Pillar Design Studios Interview: Brad Siedlecki
[Recently we did an interview with Greg Taylor of TMC Interactive for an upcoming article on digital marketing and the action sports industry. The following is an except from the interview. We wanted everyone to get to know our company a little better - so with permission we decided to publish a portion about skateboarding and skatepark design.]
Pillar Design Studios was founded in 2006 by Brad Siedlecki. Pillar Design’s reputation has been built on integrity, quality of service and the ability to delivery progressive skatepark designs.
Pillar Design has employed the simple philosophy of creating skateparks that blend with its current surroundings while incorporating local culture , hiring local labor when appropriate and engaging local skateboarders for design input.
Siedlecki is someone who shuns the spotlight took a couple of minutes to answer some questions about is background, his skatepark design firm and the future of skateparks.
Where did you grow up? “I grew up in Oswego, NY – which is located in central NY on Lake Ontario.”
How long have you been active in skateboarding? “This year marks my 20th year as a skateboarder.”
What was the skate scene like growing up in Oswego? “There were only about 10 of us who skated. So, as you can imagine our scene was very small.”
Coming from such a small skate scene – what made you want to pursue skatepark design? “We had nothing to skate growing up so we had to build everything ourselves. There’s something about building something then skating it…it’s more rewarding. I still say that building ramps as a kid was one of the main things that led me to Arizona State University to study Architecture.”
What is your favorite part of skatepark design? “There are multiple parts that I enjoy when it comes to skatepark design build projects. I enjoying be able to strike a balance when designing a park between my background as a skateboarding and my formal training as a landscape architect. Pillar Design Studios, as a company, really enjoys the community interaction and getting input from local skaters about design elements and what they want in their local skatepark. Other parts that are rewarding are when I actually get to skate something that once only existed on paper as a design and then there’s the grand openings and watching the local skaters enjoy the park – which is always cool.”
Do you have a favorite design from over the years? “My favorite park is always the one we’re building. Currently the Falling Creek Skatepark in Bedford, VA is under construction and close to completion.”
Where do you see skatepark design and skatepark build going? “I see skatepark design and build going in many different directions, but we try to stay true to where we came from and where we want to go. We try to provide something for every style of skating in every park Pillar builds. Skateboarding is not one dimensional for me.”
Brad, thanks for your time and giving everyone a little bit of insight into Pillar Design Studios.
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We’ll post the article in its entirety when it’s published here on skatepark-blog.com.
Pillar Design Studios can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. For more information on getting a skatepark for your community or the skatepark design build process, please contact nicole@pillardesignstudios.com
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[About us: Pillar Design Studios, based in Tempe, AZ is a design/build landscape architecture firm specializing in both public and private skatepark facilities. Led by Brad Siedlecki, Pillar Design’s reputation has been built on integrity, quality of service, the ability to deliver progressive designs and impeccable skill in construction document production.]
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