As much as we love to see new businesses move into #DTJax all the time, it’s nice to appreciate the ones that have been here awhile as well! In 2004, TTV Architects Inc. relocated to the entertainment district of Downtown and has been creating nationally renowned designs from their office ever since. We sat down with the youngest licensed architect in Jacksonville, William Hoang, to discuss the firm, what it’s like to be a young architect in Jacksonville and what it’s like to work Downtown.
Hoang explained to us his journey of landing at one the most progressive, full service architecture and design firms in Jacksonville. Originally from Texas, Hoang first interned at the firm as a summer intern when he was in high school trying to decide if architecture was right for him. When he decided it was, he continued onto architecture school at the University of Houston and then studied architecture and urbanism at Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-La Villette in Paris prior to being nationally certified and licensed.
Unlike the higher education process most of us may be privy to, architecture is a different ball game. First, the aspiring architect must get into an accredited school and graduate with a Bachelor or Masters of Architecture. Then, the long internship process begins, which can take anywhere from a few years to almost a decade. Finally, the architect-to-be must pass seven national board exams to become licensed. As Hoang noted, it took him about nine years from architecture school to internship to passing the board exams, but he did it!
As far as working Downtown, Hoang said he and his coworkers enjoy the lifestyle of Downtown. Hoang knows firsthand what living in a vibrant and exciting city is like, having gone to school in Houston and then studying abroad in Paris. He says that Jacksonville is different, and especially Downtown, with so much potential and possibilities. Hoang himself is very committed to #DTJax, and will even be the President this summer of the Downtown Rotaract Club which is a young professional club connected to Rotary.
TTV has grown to be a nationally-renowned and sought-after firm, contracting lots of work outside of Jacksonville and Florida, including a new, modern Courtroom in Louisville, Kentucky which achieved the GSA Design Excellence award. TTV still does display it’s loyalty and talent to Jacksonville with projects at Mayo Clinic and the recent bid to design the UNF Interfaith Center.
For a look at more of the portfolio of TTV Architects Inc., check out their website and Facebook page. To learn more about getting involved and making a difference in #DTJax like Will Hoang, come out to the next Downtown Rotaract Club meeting! Thank you to William Hoang and the whole TTV team for being so dedicated to #DTJax!