An Aspiring Architect

Walking down the sidewalk on his way to the Allentown Farm Market with his grandparents, Joesph Brown would look up at the high-rise B’nai B’rith Senior Housing High Rise in awe. Even at five years old, this Northampton Community College (NCC) alum knew structures fascinated him. 

“I was amazed by it because I was so young, and I remember thinking how cool the building was. Looking up, I would see it stretching into the clouds above.  The balconies defied gravity while creating a solid base for people to reach out from. I did not know why I loved it so much; I just knew I wanted to do something with it. I imagined climbing to its peak and designing a beautiful spire to reach even higher,” says Brown.  

Passionate about architecture from a young age, he remembers creating masterpieces from his Legos at his grandparents’ house. He said he knew he wanted to be a part of designing the built environment. 

Growing up, he lived with his grandparents, who had a large hand in raising Brown. “Everything I have, I can thank them for.” He says his grandparents taught him the value of hard work and determination.  

Brown was always around the barns on his family’s land, watching his grandfather and great-uncles fixing things and tinkering with their machines. He would take care of the yard and lawn care, and his grandfather, David, taught him many things from his career in trades. “I think  doing all these types of things alongside my grandfather, helped feed my passion for architecture,” he says. 

Brown's grandmother, Debra, helped him with his schoolwork and encouraged him to reach his goals. She always told him he could do anything he could put his mind to, and he describes her love and adoration as unending.  

During high school, he split his time between Parkland High School and Lehigh Carbon Technical Institute (LCTI) to have a taste of some architecture classes. He took mechanical and architectural drafting for 3 hours per day for 3 years. He graduated in June 2020 before heading to NCC for architecture.  

Since it was the heart of the pandemic, many classes were moved online. During high school, the Brown family collected cardboard in anticipation for college projects. He worked on many of these projects at home, small geometric models, drafting by hand, and 3D models, and his grandparents let him monopolize the dining room for his makeshift studio space. “I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything aside from a studio culture bond, and eventually, we got there in spring 2021 when classes started to be in-person again." 

Finally stepping foot on campus for his classes, Brown got involved with his community. He was responsible for revitalizing NCC’s American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) chapter, and he became the chapter President. “We did a project to re-do the gallery space by the architecture wing of Richardson Hall. We also took trips to tour colleges and helped guide each other along our journey through college.” 

Professor Daniel Ebner inspired Brown. “He taught me a lot about the nuances of how buildings function. He expanded my high school knowledge. I was very grateful for his guidance while I was learning.”  

Brown received the opportunity to work at a firm as a paid intern while he was still studying at NCC. The job was a practical learning experience because he knew the hours worked would go toward the approximately 3,700 hours of work required under a licensed architect that graduates must complete before testing to become licensed themselves.  

Brown graduated from NCC in 2022 and continued working while attending Marywood University to earn his bachelor’s degree in architecture.  

Now at Marywood, ready to graduate in the spring, he reflects on some of his biggest achievements. Among them is his receiving the AIAS Student Honor Award. His professors selected him to be nominated as a student who exhibited excellence and promise for future endeavors. He’s also won studio awards for his passion and innovation through his work five out of the six semesters he’s attended Marywood. 

After college, he will be moving back to the Lehigh Valley to work for MKSD Architects. He looks forward to becoming a licensed architect and eventually becoming a firm Principal where he can create a variety of institutional, commercial, and large-scale residential projects to become well-rounded in his industry, finding his niche.  

Although the days walking by the high-rise apartment building in Allentown still hold an important place in the foundation of his architectural career, he feels the building “stands as a testimony to the trial and error of urbanism.”   

“I hope one day to work on projects like it so that I may improve them. Everything that you touch see or interact with was designed by someone. I want to become that designer who betters the world around me using innovation to make people’s lives easier through sound architecture.”