CLIVE POHL OWNER , PRP ARCHITECTS
LIKE MANY WHO HAVE ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES professionally in a creative industry , Clive Pohl is a man of numerous ambitions and abilities . With an undying commitment to creating healthy environments in support of cultural initiatives of equity and public art , Clive has become the owner of his own architecture firm , PRP Architects , through a journey marked by collaboration , family and music . Growing up under two classically trained parents exposed Clive to the highest level of musicianship from a very young age . Finding talent of his own within the boundless realm of jazz was a natural development for Clive , who went on to study composition as an undergraduate at Western Washington University . To this day , Clive still composes and records original jazz pieces with his band , Uncle Sam ’ s Bait Shop .
“ My mother was a top-notch concert pianist who attended the Royal College of Music for piano ,” remembers Clive .“ While my dad was an engineer by day , he was a classical violinist by night . I studied composition as an undergraduate at Western Washington University , and as I grew , I realized I wanted a healthy family life . This led me to choose architecture over music . Now that my kids are grown and I ’ ve been through family-raising mode , I ’ m able to get back into balancing music and design . Quite honestly , I think they ’ re very complimentary disciplines .”
Just as Clive ’ s beloved music form of jazz is a conversation between players that combines to form a transcendent groove , the collaborative nature of his work as an architect allows him to blend his talents and vision with that of his clients .
“ In the world in which I design , it has to be a collaborative effort . There are times I have clients who want me to do what I want to do , but I am always intentional about
bringing them into the creative process . If I indulge my own sensibility too far , problems can arise because the client doesn ’ t know what ’ s being delivered . I ask my clients to at least respond and engage with me when discussing design . Thankfully , the demographic that is approaching me now is finally up to speed with what I want to do . When I began my practice in Kentucky , I was pushing against provincial thinking and a prevalent neo-Colonial attitude when it comes to architectural design . What I do is green , contemporary design — not retrospective design .”
Though Clive maintains a deep appreciation and respect for history and the methods of the past , his architectural interest and passion lies most pointedly with forward-thinking green building , which he describes as “ a multi-layered onion ”.
“ The first layer of green building is to make use of what already exists as much as possible . That ’ s remodeling buildings in such a way that creates an energy-efficient envelope so that our equipment minimizes petroleum-based fuel and
60 PULSE ■ JUNE 2021