Tina ID: Lage

There are always a few characters in one’s life in which you run into all the time, at unimprovised moments, at the most unexpected junctures. David Lage, happens to be one of these characters in my life. We both started out as designers, almost twelve years ago, bright eyed and bushy tailed, working our vanities in the same architect’s office in Soho. By chance, we met again seven years into our bright careers, freelancing at another’s architects office.

Forward , another four years, in a restaurant in Fort Greene Brooklyn , and I spot again this tall, red-headed fellow, as always , impeccably dressed in the architect’s favorite blacks. This time, there’s the introduction of his wife, a quick recapitulation of relationships, careers and another exchange of business cards and another nod to “let’s keep in touch”.

Funny enough, few months later, I am on my knees, with my head sideways looking at Barnes and Noble’s cart of used art and architecture and I pull out a copy of an interesting title: David Lage’s selected works. As I thumb through the volume, with sophisticated 3-dimensional models of proposed buildings, complex descriptions of conceptual projects, I was incredulous to think that this would be the same fellow that once sat next to me, drafting retail fixtures for department stores.

Finally, in earnest, I took the cue to get in touch with David. With time on our hands, given the downturn on construction, we managed to sit down at a mutually convenient location between Brooklyn and Manhattan to leisurely compare notes on our careers and life’s experiences. David himself had established four years ago his own architectural practice in Brooklyn, the whole while I had been wistfully experimenting with ways to escape the same career.

So maybe I admit, there might have been something that may have kept us apart from being fast friends, and made us into those people that you always just “bump” into. David for one, knows he is an architect, and has a sense of purpose that is inseparable to his identity. He is the guy that even on a hot summer day, sipping iced tea, will be dressed in black with good shoes, and will tell you it’s not a fashion mistake.

To lead the conversation, I tried my hand at my new self-ploclaimed vocation of “identity designer”, and started to investigate what motivates this man to pursue an often thankless career of long hours and often unbuilt creations.

“Well, David, so why do you still do it? I mean, there’s got to be more to life, than working the dog hours with so little pay and glory to show for it” The reply, came evenly and unrehearsed, as natural to him as his summer blacks. “ I am an architect, not a stylist or a designer. Architecture is the way that I change culture. I am motivated by developing work that has an impact on culture and the ways people do things.” Well, that’s the short answer from a longer discourse. The work in between the lines, however, comes nothing short-- from being remarkable.

BBCS gala, from special to spectacular

David Lage became involved in non-profit work two years ago through a relationship from a private client.. He became eventually, a committee member for the BBCS (The Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service) The organization provides social services to the disabled creating self-sufficiency, stabilization of families and children’s care for its constituents.

David Lage approached the board to push BBCS’ vision further in the planning for their 143rd Anniversary Event at The Heights Casino in Brooklyn Heights. He conceptualized of a project that would both use the opportunity of the venue’s scale and ceiling height and also synthesize his ideals of community building and sustainability.

With a budget close to what it take to rent out banal white party tents, Lage created, for a one night event, an impressive “canopy” made out recycled cardboard tubes. Hung at different levels from the ceiling with wires, the task was a tremendous undertaking by the team of “disabled” volunteers, who drilled and suspended the cardboard tubes.

Final Result
The guests and board members were amazed by the transformation of the space, as well as the positive effects from the involvement and showcasing of their “disabled” beneficiaries. In turn, the “disabled” participants were changed in their own self –perception by being validated for their service and participation in the realization of the ambitious project. With architecture as the medium, along with an experimental approach and no pre-conceived notions, David Lage successfully brought the anniversary event to life. Through joint efforts, the fundraiser went from becoming a special event to a spectacular one, creating a renewed spirit of community and charity.