| Nick | Frank
Karen and I are so excited to announce Nick Devenney, Founder of Devenney Group, Ltd. Architects and presently owner of DAL, a health care planning consulting firm, has agreed to mentor our young architectural firm. We met at Nick’s hang out, The Adobe at the Biltmore, to join him for his usual grilled cheese and fruit. They know him well there, and well they should.
We shared the obligatory niceties and then cut right to the chase. We wanted him to guide us through the murky waters of the health care architecture and design business. And in true form, to the gracious gentleman he is, he accepted. We are pleased as punch to have him as a sounding board to run by our ideas, systems, thoughts, or unorthodox schemes.
As the crisp grilled cheese was efficiently delivered, our conversation turned to Nick’s start in the biz. He is an Arizona native and therefore was around when Frank Lloyd Wright built Taliesin West. This was back in the day when the desert was just the desert. Nick heard about this guy and decided to wander on up the road to check him out. Nick casually wandered onto the property and poked around a bit, finding himself in the office of Frank himself. Of course at the time Frank was not “Frank” and Nick was not “Nick”. Frank greeted Nick and asked how he could help him. Nick related he wanted to be an architect. Well, that tickled Frank pink and so he invited Nick to come on up and study his with his group.
Nick, being barley eighteen, young and clueless (his words, not mine) didn’t really take Mr. Wright seriously and so did not immediately seize his offer. As weeks passed, the pull of Taliesin grew stronger and Nick found himself serendipitously face to face with Mr. Wright on the grounds of Taliesin again. This time Frank inquired how Nick was enjoying his stay at the compound. Nick, clueless again, still did not realize the Frank was offering him the chance of a lifetime.
They chatted briefly and Frank offered Nick the opportunity to go North for the Summer and study with him. Nick stated he was not graduated from high school yet which elicited a big scoff from Frank. He said Nick didn’t need those credentials. Fortunately Nick’s mama and daddy had a different idea. So Nick got his high school diploma and ultimately traveled North to study with Frank.
Of course, anyone in the architectural industry in the Southwest, knows that Mr. Devenney went on to create one of the most successful and cutting edge health care architectural firms in the country. His knowledge of the business of the health care delivery system in this country is unmatched. We are so fortunate to have him as our mentor, as we intend to model our format based on many of his business practices and his boots on the ground evidence-based design principles. By the way, Nick is no longer clueless.
So, in closing, thank you Nick for sharing your wisdom, talents, experience and expertise with Iconic Architecture and Design. We hope one day we can pay it forward in the fine and compassionate manner you have done for us.
And as always, your success is our mission.
