Fairfield County”™s newest architect firm is Visionary Interiors Architecture at the Merritt 7 complex in Norwalk. And while the company is a startup, its founder George Perham has one of the longest and most distinguished architecture careers in the region.
“The real reason I started VIA is because the firm that I was with for the last 48 years could not come to agreement on how to move forward,” said Perham, referring to the Bridgeport-headquartered Antinozzi Associates. “VIA was a branch office that I started about 10 years ago for Antinozzi Associates that focused on corporate and private. And so, long story short, I decided to take this over as an entity that was totally separate from Antinozzi Associates and create VIA.”
Perham”™s primary initial focus with VIA will be designing corporate interiors for clients that are spread across the East Coast.
“We are doing work for a Colony Grill down in Tampa, Florida, and just finished another one for them down in St. Pete and in Arlington, Virginia. And then we”™re doing a Webster Bank in Massachusetts and in New York. We have developers that we work for in New York, as well.”
When it comes to design, Perham advocates the theory that “form follows function, because I think the place has to function properly first before you create the form around it. Because you can design a beautiful building, but if the people using it can”™t use it the way it”™s intended, then it”™s an error in our field.”
As an architect, Perham rarely looks to the past for inspiration “except for the lessons learned,” adding that the practice is always adapting to the times.
“Architecture is an evolution and everyday things are changing,” he said. “You need to understand history and the success of past designs to move forward successfully. And then from that point forward, it”™s basically taking the knowledge that we”™ve learned through many different sources ”” whether it”™s furniture vendors or carpet vendors or lighting vendors. So, we”™re always up to date and state of the art.”
Perham observed that the Covid-19 pandemic created an unexpected transition period for architecture that required the incorporation of different concepts into design. For example, he cited the bathrooms for a restaurant he is designing that includes technologies to encourage a hands-free use of toilets and paper towel dispensers.
Perham invited one of his Antinozzi Associates collaborators, Stephanie Barbagiovanni, to be his partner in the new firm as vice president. Barbagiovanni worked at Antinozzi Associates for the last 19 years and spent her last nine years running the Norwalk office that is now VIA. The new firm has a total of five architects, two interior designers and a project manager as its team.
As for his industry, Perham viewed architecture as offering career opportunities for those eager to adapt to its trends and needs.
“In order to survive, you”™ve got to be flexible,” he said. “And you”™ve got to understand where the field is going, along with the demands of the clients. It”™s been an interesting profession. It”™s my 49th year and I”™ve seen a lot of things transpire.”
