Adam Roark AIA is a licensed architect located in Columbia, South Carolina.

Architect at Damien Blumetti Architect
Owner of Roark Architecture & voice of The Roarkitect

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ADAM ROARK, AIA, NCARB

BACKGROUND

The son of small business owners in Florence, SC, Adam was raised to understand the value of a strong work ethic and realities of how the real world operates. Now living in Columbia, SC with his wife [Lauren] and two children [Charlie and Ellie], Adam enjoys putting to work the entrepreneurial spirit and values that he grew up entrenched in.

Adam attended Clemson University for his undergraduate degree in architecture with a minor in fiction writing—a hobby that guides the narrative process that he approaches architecture and design in general. For his master’s degree in architecture, he specialized in “Digital Ecologies” as a way to bridge the digital world with the physical one. This expertise aims to create a set of principles for how modern and ever-evolving technology can be used in tandem with traditional and timeless design principles to achieve practical and simple solutions for the most complex design problems.

While at Clemson University, Adam spent a summer interning in New York City at Richard Meier & Partners [now MeierArchitects]. This experience of working in the most architecturally significant city for one of the most influential architects set an extremely glamorous and high bar for what a life in architecture could be. After graduating, he gained experience working in offices in urban Atlanta GA, rural Auburn AL, historic Charleston SC, and [presently] modern Sarasota FL. Working in various cities on a plethora of project types allowed for an expanded perspective on what architecture is, who it serves, and how it realistically does so.

PHILOSOPHY

Adam believes the primary value an architect can bring to a project is to be willing to listen and learn from all parties involved and to keep a client’s specific goals, needs, and wants at the forefront of the entire process while being guided by professionalism and integrity.

Integrity—a word that should carry through every aspect of the design phase ranging from the initial sharing of a vision over text to the day a foot enters a finished structure. And everything in-between. Due to rising costs, an abundance of regulatory hoops, and scarcity of [quality] materials and labor, today’s design and construction climate can be quite a complicated and frustrating process to navigate.

Adam’s background in Digital Ecologies and personal interests in technology in general have played an important role in developing his philosophy on design—especially in the era of artificial intelligence. Losing the human touch in a world increasingly run by algorithms and datacenters is a deep concern that is still being played out and one that Adam is carefully observing, pondering, and refining thoughts around. AI is a powerful tool that can’t be totally ignored given the challenges of today; but it’s still a choice. Adam’s choice is to use AI with prudence to solve real problems while fully embracing the traditional craft, judgment, and responsibility of being an architect.