Sean Guess

In the 3rd grade Sean traveled from his home town of Temple, Texas to Fort Worth on a school field trip. The destination was the Kimbell Art Museum. Unknown to Sean at that time, the trip would be influential for years to come.

Sean was raised in a small central Texas town and was fortunate to receive a quality public education. This schooling prepared him academically and provided him with the attitude and the confidence to succeed in realizing his dreams. He is the son of two educators, grandson to involved and endearing grandparents and youngest sibling to 2 older sisters. Sean cherished the freedom and independence that the setting of his childhood allowed him. He honors his parents for their trust in him at an early age- allowing him to play freely and explore the neighborhoods and creeks near his house without restriction.

It was later in his education, after developing a more sophisticated language with which to think about it, that Sean recalled his memories of the field trip to Louis Kahn's Kimbell Art Museum. He recalled a deep fascination with the structure. During his college studies he began to understand the reasons for this attraction. A seed was planted in elementary school and sprouted during his first year of college in an Intro to Architecture class taught by Lawrence Speck at the University of Texas at Austin. The influence of the class prompted the direction that lead him to his work today. The route Sean took to becoming an Architect was woven with distractions- working several jobs, a move to France and breaks from school to embark on a debt recovery plan lengthened, but also enriched, the path. Although it was not a straight path, it eventually lead to realizing long incubated goals. In 1997 Sean focused on the pursuit of an Architecture career. This processes started with relocation to Bozeman, Montana. Initially drawn to Montana for the romantic reasons one would imagine, the majestic landscape and grandeur of the mountains, he found himself comfortably settling into the studies of Architecture at Montana State University. Although small in comparison to some of the architecture programs available, the mountainous setting attracted world class professors and architects. Sean embraced his learning and found inspiration in academia. Through relationships with his professors Sean developed a foundation of ideas about design, industry and life. Lori Ryker showed him the value of being extremely thoughtful and sensitive when it comes to architecture. Ferdinand Johns' enthusiasm for the field was contagious. Byoung Soo Cho's Eastern influences and knowledge of materials affected not only Sean's student work but also his work in his professional practice.

While pursuing his education Sean spent his summers working with OSM construction. Sean’s decision to embark on this line of work was with the explicit purpose of experiencing the construction side of his industry. He had a mission to break through the common frustration that "architects don't know how to build things". The goal of learning more about how buildings are constructed was met and this experience plays heavily into Sean's commitment to designing sensible buildings. From early on Sean has had a commitment to bridging the notorious gap between builders and architects and strives to create a communicative and pleasurable dynamic in the builder, client and architect relationship triangle.

Upon graduation Sean was fortunate enough to take up employment with Bitterroot Design Group under the supervision of Ed Ugorowski. Ed was influential in Sean's career not just for his commitment to teaching the real world basics of an architecture firm but also in taking the time to develop an in-depth understanding of design and construction solutions. Ed's willingness to explain "why" and "how"- not just command a task be completed- was essential in Sean's growth in his early years in the Architecture field.

Sean moved back to Texas in 2004. He desired once again to be surrounded by family and the more intimately scaled landscape of the Texas Hill Country. Sean was employed by Ryan Street and Associates. Originally attracted to the firm’s attention to detail and level of specificity in construction documentation, the opportunity grew to be a great lesson in client relations. As an established and trusted associate with the firm Sean had a high level of involvement with clients and their projects. He participated not just in design and construction but with all the other nuances that come with building a home. This practice of managing the client-builder relationship continued to form Sean's ideas about how he wanted to relate to his clients in his own firm. The experience at RSA instilled in Sean a strong commitment to quality customer service, accessibility and communication.

With the completion of his AIA licensing tests in 2008 Sean launched Faye and Walker, a multidisciplinary design firm whose mission is to contribute to the emotional capital of our community through considerate manipulations of the built environment. Read more about the firm here.

Today Sean is committed to his work and brings an attention to detail and contextual sensitivity to all his projects. His architectural influences include Louis Kahn, the creator of that first influential experience in the Kimbell Art Museum, Louis Barragan, whose architecture Sean experienced while traveling throughout Mexico in a study abroad program, and Peter Zumther, whose St. Benedicts Chapel he will some day have the honor of visiting. Sean's aesthetic preference is grounded in simplicity, monumentalism and function.

Sean now lives and works in South Austin. The grandeur of the Big Sky still attracts him back to MT at least once a year for a fly fishing adventure, a past time he became addicted to during his residence in MT. Another influence on his life, which he found in MT, is his wife Cybil. Cybil and Sean are in the throes of parenting. Their daughter Marlo and son Louis are constant sources of triumph and tribulation. Though multi-disciplinary, we have not added Parental Advice to our services at Faye and Walker. We love our kids more than we can express, and we've heard that's the most important thing. Sean's favorite past times include mountain biking, fishing, and cooking.

Sean still visits the Kimball Museum whenever in the Fort Worth area.