Following an internship in Omaha, Nebraska, Matt returned to Fargo and joined Zerr Berg Architects in 2024 after graduating from North Dakota State University with a Masters in Architecture. Matt brings a passion to continually strengthen his craft in architecture and is passionate about building long-lasting relationships throughout the community.
What interested you in pursuing project management/architecture as a career?
I always enjoyed the process of design and creating – from Legos and erector sets when I was young to small building projects around our ranch growing up. I always thought engineering was going to be my path after high school and then an interest in arts came out of nowhere and a mentor at the time asked me if I had ever thought about architecture to combine my interests. Being an organized person, I seek to utilize my calendar as best I can and make sure that I am consistently maximizing each day. Before working as an architect, I didn’t realize how much of the job is project management and that skillset has been an unforeseen bonus for me!
In your own words, describe your job.
My job consists of a few major parts. One of those is managing client expectations and the project scope. This occurs in meetings with the client and understanding their budget and project goals and being able to communicate how we can address the client’s needs through the design of a project. Another large aspect of my job is preparing drawings through multiple design phases. This could be organizing a file and setting it up at the start of a project, creating plan views and the necessary sheets for the project, creating construction documents, and prepping the drawings for construction and submittals. A large portion of this job is learning and understanding how all of the different building systems and details work together in order to be able to explain and document all aspects of the project clearly and concisely to all people who need to know something. Something I have been watching other people with more experience than me do very well is asking questions to the clients that they might not even know they have. Tyler has been great to learn from watching him address so many different things depending on who we are talking to. This brings me to the last major part of my job right now, being a student. Even though I graduated college I am learning new things every single day from every co-worker around me. I have so much to learn in this industry and I am excited to do so.
Best project management/architectural fun fact or tip?
After getting a degree in architecture you can never walk through buildings the same. I am constantly looking up at the ceiling and looking at the HVAC ducts or the spacing between lights, or how the flow of a space works, or the materials that are on the building. Sometimes it’s hard to shut off that architecture part of my brain and just enjoy a space for what it is!
