this assignment to heart. As a kid I was always bothered by how people would destroy or pollute nature rather than working to support and improve it. My parents had taken me to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin East, school of architecture, when I was 10 years old. I was inspired by many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s projects, like Fallingwater, that worked with nature. I also loved the movie Swiss Family Robinson and dreamed of living in an elaborate treehouse! So, as I started to write my paper, I thought about how architecture could make a positive impact on my community and how it could aid people and the surrounding environment. I decided then that Architecture would be the medium I’d use to craft a better world.

Fast forward to 30 years later: I still love to think about how that paper inspired me and helped me determine what my core values are. After thirteen years in business, our portfolio is filled with environmentally friendly projects, community driven projects and pro-bono projects where we have donated our services to help local non-profits- something I’ve been driven to do since 7th grade.

Website: www.madewithaline.com

Instagram: @alinearchitecture

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/brian-laubenthal-9101b4152

Image Credits
Dan Ryan Studio Stephanie Slezak Photography Nick Laessig Photography