Team

Andrew Bruno

Where were you born?

Hackensack, NJ.

Where is your favorite travel destination?

Rome

What’s something you’d still love to learn?

To speak Italian fluently.

Describe Mancini’s company culture in one word?

I’m only writing this on my second day, so ask me again in a month, but “supportive”.

What do you hope to see in the future in the world of architecture and design?

More architects are developing their own projects. Being the change you want to see, and all that.

When did you know you wanted to be an architect/designer?

Maybe this is grim, but it was after September 11, 2001. I was in 8th grade and suddenly, with the conversation about what would happen at Ground Zero, architecture was front and center in the public consciousness in a way that it never had been before in my life and probably never will be again. I was utterly fascinated by that.

What is something you collect?

Books

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

When I was 19 I thought, like many 19-year-olds probably do, that I was locked into a particular path in life. At one point during this time someone told me that no matter how old you are, it’s not too late to change directions. I didn’t believe him at the time, but I do now, and I still think about that conversation often.

What is your favorite hobby?

I love hiking and fishing.

Who inspires you the most in your field?

*Stares blankly at the screen for 10 minutes* I don’t have, like, a single idol, but I really admire architects who have managed to build practices where they get really sophisticated design work built in the real world. Office KGDVS comes to mind. I’m not so into Decon but Coop Himmelb(l)au has managed to get some absolutely outrageous buildings built.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I’m pretty good at getting my two-year-old to eat things that she doesn’t want to. Just kidding. That’s not possible.

Any other interesting fact about you?

I’ve taught in architecture schools (NJIT and GA Tech) for many years, and enjoy staying connected to academia. I published a book in 2022 called One House Per Day, that documented drawings from my project of the same name. The book got some decent reviews in Architect’s Newspaper, Architectural Record, and designboom.